The monster post that was

So I've written and re-written a mammoth post to try to describe the trip to the Pitjantjantjara lands but there's just too much to do it any justice.

It was an extraordinary experience. Confronting, beautiful, moving. It's difficult to believe we have places like these in this country. The lives people in these communities lead is so far removed from anything in my experience that it was quite humbling to see the problems first hand and to catch a glimpse of what European settlement has done to the Aboriginal people.

So rather than try to explain what it was like in words, here are a couple of photos that will at least give you a feel for the whole thing.

The rubbish was astonishing and confronting.

Oak Valley

It rained one night.

The most devastating thing were the kids. Such little people whose lives of almost certain destitution, ill-health and abuse seem to be mapped out already. The last weekend we were in Yalata someone estimated that there were probably 80 to 100 kids in town (most about this old) and maybe 30 adults. Their parents had left for the weekend to go to Ceduna to drink.

The lake was dry on the way out to Oak Valley, but the overnight rain made a difference.

We had a brief side trip to the Head of the Bight. The cliffs start at this point and stretch unbroken for over 800km. In the other direction was low-lying beach and dunes.