As my 2nd week in FNQ comes to an end I thought I would let everyone know how I am travelling.
The Arrival:
The trip up to Queensland was quick and painless. I had a significant fear of flying prior to coming up here and dreaded the flight more than anything, as I boarded and got to my seat I suddenly felt calm and relaxed and believe it or not really enjoyed all 3 hours of the flight. Cloud covered the ground as we landed in Townsville so didn’t get too much of a look at the town but I was so excited at what awaited us over the next 5 weeks.
Lyn and John picked us up, after a short bout of confusion (having never met them, we imagined they would look a bit different) we were in the car and off to Ayr. The weather was hot and humid… everything I had expected. As we drove down from Townsville you could see remanets of the tornado and deluge of rain that had happened only days before. Water levels in creeks were still high. Grass and branches hung over the wire fences and paddocks were flattened where the torrents of water rushed through. Thankfully for us, the water had subsided enough that we could get through to Ayr. We finally arrived after an hour and settled into our motel and met Ray our host who is absolutely lovely (and as I have come to learn this week is a source of knowledge which has helped me ridiculously already).
And here I am the start of my 5 week journey. Mixed emotions came over me, what awaits me over the next 5 weeks I was still a little unsure but I knew I was ready for whatever comes my way!
Sleepy Sleepy Sundays
We were in no way prepared for Sundays in Ayr. ALL shops were closed which of course we didn’t realise on Saturday so had no chance to shop for food. Thankfully one café was open so lunch was sorted. The day was spent walking around and exploring (and by walking I mean we WALKED). Cane fields create a border around the town and make for some beautiful photos on both sunrise and sunset. We went and checked out the local beach (after an $80 taxi ride with Jason who “never forgets a lady” we found this comment out after we thought he forgot to come back and pick us up.) The water was really muddy as a result of the rain, but the beach was nice and secluded. Nippers were training on a rather large sandbar about 100metres out and kite surfers were making the most of the winds (that reminds me I want to kite surf, who can I rope into trying it with me??? JM…) We came back and spent the rest of Sunday walking around, getting to know Ayr and chatting with Ray. Well and truly ready for bed, we had an early night (well I did, need 8 hours) in preparation for our first official day!Cultural awareness training
All I can say is WOW!!! I cannot believe how lucky I am that I have had the opportunity to spend time with the people I have during this week. I feel like I learnt more about my own culture in 3 days than I did in my entire life. It was a very humbling and confronting few days for me, but I certainly feel all the more stronger and proud for it. Even though we had all just met, it felt like we had all known each other for a long time.
Lynette: Lynette is south Sea and is the office manager? She is mother to 6 children (all of whom we met during the week and are so beautiful) and is one of the most welcoming people. She picked us up each morning, even when she was sick she looked after us. (Although she should have certainly been resting herself) She never stops! She has some amazing stories about her own culture and experiences. Lynette invited us out to watch some of the kids play touch football one night. I thought it was just going to be kids turns out it’s all the games. Her kids have got a mad quick step and wouldn’t be surprised if they play professional…
Makayla: Makayla is a trainee who works at the office and attends tafe a few days a week. She is also absolutely beautiful and is such a warm person. She showed us around town and took us up to Townsville to show us the sights on the Friday. It really is a stunning place as you can see by the photos below.John: John moved out from the UK not too long ago (about 15 years maybe) and they were so fortunate to have gotten him. He works on all the submissions and grants for Gudjuda for funding and the like. A lovely lovely man who has time for everyone.
Renarta: Renarta is an elder of the Juru tribe. She has this aura of wisdom about her that was almost enchanting, listening to her telling stories of the ancestors and later timeframes around the invasions was powerful. She told stories in a way that it really touched your core and made you feel like you were there. You felt what they felt. It was quiet emotional. She is an amazingly strong woman who seemed to find a happy thought in what I can only imagine would be such a dark time.
Dorothy-May: Dorothy May came along with Renarta from Townsville and also facilitated our training for the 3 days. You could tell instantly she was such a powerful woman. She is one of 13 kids and has about 6 children and even more grandkids. (One significant difference I have seen is that family dynamics and sizes are very different to what I am used to) Dorothy focused on the importance of kinship with us. Children are raised in a community here (community being the family) rather than having just a mother and a father, they actually are raised by all the aunties in the family. In some situations the eldest Aunty can actually override the mothers’ decision. Having grown up with a very small family in comparison I found this to be a pretty crazy concept, after hearing more of why this type of dynamic was established though it seemed to make sense. It’s not only indigenous families that live like this, I know that other cultures have a very similar kinship and it has helped me appreciate the different family structures more and the massive importance that families play for different cultures.
