The second trip I drove almost one thousand kilometres, with two extra trips to pick up and return Lilly and Jett. I need a bigger car. It was worth it; we canoed and swam, went to bed early, woke up with the sun, and didn’t look at a watch.
Scrappy Duck, my thirteen year old step daughter, kept us entertained. I was talking about farming and New Zealand, wild pigs, deer, possums, and sheep. All of these animals and more were introduced by white settlers more than two centuries ago.
SD: “So do you kill everything?”
Me: “What?”
SD: “You know, kill them and then eat them: pigs, sheep, rats.”
SD’s friend: “The Chinese eat crickets.”
Me: “What are you talking about? It’s a farm. We had ducks, chooks, turkeys, pigs, sheep, and cows, and yes we slaughtered them to eat.”
SD: “How did they get there? Did they walk across on the water?”
Me: “What?”
SD: “You know when all the land was joined and the water was shallow enough to walk over.”
Me: Stunned silence.
SD: “That’s what they taught at us at school.”
SD’s friend: “Crickets are supposed to be good for you; protein and stuff.”
One day these two young women will have children.
For more Soul Healing, visit simonhay.com.au.
The campsite.
The view from the tent.
Canoing towards the rail bridge.
Platypus country. We saw at least ten, eels, lung fish, bass, turtles, and lots of birds.
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