What are they doing? Why are they heading for us? Do they want to warn us about something? Are we in danger?
It’s balmy December, so two of the Curious team head south for the Summer on art retreat, Shakthi is working on the up-coming Sri Lanka play, and Aimee is working on animations for an ASI film clip.
We’re headed way south, leaving the mainland for some quiet, creative time on the east coast of Tasmania. Perhaps it’s a sign that we’ve been in the city too long when every part of this place seems to be a snapshot of what someone imagined their paradise to be. By degrees, nature has its way with you, and you start to feel that you belong here.
Those are the times when the South Pole doesn’t slap you in the face – but I’ve come to quite enjoy that shock too.
Just out of St Mary’s, amongst the forest, in the mountains that look out to the ocean below is Rainbow Retreat, where we’re working. Greeted by three rambunctious, road-bombing wombats (Angie, Walter and Germaine) and a swath of wallabies, the Retreat is run by Peter and Ian who take care of injured native wildlife and operate the whole place on solar power, tank water and gas. Good stuff.
Last Sunday, Shakthi and I went in search of beach – even in the brisk new Tasmanian Summer – we wanted to swim. The locals don’t seem to share our enthusiasm, or perhaps imagine we’re a little crazy. In the Northern-most part of the Bay of Fires, we found it. Paradise. Immense, talcum-powder soft, bone-white dunes rolling gently down to acid-trip azure water in a beach that stretched for miles flanked by red-dusted boulders. Not a soul to be found in any direction. Just some watchful birds protecting nests in the dunes.
The water was like the sand – soft, light and glorious! Pure ocean. Bloody cold. As Shakthi put it (as the cold worked through his body) “worth not having children for”. We both confessed this was the best beach we’d ever swam at – and this coming from a man who’s Mother-land is Sri Lanka! Life was good.
Then came the aliens.
A red vessel appeared on the horizon as we swam. You may call it a boat. But it was a space-ship. Shakthi and I paused our splendour in the water to gaze at this vessel that appeared now to be heading straight for us! All manner of questions ran between us.
What are they doing? Why are they heading for us? Do they want to warn us about something? Are we in danger? Is there something wrong with the water? Maybe they think we’re crazy and want to find out what kind of hooligans we are? Maybe they just wanna say g’day? Do they want to spoil our fun? Are they lonely at sea and need some human contact? Do they want to hurt us? Are they cannibals? Maybe they wanna swim too? Do they want to shoot us and spoil our home? Would they dance with us? Do they want to bring their space-ship ashore?
These questions rang old little bells. I thought “Perhaps this is something towards what it felt like to be one of the First Locals come 1788?” The space ship dropped anchor what seemed like only meters away from us as we stood still gazing fixedly, wondering. A few bodies could be seen moving about on deck, but gave no signal as to their intention. We pulled ourselves from the water and moved back through the powder dunes, left the red space-ship there to itself, floating in the blue.
Big thanks to all who turned out for the August Twist, what an excellent night, eh?! Details for the next one:
8-11 pm, Wednesday 13 October 2010
402/11 Randle St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Pop it in your diaries!