Eddie: Eddie is a PLO (police liaison officer) so he works with the police to help disengaged “murry” citizens who get in trouble with the law. The thing that really struck me about Eddie is that this is his paid job. What he does out of his want for a better community and life for aboriginals in general is beyond amazing! He also helps run a local kids program to keep kids off the street, Supports local kids who get in trouble as well as gudjuda which in itself is almost a fulltime job. Gudjuda has managed to place in 12months 30 indigenous people in jobs. That is more than the whole of Townsville has been able to do all year. They really are doing amazing jobs and they don’t do it for the money or even because they want the recognition. They do it because this is a cause that they believe in so strongly that they fight every day to keep going. Truly inspiring.
There were many others we met along the week dropping in and out of Gudjuda. And as the week went on we continued to learn the extent of what they are trying to achieve. Employment is a part of it, but wildlife preservation is another. They work with department of environment to help protect the turtles (hence the turtle tagging) they provide resources to mining companies surveying land before any construction starts for remains or sites of significance. This is just to name a few things.
Maria and I continued to walk everyday (by the 2nd day id decided to give city to surf a shot, I am not sure what part of walking 5kms on flat surfaced made me think I can do 14kms of some of the hilliest suburbs in Sydney but anyway) and we continued to get to know the town. Ray continued to be a fantastic host and really made my stay so comfortable and welcoming. We familiarised ourselves with the pub. The commercial was the best for food, had chicken and scallops one night OMG YUM!!! And beef ribs the other, the servings so big that it was impossible to get through it all. As the week drew to an end, I felt like I had already taken so much from the project that was really going to change my perspective on things. I packed with great sadness at having to leave Ayr, Ray and Maria. My next stop….. Bowen
The top of the Whitsunday’s
Things I have learned here so far are:
1) No matter what happens, you will always end up sleeping with at least 1 or 2 geckos in your room (I showered with one the other day)
2) It’s going to be hot… sweating is inevitable
3) Plans will keep on changing and changing and changing. Just go with it and don’t stress.
My plans on getting down to Bowen (about an hour from Ayr) kept changing during the week. Firstly I was getting picked up then dropped off by Lynette, then dropped off by someone else and finally picked up again ,of course late Friday evening that changed again and Eddies brother Alfie was heading down anyway and offered to take me down and bring Maria down for a ride. So my bags are packed and I am on my way… Alfie was another inspirational man, despite having been through some rough patches and having dealt with some of his own struggles he is so focussed on helping men who also are facing their own battle and see them come out the other end better, stronger men. AN hour went so quick listening to him tell stories about his life. It continues to amaze me how selfless people are and how much good they are doing to the world and how what they do is really changing the lives of so many.
We arrived in Bowen (and finally I am back on the coast, it wasn’t Sydney beaches but still was beaches YAY) we picked up Jim, and went off for a scenic drive checking out some local sites. We visits Mullers lagoon, this is a burial site for some remains that were found and moved down south. They were brought back home and their resting place is in a coil of a “Munda” (snake or serpent) with 2 brolgas which are its natural partner. We then went to flagstaff hill to check out my office and let me tell you, photos do NOT do it justice. The view is STUNNING…. And I use capitals because my words do not suffice!!!!
Then we headed to my home for the next 4 weeks. Once I said my goodbyes and unpacked, it was quiet, and a little bit lonely. Michelle had gotten some food for me and dropped it off prior which was a godsend! I went for a walk along the beach and checked out the place. Now where I am is out of town on the beaches so I have the beach at my door, but the town is about an hour walk away. I don’t have a car so it made it a little difficult. The apartments are quiet and there isn’t much tourism in Bowen. Majority of accommodation is booked out by the miners working in the local area, QR rail who do construction and the Grey Nomads. They usually come caravan in tow (I was shocked to learn today that some of them actually book out caravan spaces for 30year blocks..WTF) Night time was even more lonely being the only person staying here (not even the owners live on site) I, for the first time felt really alone and a little bit scared. There were a lot of animals outside my window making strange noises and I think I slept holding my mobile phone.
Sundays like Ayr are quiet and a lot of places are closed, I was thankful Michelle came to pick me up and took me out shopping at IGA (Yay a shop open) with her mum and aunty, I got to discuss the project with Michelle a bit more and have a general chat and get to know her. That afternoon was a Music festival type thing which was a fundraiser for the local PCYC which Girudala (my new company to work for) would be catering a BBQ for, so with nothing else to do (apart from walk along the beach which I did for 2 hours) I offered to help. I got to meet more locals and spent 4 hours making sausage sandwiches, hamburgers and steak sangas. The performances included Elvis impersonators, Grease acts, Austin Powers act (not sure that one was kid friendly) and finally a band. The music was great the people were so welcoming and made the afternoon go so quickly. Front beach as it is 
known is lovely. The money which was made from “Australia” being filmed was used by the council to do it up, so it does look amazing! I crashed early (after having not slept the night before and being worn out from cooking, although I was still the only person staying here) and ready myself for Monday. 
