I'm holding my clapping sticks. Also, this was the whole group plus some uncles and aunties. Breakfast from 7:30 to 9:00am, during which we have to sit with our skin groups and take care of our elders (they get food first), leads to the first full day of camp. We had a morning excursion to some Aboriginal engraving sites…but first the bus broke down so we had to wait for a new one. In the mean time, we started on our respective artifacts. The boys were to make boomerangs and the girls, clap sticks. We got to pick out our wood and start hacking. Katie Browning and I were buddies in the machete and axe combination. The object of making a clap stick is to get through all the soft wood to the hard wood that makes a nice cracking noise. Clap sticks, at least from what the positions we were in, are used to keep rhythm during dances. I suppose they could be used for communication as well. I’ve got mine made to bring home, so anyone that wants to see them just give me a shout. They’re not the best looking but they make a sweeeeet sound.
So yada yada, the bus came and we got to the engraving sites. It’s pretty cool to see them and get them explained from Aboriginal descendents themselves. There were whales, dolphins, kangaroos, emus, fish, etc. After that, we went to this small beach and some people went swimming/everyone ate lunch/played rugby on the beach with two of the uncles. Coming back we got a break time and then bam it was time for dinner. After dinner we worked on clap sticks more and then had a yarn around the fire, ending the night with a “let’s hold hands and walk around the woods in the dark on crazy trails” jaunt.
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