Alice-Miranda in the Outback Read online

  ‘Worst movie I’ve ever seen,’ Sharon interrupted the girl, and rolled her eyes. ‘What were you thinking? A musical set in the outback – no one’s gonna get excited about that, not to mention it was the Grand Canyon, wasn’t it? So not even the proper outback either. And those kids almost did my head in – except the pair that were gun riders. Those girls were the only thing that didn’t make me want to poke my own eyes out.’

  Millie covered her mouth to stop herself laughing. ‘Those girls’ were her and Alice-Miranda, but she wasn’t about to say so after Sharon’s scathing assessment. The movie had received rave reviews and made a fortune at the box office, but you couldn’t please everyone. Hugh was biting his lip and trying not to laugh too.

  ‘Seeing as though you’re here,’ Sharon continued, ‘and I presume you’ve been in some other films that haven’t tanked, how ’bout a picture for the wall.’

  Lawrence had remained tight-lipped during Sharon’s appraisal. He’d found it was better in these situations to simply nod and maintain a quiet dignity.

  The woman bustled out from behind the counter and grabbed the actor, dragging him through an open door and into what looked like a bar area. The children began to follow, but Lawrence suggested they should stay put.

  ‘Things you really don’t need to see in here, kids,’ Lawrence called out.

  ‘Like what?’ Millie asked, craning her neck.

  Caps of all colours were hanging from the ceiling, and peppered among them was another unusual decorative touch – an array of bras and undies.

  Millie nudged Jacinta and cringed. ‘Did you see the size of those bloomers in there? They’re bigger than Myrtle Parker’s.’

  The adults re-emerged, Lawrence shaking Sharon from his arm.

  ‘You might not be the world’s best actor, but you are easy on the eye,’ the woman said, giving Lawrence a grin.

  The group gathered their purchases and made for the door. ‘Lovely to meet you all,’ Lawrence said through gritted teeth.

  ‘It was Hope Springs you said you were headed, wasn’t it?’ Sharon called after them.

  The family turned and nodded.

  ‘Why?’ Hugh asked.

  ‘No, nothing.’ The woman shook her head. But Alice-Miranda didn’t miss the strange look that passed between Sharon and her husband. Something had been left unsaid.

  It took until the border between the Northern Territory and South Australia to shoo all the flies out of the cars, except then Hugh and Lawrence pulled over so the group could take some photos standing beside the border sign and, quick as a flash, more swarms entered.

  Everyone wanted pictures to prove they’d tackled part of the remote wilderness of the vast Australian continent – even if, so far, they’d been driving on a tar-sealed road. That would change once they headed north-east of Coober Pedy.

  The trip had come as a surprise to the children, who had just started school holidays. When Hugh had called his old friend Barnaby, only to be told that the man was literally running Hope Springs on his own at the moment – including looking after Hayden and Larry – it had given Hugh an idea. He could afford to take a few weeks off, and there was something about the Australian outback that he couldn’t resist.

  His brother-in-law, Lawrence, had just wrapped filming on a big superhero movie and joined Charlotte, Lucas and the twins at Highton Hall for a break. When Hugh suggested the trip, Lawrence had jumped at the chance. Charlotte decided that she would stay put with Marcus and Imogen and spend some time with Granny Valentina.

  Jacinta had been staying with Alice-Miranda while her mother, Ambrosia, was away covering Fashion Week in Milan with Alice-Miranda’s mother, Cecelia, who was doing the buying for the next Highton’s Collection. Both women were happy to sit out the dusty holiday. Once the plans were in place, Alice-Miranda had called Millie’s parents. Hamish and Pippa, who had both enjoyed outback experiences of their own in their early twenties, were more than happy for their girl to go along.

  ‘I haven’t seen Uncle Barnaby and Aunt Evie for such a long time,’ Alice-Miranda said as Hugh pulled out onto the highway. ‘I probably wasn’t much more than six.’

  The last time the families had been together was in Singapore, when they had each been taking a few days break after separate business trips. The Lewises hadn’t brought their children, though, so while Alice-Miranda had heard a lot about Hayden and Larry, she’d only ever met them when she was very little and couldn’t remember much.