Life is all about challenges
Michelle picks me up every day and drops me home, she makes sure I have plenty of food (so mum yes I am looking after myself). I’ve already met some amazing people in Bowen. Girudala is a large and pretty established organisation. They deal with a number of areas such as:
Housing – they buy houses and then rent it back to members of the community at a % of the market rent rates. During the rental period they help teach people responsible money handling and eventually hope to have the tenant buy the house and manage the finances through the skills they have learned. Once the house is sold they reinvest and start the process over again.
Eldery Care – they hold regular programs to involve the elderly and help them get out and about. They look after things like nutrition, medical and general well-being. They are also starting to build block of 8 units which will house some of the elderly a bit like a nursing home but it won’t be clinical it’s just a trial and the vision is to increase this to more. The idea behind it is to encourage them to all look out for each other and allow them to live in a closer proximity without being in an actual nursing home.
Youth program – they also are huge promoters of childhood health. They have program offices to look after nutrition and sports programs to help them get active to cut the amount of childhood obesity.
Health Centre – they have established a health clinic to try and cope with the increasing need for medical facilities in the community. They have locum drs who come in and out and are in the process of securing a FT perm dr in September. Through this they also provide healthy living programs, along with support for any kind of drug and alcohol abuse.
Employment support – they also have an officer who looks after employment and training of people in the community. They can come and see her and she can help them get into tafe courses to better their education and helps with basic job roles and requirements
Financial support – they have people who can help with general finances and budgets.
Then there’s the café – this is one of their revenue generating arms which they are hoping will generate enough profits to then be able to implement even more programs to go back into the community. The café is what I have come up here for as my primary objective. I am working with the manager and exchanging what management and leadership skills I have and imparting them onto her to help make the café more productive. What I am also helping with is how do we make the café profitable. Having no hospitality experience I wasn’t too sure what I could offer apart from being able to teach her how to coach her staff to be more efficient, provide better customer experience and be more engaged. I thought the program was going pretty well, Renee the manager was already getting into performance discussions after having no idea what one is, and we were starting to talk about the important of regular one on ones and feedback sessions. (I have taken the great knowledge that Optus has invested in me in terms of my own leadership capabilities and am thankful for some amazing managers who have as I have learned in the last week provided me invaluable knowledge which you will be glad to know is being passed on to others to help them) then, Yesterday the word strategy planning came up. I have to say it freaked me out. I was asked to do a strategy plan for all of the above and more… I was a little overwhelmed to say the least and thanks to everyone who answered my calls and provided me with support… just keep breathing and keep treading water seemed more than appropriate. Google searches were being done, and emails being sent to me, all very helpful but I found it so hard to put it into perspective. After another rather stressful night, this morning I woke up and strangely enough it just came to me. I was sitting down with Renee, I told her as the manager that she needs to see the café as her business (not quite a 1.5million dollar business for those who have done bootcamp) but that she needs to run it. We ran through where she would like to see it in 1 year and 2 years and worked out where it is now. We talked about the threats and opportunities, strengths and weaknesses of our ideas (thanks Ray because it made doing one ridiculously easy to explain) then started on the task of what steps we are going to take to get there. This is still in progress and at the depth we are going into will probably 
take the full 4 weeks, but together we shared the same vision and had clear outputs. We dove into the financials and again using Rays genius 5% method looked at costings for the café and OMG… I had a strategic plan. I had my first debrief with Michelle and she is really happy with how things are going. So I would say my first week although challenging is feeling pretty rewarding, and I feel like not only have I shared knowledge but already learned so much in just one week. 
Nights are still lonely, the geckos keep me company and strange animals keep making noises outside my window but I go for hour plus walks in the afternoon and have SOOOO many photos most of which made their way to facebook via instagram (the place is just a haven for beauty) I miss Mark, Ben, My friends,family, My Niece and Nephew and the weekend traditions we have and can’t wait for the 3 weeks till I can see everyone again. (I will kiss Maroubra beach when I get back) and I even miss my team but all in all I wouldn’t change a thing and am glad I was given this opportunity.
I do have a car for Easter and heading back to Ayr to see Maria (for someone I have really only known for a short period of time, gosh I missed her this week) and I get to meet her husband and we are off to charters towers, then Airlie beach on Saturday.
So signing off from what has been a crazy hectic but enriching 2 weeks and stay tuned for more to come as week 3 creeps up...
