Traveling With JaredHigh Culture & Pop Culture in Travel

My Day With Dangar Dave (Part III): Island Neighborhood

When you live on Dangar Island, this is your backyard!
When you live on Dangar Island, this is your backyard!

After being invited into the red and green warren that was Dangar Dave’s home, it was time to see more of this bucolic slice of paradise in New South Wales.  David, his lovely wife Rowena, and their cat, Lucy, were prepared to show me around their island neighborhood.  We began with a little trip to the beach which was just behind their home.  It just lovely.  The Hawkesbury River soon looked more like the Hawkesbury lake with the way the river just opened up as if it stretched all the way into the horizon.  The sand felt cool and not so rough.  As we walked, Dave said hello to several of his neighbors and introduced to them.  One was a sailing instructor who had a big kayak propped up against the side of his house and another were a married couple with a tinnie anchored by their shore.  Yup, it was starting to feel like I stepped into Oyster Farmer!

Someone has a tinnie in their backyard!
Someone has a tinnie in their backyard!

After hitting the beach, Dave, Rowena, and Lucy guided me through the streets of Dangar Island.  Actually, they weren’t so much streets as much as it was a blacktop walkways with a smooth surface.  I got to see all the houses, the yards, where the island keeps its small ambulance for the first responders, and even their fire department.  The weirdest part was seeing all the fire hoses hung over a tall tree branch to dry in the wind.  To combat the absence of gas stations and to keep the greenery intact, the vehicles are electronic, like golf carts, but I saw one off-road cart that I’m guessing ran on gas; most likely from a gas can that was filled up nearby at the marina which boats use to refuel.

Dangar Island Paramedics
Dangar Island Paramedics
Dangar Island Fire Dept.
Dangar Island Fire Dept.
On Dangar Island, fire hoses grow off of trees!
On Dangar Island, fire hoses grow off of trees!

During parts of our walk, Lucy was slowing down a bit and since I was bringing up the rear, I felt it necessary to keep an eye on her so she wouldn’t wander off.  After all, she is a cat!  At a point, Lucy was nestled in a shrub and I phoned David alerting him that she was taking a catnap, no pun intended.  David assured me that she’d be fine, so I pressed on.  At a certain point, Rowena and David separated and David and I went, how you say, off the beaten path.  We stomped through the bush, brushing through the branches, taking in deep breathes as we scaled to the top of Dangar Island.

"C'mon, Lucy!  C'mon!"  Apparently, I didn't realize cats were so common on the Hawkesbury!"
“C’mon, Lucy! C’mon!” Apparently, I didn’t realize cats were so common on the Hawkesbury!”

We kept hiking until we got to this big rock where David gave me a crash course in Aboriginal lore.  The rock had an engraving of what looked like a giant, crudely drawn figure-8.  David told me that the figure-8 was actually an arrow; Aboriginals traced that as a way to point down towards the river as to represent where the fishing was.  There was also a small hole dug into the rock that was used a way to collect rainwater for drinking water.  That’s something I love about Aboriginal culture: after thousands and thousands of years, elements of their presence and influence can still be seen, whether it visual symbols in the bush or communities in the Outback.

Notice the figure-8?  This engraving pointed natives to where the best fishing was.
Notice the figure-8? This engraving pointed natives to where the best fishing was.
The Hawkesbury River Bridge looks so beautiful from Dangar Island
The Hawkesbury River Bridge looks so beautiful from Dangar Island
How Aborigines collected rain for fresh water
How Aborigines collected rain for fresh water

TO BE CONTINUED…

NEXT TIME: David and I continue our journey through the Hawkesbury from the land and into the water.  From Dangar Island, we travel under the bridge to Bar Point.

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