#carpentaria

Redesign of u/lofedapug's Gulf of Carpentaria flag

After years of trying to take the pressure off my reading, we're back to trying to read more! Last year I succeeded in not putting as much pressure on myself to read, but only because I neglected the hobby in the midst of illness and (mostly) anxiety about our world falling to pieces. I read less than I could have due mostly to wasted time.

In 2026, I hope to be better about using that downtime and in-between time to read, and not doom-scroll (or bite my nails, or marathon Bob's Burgers, or all of the many things I did this year in fits of anxiety vs. committing to what I wanted to do for the night).

Carpentaria by Alexis Wright is a gorgeous, epic tale about the remote town of Desperance, with Uptown in the center and ringed by the Aboriginal Pricklebush people, all on the Gulf of Carpentaria in Australia. The world of aboriginal community, oral storytelling, the Dreamtime, the landscape of Queensland, all come alive in this vivid story about Norm Phantom, his son Will, and the mine that threatens Desperance and its land.

In the middle, I got a little lost as Wright settled out of the storytelling of the Phantom family and into the main chronology of the novel. But it quickly fell into place, and the novel regained its ground. Wright's writing is lyrical and lovely. I see why her name has begun to come up for the Nobel; I'm tempted to recommend it for her just for this novel. I could feel that thick Australian humidity, hear the waves as the Phantom and Midnight family's long-standing feud goes on and Elias Smith blows in on the wake of a storm. It's just the kind of visceral, multigenerational saga I live for, with a magical realist touch and a rush of feeling. I'm obsessed. Hundreds of pages and they absolutely flew by. Will have to get to the rest of her work asap.

The Gulf of Carpentaria is located at the northern coast of __________?

A. Canada B. Russia C. Australia D. China

After fascinating travels along outback roads driving on the Stuart Hwy was very boring and not a little challenging for Lindsay with a constant stream of caravans and other traffic going north - staggering! Thank goodness we were not heading that way. By midday-early afternoon caravans are already filling the few overnight freebie parking areas. These people leave the parking areas at dawn and drive till midday or soon after to get a spot in a freebie zone! Strikes me as a strange way to travel but .....

Mataranka along the Stuart is an interesting Hwy stop with massive parking areas for trucks, road-trains, military vehicles and of course caravans; it was absolutely packed. We ate a hasty cut lunch and headed for Little Roper Stock camp (where had spent a delightful few days back in 2017) only to find it full so sadly that was that. We turned around and headed back to the Stuart Hwy and headed for Hi-Way Inn at the intersection of the Stuart and Carpentaria Hwys.

Just north of that is Daly Waters famous for its pub and other things. We’d been there before and didn’t fancy battling the crowds which we reckoned would be there. We were right! From all reports there were lines of caravans queuing from midday on. In spite of its touristy feel Daly Waters has an interesting history. John McDouall Stuart stopped there on his 3rd attempted cross the continent. He named the place because of the small creek there - when we were there 4 years ago we visited an historic tree with S (Stuart) carved into it. But more recently this was Australia’s 1st International Aerodrome as a refueling stop; the airfield is still there.

We were glad to be heading east and away from the traffic flow. They seem ominous as packs along the road and at every pull over., parked outside caravan places with spots available. Shudder! I’m a little ashamed to say that ‘grey nomads’ have a bad reputation for being mean and argumentative. Many shy away from paying caravan park fees and are always asking for discounts or complaining about the cost if things. I mean really? You want services and enjoyment you have to pay and support the communities. Enough said.

Michelle, who is based in Katherine, is an enterprising young woman taking her business to where it’s needed. She is ambitious and delightful. I wish her well.

Then we were truly heading east along the Carpentaria Hwy, sealed but extremely narrow with a fair amount of traffic going west.

It had its moment with views over the plains and fringes of pretty pink Turkey bush and splashes of brilliant yellow kapok flowers.