  Hugh and Barnaby had known each other since high school, when Hugh had spent a year on exchange at Barnaby’s boarding school. The pair were roommates and had hit it off immediately. Hugh had then gone to stay at Hope Springs for eight months during his gap year. These days he made a point of phoning his friend at least once every few months – the outback was a harsh place to raise a family and although Barnaby was an accomplished grazier and stockman, Hugh kept in touch as often as he could. He remembered the isolation well. He’d been a bit remiss with the communication lately though, and was very glad that he’d called when he did.

  Back on the highway, Millie was making it her mission to rid the car of its most recent throng of freeloaders. ‘Get out of here.’ She swatted at another fly that had landed on the top of the drink bottle she was balancing on her thigh while reading from her outback guide book.

  ‘It says that Coober Pedy is the largest opal mining area in the world. It’s got such a harsh climate that most people prefer to live in caves bored into the hillsides called dugouts. Temperatures frequently exceed forty degrees Celsius, with little rain. Sounds horrible.’

  ‘We’ll be okay,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘We’re staying at a place called Dinky Di’s Dugout – it looks cool.’

  ‘I hope so,’ Hugh said. ‘I remember how hot it was when I was living on Hope Springs. We’ve definitely come at the best time of year. Winter is far more preferable to summer, and it will still be warm anyway.’

  ‘Great. I really don’t want to get sunburnt and add any more freckles to my nose,’ Millie said, as she coaxed another fly to the top of the window, quickly putting the glass down just a smidge to shoo it out.

  The red, flat landscape hadn’t really changed much for miles, although there seemed to be an increasing amount of road kill the closer they got to Coober Pedy. Bloated kangaroos and even the odd emu dotted the highway verges and the roadway.

  ‘Look at that eagle.’ Millie pointed at a bird standing atop a dead kangaroo in the centre of the road. It was tearing at the animal’s flesh and didn’t seem remotely concerned about the oncoming car, waiting until the last second before it flapped its giant wings and lifted into the sky.

  In the vehicle behind them, Jacinta sat in the centre of the back seat, staring at the road.

  ‘Whoa!’ she gasped. ‘That must be one of those pterodactyls Millie saw earlier! I thought they were extinct but she was right – they’re real.’

  Lawrence turned and grinned at his son.

  ‘Should we tell her?’ Lucas whispered.

  Lawrence arched an eyebrow. ‘Let’s not spoil things just yet.’

  Fortunately Jacinta wasn’t paying the least bit of attention to Lucas and his father. She’d turned her head and was staring out the dusty rear window of the car to watch the bird land back on the roo behind them.

  ‘Wait until I tell Mummy.’ She shook her head in wonder.

  In the car ahead, Alice-Miranda opened the map of South Australia on her knees and ran her finger along the road. ‘The dog fence must be coming up soon.’

  ‘I just read about that in my guide book,’ Millie said. ‘It’s amazing to think that it runs all the way from the coast of South Australia through the outback along the New South Wales border and almost to the coast of Queensland. Here,’ she flipped back to the page and read. ‘It was finished in 1885 and is 5614 kilometres long. Twenty-three people patrol it in 300 kilometre sections.’

  ‘Does it really keep the dingoes out?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

 
; Hugh nodded. ‘There are stories of stations losing thousands of sheep a year before the fence was finished. It’s not perfect, but I imagine it helps considerably. Most of the dingoes stay north of the fence. I know Barnaby still has trouble with wild dogs at Hope Springs, though. I guess when you’re dealing with such vast tracts of land it’s impossible to know exactly what animals are out here.’

  ‘Or people,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  Millie leaned forward in her seat. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, when you live on a property that’s something like a million acres it would be hard to keep track of everyone who passed through. There are entire countries that are smaller than that. We think Highton Hall is pretty big, but it’s tiny compared to things here.’

  ‘True,’ Millie said. ‘Who else lives out there apart from the Lewises, Hugh?’

  ‘Molly and Ralph help take care of the place with two of their sons and a daughter-in-law. It’s only a handful of staff compared to the old days, though. There are photographs of times when they had more than fifty men working the property on horses, but motorbikes and helicopters have replaced much of the manpower now.’

