My final day in Darwin was fairly uneventful as I spent the day by the water in the waterfront section of the city waiting for the late night flight. I got a bus out to the airport for what is known as the read eye flight. The flight which leaves Darwin at 1.30am bound for Sydney.
I did have to stop in Sydney although it really only meant I got to read the Northern Territory papers, the Sydney papers and the Melbourne papers all in the same day. Mums car was at the airport having flown to Perth the day earlier which made it a simple trip back to Mt Martha where I got home and started organising my next trip which was to Thailand in less than two weeks time.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Arnhem Land and Darwin- Australia
Darwin seemed to be full of end of season footy trips on the weekend I spent there. With the AFL finals, rugby finals and the rugby World Cup on television the pubs were full of drunk men. I did watch the AFL but the rugby was no interest to me and I was wandering the town at night not knowing what to do when I spotted a couple of the film crew I knew from the few days earlier. They were heading to dinner to celebrate the end of the shooting of the film. I sort of invited myself along to their dinner which was at one of the most expensive restaurants in Darwin.
The crew decided we would all order a load of food and share. It was a good idea and the food was great, fish, oysters, some Thai food. As I was eating though I couldn't help but think how much it was all going to cost me. To my surprise and pleasure at the end of the night the main cameraman offered to pay for everybodys meals. What a bonus.
The following day I did not get up to much in Darwin just explored the coastal areas and set out to find the Darwin Surf Life Saving Club where one of the Mt Martha members used to patrol. I found it after visiting a couple of markets then headed for Fannie Bay goal for a quick walk through. I was too hot though to stay to long and wanted to get back to the pool at the hostel.
I spent a full day on a tour to Arnhem Land as it was somewhere I had wanted to visit but it is difficult to get to and get permission to visit unless you are on a tour. The tour left Darwin and drove through Kakadu to Arnhem Land the aboriginal owned land in the top west of Northern Territory. I booked the tour but was not really sure what it included. The drive to get there took over three hours each way and we stopped at Injalak Hill where a aboriginal guide we had collected in the local town described to us for about four hours all the different paintings we could see on the rock.
The paintings were similar to what I had seen in Kakadu although there were no barriers here to stop people from getting right up close. A couple of times I had to be careful not to brush against the paintings when squeezing between rocks.
The views from the rock were quite spectacular as well and we stopped for lunch on the side of the rock with seemingly endless views of trees and mountains. The tour also took us to the Injalak Arts Centre where we got a tour of the way aboriginal art is produced today. We met the very shy Glen Namundja whose aboriginal art is sold and displayed all over the world. The art while being produced is thrown around and left on the ground but when it enters art galleries it is only touched with gloves.
The journey back was another three hours at one point we completely ran over a small wallaby and the driver thought she had damaged the bus till we pulled into the roadhouse and got one of the guys there to check it out giving us the all clear to continue. The strange thing was where we had hit the wallaby was on the same stretch of road Campbell's tyre had blown up on the week before.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Time to be a movie star - Australia
The Sattelitte Boy shot
The big day of acting had arrived and we waited around all morning before getting the call up to go to the post office for a costume check. We needed to wear non-white, non-brandname clothing of which I had none so I stopped by Target to buy a plain blue t-shirt. Campbell took his whole wardrobe and with the help of the costume designer we found clothes which were suitable. Until getting there I had no real idea of the role I would be playing.
My role was to act as a photographer working with a journalist. I was told to take photos of the young boy, the star of the movie, while he came out of the police station with his mother. It seemed straightforward enough. The first angle was a wide angle from across the road, they filmed from opposite the road while we did our thing in front of the police station. The same shot was filmed about three times I was told to act more.
Then the cameras were moved closer in the filming began again with the camera about three metres from my face. A mix of nerves, the humidity in the enclosed location and the fact I was wearing a long sleeved short over a t-shirt with long pants made me pour with sweat. I am fairly sure if they use the close up shot in the film you will be able to see the sweat pouring from my forehead.
A couple of takes at that angle and the camera was moved again. In the final shot the camera was placed where I would have been standing so I was not needed. The whole process took a couple of hours for what I will be guessing is about ten seconds in the movie. If it makes it at all.
Campbell's scene was shot inside a Target store and he was told to act as a shopper and pick up the biggest item he could find which did not have an obvious brand name. He collected a BBQ till the director told him the branding was to obvious, then he was given a vacuum cleaner. I was waiting inside the Target store trying to watch what was going on although I did not want to get in the way.
