Wingellina by Tom

Wingellina is a dog dreaming place: there sure are lots of dogs (or papa pirni)! So on this school bush trip we visited a few 'dog' places, mostly represented by different coloured rocks in the landscape. We weren't allowed to get too close to the ones with scabies though! James was feeling sick so the old people did a traditional healing ceremony for him - he really seemed to feel better afterwards. Mum also had some work at the media centre so we were also able to check that out. You can too, here: http://ngmedia.org.au/

Jameson by James

We stayed with the Principal Miss Carol. She has a cute fluffy white dog called Buddy. Tom and I nearly missed out on the Jameson bush trip but there were two spare seats after all. We climbed up a rocky hill and listened to another dreamtime story about two brothers.

On the climb.

Some more friends!

Warburton by Tom

James and I are used to school at Warburton. The teachers are different this year: I had Miss M and James had another Miss Katie. In our class we had a party day because it was someone's birthday. James got a backpack of books from the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. So even though we missed out on another bush trip (that was the 5/6 class), we had a pretty good day! We even played football after school while we waited for Mum to finish her meeting (and coffee!).

Lunch stop at a waterhole on the way to Warburton. Too cold for a swim!

Tjukurla by James

We had a very long drive from Alice Springs to Tjukurla. At first we thought we might be the only kids at school that day. Luckily, five kids (six kids are in the school altogether) turned up in the end, so we had seven in total. That was enough for a bush trip. We went to some special flat rocks (the two boys dreaming) and each took a turn to lie down on them (including me and Tom). We had some lunch and then went home.

James getting some energy from the 'two brothers'.

Tom's turn!

Our new friends.

Back from the bush again!

Home to cold and dreary Melbourne again along with all of that washing which never seems to dry! James scored the captain's dessert on the plane home because the flight attendant was worried that the captain wouldn't fit behind the controls if he ate it! James also climbed a high gate to get Tom's hat at the soccer field in Alice Springs. Tom and James went to three schools this time, Warburton, Blackstone and Wingellina. They saw some old friends and made some new ones. Tom especially liked the dogs at Wingellina (it's a 'dog dreaming' place so there are lots of them). His favourite was called 'Grievous' who is a bit cheeky with the lady dogs!

Goodbye Scotland by James

I lost my tooth a few days ago and have a new smile. I also had a haircut. Tom and I have made lots of new friends in our street. We've walked around a lot (sometimes my legs have been very tired). We had a look around George Heriot's School which was the inspiration for Hogwart's. We are starting off for home tomorrow via London and Dubai and we're going to try for the First Class lounge this time!

Edinburgh by Tom

We're back in Edinburgh and we have been doing lots of WALKING (most people do here). There is a big playground quite close by (in a place called The Meadows) where we go sometimes but it's not quite as good as Coram's Fields. In Edinburgh you can buy disposable barbecues at the supermarket (basically a tin foil tray with a few coals) so there can be lots of smoke in The Meadows on warm days! We've climbed part of a hill called Arthur's Seat and walked around a nature reserve called The Braids. We caught a bus to Portobello beach which was fun, though the water was a bit cold. You can see lots from the top of a double decker bus.
Yesterday we caught the bus to The Royal Mile (don't worry, we WALKED home!) hoping to visit the
Palace of Holyroodhouse. Just as we were sitting outside a cafe waiting for our 'coronation chicken' (and wondering why there seemed to be several police people around at a loose end) who should drive by in a Rolls Royce - none other than the Queen herself! She looked me right in the eye and waved! (I expect she was taken with my hat just like all the other Edinburgh ladies...) Even though it meant the Palace was closed, it was all pretty exciting.

And, just so Pa doesn't feel left out, we took a photo of this guy...