  ‘Will we get to do some mustering?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  Her father nodded. ‘Sure will. Molly and Ralph and their family are away on Sorry Business and Barnaby’s not sure when they’ll be back. He can’t get that job done on his own – it takes a team to bring the cattle in.’

  ‘What’s Sorry Business?’ Millie asked.

  ‘It’s a time of mourning where Indigenous people attend funerals or participate in other cultural events when someone dies or there is a great sadness. Families and the community get together to make sure that a loved one’s spirit is properly put to rest,’ Hugh said. ‘It’s very important.’

  ‘Do you know what Molly and Ralph’s Sorry Business is about?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  Hugh glanced across at his daughter. ‘Ralph’s uncle passed away. He was a highly regarded Elder in the community.’

  For a few moments the car fell silent.

  Alice-Miranda finally spoke. ‘I think Sorry Business is a good name for times like that.’

  ‘Yeah, me too,’ Millie agreed. She was staring out of the window and spotted a small sign just in front of them. ‘Hey, that’s the dog fence.’

  Hugh braked hard and pulled off the road. Fortunately Lawrence had plenty of time to come to a stop alongside.

  ‘It’s a wonder people don’t shoot straight past,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  Given the skid marks on the road, apparently lots of drivers did.

  The sign was not much more than an old white piece of sheet metal with a handwritten explanation. It stood on two skinny metal posts and there were two discarded tyres in front.

  ‘How come it says that it’s 9600 kilometres long?’ Millie asked. ‘The guide book says it’s only 5614.’

  Alice-Miranda shrugged. ‘We’ll have to do some more research. Either way, that’s still a very long fence,’ the girl said.

  There was a crackle of static through the radio.

  ‘Ridley One to KJ One – anyone want to get out?’ Lawrence asked. ‘I’m not keen about filling the car with flies. Over.’

  ‘I agree,’ Millie said. ‘I’ve only just got rid of the last lot.’ She picked up her camera from the back seat and passed it to Alice-Miranda.

  Hugh took the handset from the cradle. ‘KJ One to Ridley One, photo from inside the vehicle on this occasion. Wimps in here don’t want to deal with flies again either. Over.’

  Lucas and Jacinta gave a thumbs up while Alice-Miranda snapped several shots.

  Lawrence and Hugh nodded at one another and they set off again. There was thirty kilometres to go until Coober Pedy and, although the drive hadn’t been as arduous as Hugh had predicted, they had been on the road for almost eight hours.

  It wasn’t long before Hugh turned left off the highway, just past an antiquated truck sitting atop a metal frame with a sign that told them they’d reached their destination. Hugh explained to the girls that the truck was called a blower, even though its job was more like a giant vacuum unit. There was an array of other interesting signs too – warning visitors about the dangers of mine areas and the penalties for entering claims uninvited.

  Unlike Kulgera, which only had the roadhouse with the pub and some accommodation, a police station and other disused outbuildings, Coober Pedy was a proper town. There were plenty of houses above ground, with huge square air-conditioning units balanced on their tin roofs. Mismatched corrugated iron fences divided the properties. There was no grass except for at the school, next to the town swimming pool, and the trees were mostly small and scrubby looking.

  ‘I thought people lived underground out here,’ Millie said, wondering where those dwellings were. ‘It all looks pretty normal to me.’

  ‘You’d think that, wouldn’t you,’ Hugh said. ‘But believe me, they’re here. You just have to know what to look for.’

  ‘I think that’s one!’ Alice-Miranda exclaimed, pointing to an enclosed porch, with a front door and small window beside it, that looked as if someone had tacked it onto the front of a cliff face.

  They passed another structure that appeared to be a tiny shed, but it was so narrow it had to lead to a dugout behind.

  ‘What a strange place,’ Millie said. ‘And where are the mines?’

  ‘All over,’ Hugh replied. ‘You never walk backwards in Coober Pedy, or you might find yourself down a disused shaft. See those conical mounds of earth,’ he pointed towards the edge of town, where the landscape was dotted with them. ‘They’re called mullock heaps – that’s the dirt and rock that’s been pulled out of the ground. If that’s how much earth is on the surface, you can only imagine how many holes there are.’

