Outback Dentist

We spent two weeks doing dentistry in two very remote aboriginal settlements.  We had the combination of a decrepit dental van with no xray capabilities and many patients who had literally not seen a dentist ever in their lives.  Sounds bleak, but we did have an enthusiastic team (Myself, Mark and Dental Nurse Linda) and a rockin' ipod.  We spent two weeks and saw about 100 patients.  Mark and Linda tried their best to get the people in these communities out of pain.  Hygiene and preventative dentistry does not factor in this time around as there was too much other work to do.  As I said in my last blog, it was an amazing adventure and cultural experience. 

the supply plane arrives from Alice Springs

this was our front door and porch, the communities were considered unsafe at night

the VAN!!

months of red dusk took hours to clean

getting sorted for our patients

how the community deals with rubbish

Linda and Richard

depressing playground

flouride treatment

Outback Australia

Back in June Mark and I spent two weeks in outback Australia.  Mark's dental office has a contract with the Australian National Health Service to do dentistry out of van in remote aboriginal settlements a few times a year.  When this offer came up, Mark did not think twice and was ready for the adventure.  At 25 weeks pregnant I had to think a bit about if I really wanted to be riding around on dirt roads in the middle of nowhere.  But then I looked at my husband with that excited twinkle in his eye and could not say no!  On a sunny Saturday morning we flew to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory to meet up with our new dental assistant Linda, and an outback Dr. who would give us the lay of the land.  For the next two weeks we would explore the outback landscape and get to know two different aboriginal communities.  I could write chapters on this experience and there is definitely a lot to say about Australia and it's treatment of indigenous populations but for now I will let all the photos speak for themselves.  An amazing experience but we were glad to be home.  This first blog will be dedicated to the landscapes of outback.  The second will focus on the communities and dentistry.

hiking in the bush

sunset at Uluru

supplies for two weeks

outback roads

our Outback-mobile

Linda (our fabulous Dental Nurse and new BFF) and Mark

Linda chases camels..

there are over 2 million wild camels in the Outback

and it seemed like just as many car corpses as camels

sunrise at Uluru

the climbing path on Uluru (Ayers Rock)

the path around Ayers Rock, 10 kilometers

The Olgas

More of Sydney



Sydney Opera House



Ferry ride to Watson's Bay

Bondi to Bronte beach walk

Cold day at Bondi Beach

Bubbles, Hyde Park

 Birthday night, off to the Opera House

Winter in Sydney

Night shot of Sydney Opera House

Since I had another impending birthday we decided it was a good excuse for a little holiday in Sydney.  We flew to Sydney on a Wednesday and spent a very long weekend seeing the sights, taking in a play at the Opera House and enjoying the Vivid lights festival.  The Vivid festival is a series of art installations all occurring at night since they are light based.  One of the coolest parts was the images projected on to the Opera House sails.  Since it is winter here, the weather was freezing.  Luckily we had the warm Australian sunshine to keep us warm during the day. 

VIVID Festival of Lights

Night time Sydney

Yummy Japanese food

Treats from David Jones Food Hall

Our Greatest Adventure!!

In early October 2011 we will be finally be getting crew on Scholarship.  Our new crew will be very young and a little green   This new member of Scholarships team presents us with our newest and most challenging adventure so far, Parenthood!  We could not be more excited as we count down the days until our new little bub arrives to melt our hearts.