Whatever Happened to Storm Boy?

We're in the Coorong. I'm writing as I watch pelicans fly over my head in formation. We're staying in the National Park for $12 a night not that anyone's checking. Off the grid and the battery is holding up fine thank you Tony.

We left Robe and headed straight to Kingston, for Larry the Lobster, first of our Big Things. Skate park and monkey bars all deemed more than satisfactory. By 2:30 we were in Meningie hoping for some good advice re camping. None was forth coming, so we reverted to Tony's Tightarse Camping Book #5 (TTCB5). It sent us to Long Point. Long point was a depressing, windy, exposed spit of land so we left and headed back south to Parnka Point.

Spectacular. Birds everywhere. Sun setting over the sand dunes. Water views and only a couple of neighbours. Sara was coming good, and things seemed back on track. Unfortunately, the migraine came back with a vengeance, and she spent most of the next 2 days in the van. At least it was quiet.

The kids and I went hiking. We paddled the boards across the lagoon to the dunes, and traversed them until we reached the ocean. Phenomenal waves, but needed Bill Fry or Presnell to take me out there, certainly not benign. In the afternoons we drove into Meningie and swam in the lake. The kids attempted to stalk an egret. Despite Sara being so sick, they had a great time. Unfortunately I couldn't escape the sadness that the Coorong seemed to create.

The Coorong is a series of lagoons that run south from where the Murray River enters the sea. With overuse of the water and poor farming practice, it has become increasingly saline, with the river mouth requiring dredging up until the recent floods. I was aware of this. I was not aware that it has been a problem since the 1880's. I only found out the fact that this has been going on for over 120 years because I read an obscure history post in Meningie.

The lack of local information and local guides was all too apparent. We tried to visit an advertised indigenous cultural centre only to find it boarded up and shut down without any indication as to why. Surely if something needs to be done, educating others is paramount so that our vote might support local attempts to restore the balance, and our wallets might help the local economy. The place seemed resigned to its fate, which is a damned shame because despite it's desolation, it was breathtakingly beautiful.