The following day after the shoot one of the editors invited me to the production house to watch the film. I watched and was shocked how close the angle was when the camera was pointing directly at me. I said to the editor 'Wow that shows everything.' 'Wait till you see it all on the big screen when it is released next year.'
If they do use the shot I am in there is no denying it is me. For the whole couple of days I could not believe I was actually acting in a film in Kununurra. A place I had rarely even heard of before arriving.
With the fun of the film shoot over we were hired again to work a couple more days packing up the tents as the filming in Kununurra was complete.
The big day of acting had arrived and we waited around all morning before getting the call up to go to the post office for a costume check. We needed to wear non-white, non-brandname clothing of which I had none so I stopped by Target to buy a plain blue t-shirt. Campbell took his whole wardrobe and with the help of the costume designer we found clothes which were suitable. Until getting there I had no real idea of the role I would be playing. My role was to act as a photographer working with a journalist. I was told to take photos of the young boy, the star of the movie, while he came out of the police station with his mother. It seemed straightforward enough. The first angle was a wide angle from across the road, they filmed from opposite the road while we did our thing in front of the police station. The same shot was filmed about three times I was told to act more.
Then the cameras were moved closer in the filming began again with the camera about three metres from my face. A mix of nerves, the humidity in the enclosed location and the fact I was wearing a long sleeved short over a t-shirt with long pants made me pour with sweat. I am fairly sure if they use the close up shot in the film you will be able to see the sweat pouring from my forehead.
A couple of takes at that angle and the camera was moved again. In the final shot the camera was placed where I would have been standing so I was not needed. The whole process took a couple of hours for what I will be guessing is about ten seconds in the movie. If it makes it at all.
Campbell's scene was shot inside a Target store and he was told to act as a shopper and pick up the biggest item he could find which did not have an obvious brand name. He collected a BBQ till the director told him the branding was to obvious, then he was given a vacuum cleaner. I was waiting inside the Target store trying to watch what was going on although I did not want to get in the way.
The following day after the shoot one of the editors invited me to the production house to watch the film. I watched and was shocked how close the angle was when the camera was pointing directly at me. I said to the editor 'Wow that shows everything.' 'Wait till you see it all on the big screen when it is released next year.'
If they do use the shot I am in there is no denying it is me. For the whole couple of days I could not believe I was actually acting in a film in Kununurra. A place I had rarely even heard of before arriving.
With the fun of the film shoot over we were hired again to work a couple more days packing up the tents as the filming in Kununurra was complete.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Goodbye Western Australia, hello Northern Territory - Autralia
A backyard sale was set up selling tents and everything the film crew had brought and used while filming. Campbell and I had first pick though and collected a couple of good torches, a sleeping bag, a matress and a couple of chairs. I also donated a few of the not so good but still usable tents and chairs to the international backpackers who were all in Kununurra to pick fruit in order to get a second year Australian visa. If you are in Australia on a working visa and wish to stay more than twelve months you have to undertake three months work in a job and place Aussies wouldn't usually do. Many of them work in Kununurra and from all reports it is hard work but they all say it is worth it to stay in Australia the extra twelve months.
The producer of the film Satellite Boy was so happy with the week or so of work we had done for the film that she told us just before we left she would be putting our names in the credits of the film. It was an unexpected thank you and will be rather exciting if it does happen when the film is released next year.
Campbell had decided while in Kununurra he wanted to visit Mum in Broome for a couple of days where she would be to start a trip down the Western Australia coast. This left me needing to get to Darwin where I was due to fly home from but it was not too much of a hassle getting a lift. The lady who had hired us to work on the film had to drive a Maui campervan back to Darwin to return it to the hire company and she offered me a lift.
This meant the end of the trip for Campbell and I together and I said a quick goodbye, not knowing when I would see him again and climbed aboard the Maui as we started towards Darwin. I have never been in a campervan like it and it was a comfortable ride although on the first stretch of road to Katherine the petrol gauge started to drop rapidly as we were nowhere near a petrol station. Not a very good start to the journey. We decided it was best to pull to a side of the road stop and hope somebody would have a spare jerry can of diesel. Luckily after about ten minutes a well prepared couple of foreigners arrived in a similar looking campervan with a spare share of diesel. We filled up and were back on the road. For the journey everything was paid for by the film company because I was keeping the driver company which made it a really cheap way to get to Darwin.