  Millie’s eyebrows shot up as she surveyed the odd landscape.

  Hugh drove to the main street and pulled into a parking space outside a row of shops, several of them dedicated to opals. Across the road was a supermarket, the post office and a hardware store.

  ‘Can we get something to eat?’ Alice-Miranda asked. The hamburger at Kulgera seemed a long time ago.

  ‘Perhaps we’ll see if the bakery has anything for afternoon tea. We can have an early dinner too – I hear The Outback Bar and Grill is the place to go,’ Hugh said. ‘But before that, I was thinking we might head up the hill and see if we can find old Sprocket.’

  ‘Who’s that?’ Millie asked.

  ‘You’ll see,’ Hugh said with a grin.

  A short while later, the family set off to the outskirts of town full of vanilla slices and lamingtons, as well as milkshakes for the children and coffee for Hugh and Lawrence. On the way to Sprocket’s, they saw mullock heaps everywhere, and strange cylinders with little hats that Hugh explained were ventilation shafts for the mines and dugouts.

  ‘So how do you know this person, Hugh?’ Millie asked.

  The man made a left turn and drove slowly along the roadway, obviously looking for something.

  ‘Sprocket saved my life,’ Hugh said.

  Alice-Miranda’s eyebrows jumped up. She couldn’t remember ever having heard this story before.

  ‘How?’ the child asked. ‘You didn’t fall down a mine shaft did you?’

  ‘Something like that. But best leave Sprocket to tell the story. He’s much better at it than I am,’ Hugh said, a glint in his eye. ‘Ah, here we are.’ He pointed at a sign that said ‘Sprocket’s Hideaway’ and made a right turn into a gravel driveway that wound up onto a small plateau. Hugh backed the car beside an old truck and a tractor. Lawrence pulled in next to them.

  Opposite the cars, built into the side of the rock was a tiny, crooked tin shed with a flat roof and front door. Alice-Miranda thought there must be a dugout on the other side. It was so small, she couldn’t imagine more than a couple of people could fit within its walls.

  ‘Shouldn’t you have called first?’ Alice-Miranda asked. ‘Mummy wouldn’t approve of us arriving unannounce
d. What if Mr Sprocket’s busy?’

  Hugh opened his mouth to reply when suddenly the plateau was shaken by a loud explosion. A plume of rocks and dust flew into the sky, debris crashing onto the top of the shed while more rained down in front of the cars. It was lucky only some small pieces of grit hit the bonnets.

  Seconds later, a skinny, bearded figure dressed in a blue singlet and shorts, and with a bright orange terry towelling hat, came running over the top of a mullock heap. He had thongs on his feet and his weedy limbs were the colour of snow, as if they’d rarely seen the sun.

  ‘You little ripper!’ he shouted punching the air. ‘What a bewdy!’

  Apparently he hadn’t spotted the two Landcruisers or the bemused occupants watching his antics from inside. He hurried over to inspect a fist-sized lump of rock that had ricocheted off the top of the shed. ‘Maybe one less stick next time – don’t want to put a hole in the roof.’

  Hugh opened the car door and stepped out.

  ‘Sprocket!’ he called.

  The man stuck his fingers in his ears and gave them a jiggle. Perhaps the explosion had affected his hearing.

  Hugh turned back to the girls and smiled then walked closer to the man who was now parading around like an emu, picking up the rocks that had plummeted and closely inspecting each one before throwing them away again.

  ‘Do you think he’s looking for opals?’ Millie asked. ‘Is it that easy to find them?’

  Alice-Miranda shrugged. ‘He’s certainly looking for something.’

  ‘Hello Sprocket,’ Hugh called again. This time the man spun around and immediately fell backwards to the ground, his legs lifting to the sky as if he’d fainted.

  Alice-Miranda leapt out of the car and ran towards her father.

  ‘Daddy, is he all right? Should we call an ambulance?’ She knelt beside the man.

  Hugh winked and shook his head. Curiously, Sprocket opened one eye for about three seconds before closing it and opening the other. Alice-Miranda was stunned to see they were the most dazzling shade of blue. Then he squeezed both eyes shut, opened them and sat bolt upright.