Before I moved to Ramingining, everyone told me about the build up. It was going to be SO hot, and the humidity would be so high I wouldn't be able to breathe properly. So I wasn't looking forward to it.
Well, I've made it much of the way through, and I'm still alive.
The heat started building up probably in August. It was starting to get to 30oC every day, although I didn't notice much change in the humidity. I was working on the Census, and outside all day, but it was definitely bearable. I started back on placement at the school at the beginning of September, and I was certainly getting hot on the way to school, but in the afternoon is when I noticed it. I got to the stage where I knew that if I walked home at the end of the school day, I would be sweaty by the end of the five minute walk. But spending most of my day in the air conditioned classroom, or at home with the fans and air conditioner on, I really didn't notice any big changes in the temperature or humidity. Until the last week.
On Monday morning, I walked to the shire office to drop off the fuel cards and money, and stood talking to the girls for only five minutes before I was dripping with sweat. After only a five minute walk, and at 7:50am! I was ok once I arrived at school and went into the cool classrooms, but this really was the point that I noticed the change. Every afternoon this week it has been sweltering, and I got sunburnt after only the five minute walk to the store. It's been 36oC every day now, and in the mornings it's already in the 30s. Most of the houses have little blow up swimming pools, with little naked kids jumping around in them every afternoon. This week I decided that Ben and I need to buy one. I can't say I've noticed any real difference in humidity, but I guess that will come in the next few months.
But today came the rain. I know that in Tassie you can have four seasons in one day, but this was different. The weather has been so predictable. The same temperature every day, and a clear blue sky. But yesterday we had a massive wind, so big that our next door neighbour Daphne said they all went outside because they were scared the house would blow down. Then today it was as normal in the morning, but by lunch I noticed some white clouds which is out of the ordinary. Within a few hours, it was dark, and the temperature dropped back down to 30oC. It just had that feel that it was going to rain. And then came the thunder. Massive claps, that scare you when you are not expecting them. At least I got used to them in the wet season, and didn't have to message Ben to see what to do. And then came the rain, and the temperature dropped even more, to 26oC.
In terms of what it means to the Yolngu people, this rain signals the change between Rarrandharr and Dhuludurr. The stories of their seasons are incredible. While our seasons are determined by the date, theirs are determined by weather patterns, and dictate the types of food they hunt for in these times. We really have a naive way of looking at things. Rharrandarr is the dry season, and the time for catching turtles, stingrays and mud crabs, and the start of the magpie geese. Moving into Dhuludurr means continuing the magpie geese hunting, but many of the other animals are not caught during this season. The water level will increase so that many of the places the used to travel to go fishing and crabbing will be under water.
Well, I've made it through the dry season, let's see how I go when this humidity starts to rise...