We stopped the night in Batchelor, just south of Darwin and I slept the night in the Maui while the driver stayed in the hotel. The following morning we drove around Darwin till we found the hire company shop and dropped the Maui back.
I rode the local bus into the centre of Darwin and spotted a YHA hostel and checked in.
The producer of the film Satellite Boy was so happy with the week or so of work we had done for the film that she told us just before we left she would be putting our names in the credits of the film. It was an unexpected thank you and will be rather exciting if it does happen when the film is released next year.
Campbell had decided while in Kununurra he wanted to visit Mum in Broome for a couple of days where she would be to start a trip down the Western Australia coast. This left me needing to get to Darwin where I was due to fly home from but it was not too much of a hassle getting a lift. The lady who had hired us to work on the film had to drive a Maui campervan back to Darwin to return it to the hire company and she offered me a lift.
This meant the end of the trip for Campbell and I together and I said a quick goodbye, not knowing when I would see him again and climbed aboard the Maui as we started towards Darwin. I have never been in a campervan like it and it was a comfortable ride although on the first stretch of road to Katherine the petrol gauge started to drop rapidly as we were nowhere near a petrol station. Not a very good start to the journey. We decided it was best to pull to a side of the road stop and hope somebody would have a spare jerry can of diesel. Luckily after about ten minutes a well prepared couple of foreigners arrived in a similar looking campervan with a spare share of diesel. We filled up and were back on the road. For the journey everything was paid for by the film company because I was keeping the driver company which made it a really cheap way to get to Darwin.
We stopped the night in Batchelor, just south of Darwin and I slept the night in the Maui while the driver stayed in the hotel. The following morning we drove around Darwin till we found the hire company shop and dropped the Maui back.
I rode the local bus into the centre of Darwin and spotted a YHA hostel and checked in.
Kakadu - Australia
The Northern Territory is a big state with long drives between sights although somehow we were able to see the whole top end from Kununurra and back to Kununurra in five days. First stop was Katherine where I wanted to paddle in a kayak down the (Nitimuluk) Katherine Gorge. Due to our tight time schedule we only had a half a day so we got ourselves a couple of kayaks and started paddling. It was only a taste of the endless hours you could spend paddling the gorge, the paddle upstream was a workout but getting back we drifted the whole way with the end at our backs.In the car again and we set out for Kakadu. We entered from the south stopping at Edith Falls just outside Katherine on the way. Kakadu National Park covers 20,000 square kilometres and I read if you drive every road and walk every track you can still only see 1 per cent of the whole park. The sun was setting fast late in the day and although there was still so much to explore it was too dangerous to go driving at night so we set up camp at a spot just south of yellow water.
The sun in northern Western Austra
lia sets around 6 pm and rises somewhere around 5.30 am in September so there was no chance of a sleep in. The early sun was a good thing as we set off early and were all alone at yellow water, one of the most famous spots in Kakadu. The salt water croc swimming in the water with the eagle flying overhead and the wild brumby in the background made for an almost too perfect setting.Again we didn't stay long and made our way to the Nouralangie Rock to hear a talk about aboriginal life. The talk was undertaken by a non-aboriginal ranger which was a little disapointing as I was hoping to hear from a local. Jabiru is the main centre for Kakadu, it is the main shopping centre and where the hotels are located. There really was nothing there though and after five minutes we got back in the car and set for the Northern exit of Kakadu.
There is a crocodile jumping boat on the Adelaide River where crocs jump out of the water for food. I thought it would be quite interesting so we set to catch the last boat and were making good time till the back left tyre on the car decided to blow up. Without any warning or hitting anything the tyre exploded and Campbell swerved to get off the road with the car trailing close behind only just missing us.
I let Campbell set about fixing the tyre in the very hot afternoon sun and he got the tyre off but when doing so the whole car dropped off the jack. We were in trouble. Campbell put the jack back under the car and started winding but it did not seem to be doing anthing. There was no coverage so calling for assistance was not happening instead he stood by the side of the road and waved down the next car to see if they could assist.
It just so happened the next car was an army truck as part of a convoy and they pulled over got out and started winding the car back up and put the tyre on. The army crew were on their way to get some lunch and were not hassled by having to stop. All things back to normal and we were driving again. The croc show was now a no go and we would have to keep moving to get to Darwin before dark.
The only other stop we made was at the Humpty Doo Hotel for a drink in what is a world famous pub. I am guessing its world famous for the name rather than its location or the pub itself but I was happy to be able to say I have had a beer at the Humpty Doo Hotel.
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