Kakadu Calling (3 page)

One weekend, Namanji and Bulak were told that their uncle and aunty and cousins were coming in from their inland outstation to visit. When the boys' mother said that they would need more food, Namanji and Bulak decided to take their canoe out
and go fishing. They grabbed their fishing lines, a knife and a bottle of water, and put them into a plastic bucket at the front of their canoe. Bulak also packed his three-pronged spear.

Namanji said, ‘We'll take one paddle as we won't be going too far, only just around the point.'

Everyone from the community went down to the beach to see the boys off, and they were all laughing and splashing in the water.

‘Goodbye,' called their father, ‘and bring home plenty of fish.'

Namanji paddled and paddled, until they were able to steer the canoe past the point, and they could no longer see the houses back on the shoreline.

‘We'll fish near the reef,' said Namanji. ‘I've got some hermit crabs for bait, and when we've caught some small fish, we'll cut them up, and use them to catch some really big fish.'

‘Alright,' agreed Bulak.

Namanji threw a hand line in, and almost at once caught a small parrot fish. He killed it and cut it up. He then put a piece of bait on a line for Bulak and one for himself. Bulak was the first to get a bite and he gave a sharp tug. He started to pull his line in.

‘Oh boy! Look, Namanji! It's a nice rock cod. We'll keep this one,' he said.

Namanji still wasn't getting any bites and then Bulak caught a nice snapper.

Bulak was getting excited and he said to Namanji, ‘I don't think you'll catch any more fish today.'

No sooner had Bulak spoken, than the line went running through Namanji's hand, and the
reel was spinning in the bottom of the canoe. The line was burning Namanji's hand and as he bent down to get the reel, he knocked the paddle over the side and into the water.

‘Grab the paddle!' Namanji yelled to Bulak.

Bulak couldn't get to it quick enough and already the fish was pulling the canoe a long way off the reef.

‘What do we do?' cried Bulak.

‘We'll have to see which way we're going. If we go further out, then I'll have to cut the line,' yelled Namanji.

Nearly five minutes passed, and the fish was still racing through the water. Namanji grabbed the knife and cut the line. Finally the canoe slowed down and then stopped.

‘I would've liked to have seen what kind of fish it was,' said Namanji, almost out of breath, ‘but somehow I think it was a shark.'

The brothers had now lost their only paddle. They hoped that other people were out fishing and could see them drifting. If they weren't back by lateafternoon, their family would know something had happened and a search would begin.

The brothers didn't fish anymore. There was no point because any fish they caught would just go bad and be wasted. In the distance, they could see a shower of rain on the horizon with big, black clouds. The rain quickly swept in and at first it cooled them down, but after a while they began to feel cold.

‘It's alright, Bulak,' said Namanji, his teeth chattering, ‘I don't think it'll last very long.'

Suddenly Bulak looked over Namanji's shoulder, and with a shaky voice he asked his older brother, ‘What's that?'

Namanji spun around and what he saw frightened him. It was a waterspout. The wind was sucking up the water and whirling it high into the air.

‘Keep your head down and don't look. It's a waterspout!' shouted Namanji.

He too put his head down between his knees, hoping that this massive water twister would go away. The rain was coming down harder, and the canoe was rocking from side to side.

Bulak was really frightened now, and said to Namanji, ‘If we tip into the sea, don't leave me! Promise me, Namanji!'

‘I promise,' cried his older brother. ‘We'll swim together, but right now, Bulak, we've got to get this water out of the canoe.'

He pointed to the two baler shells lying on the floor of the canoe. ‘Grab them, Bulak. It's time to start bailing.'

They bailed and bailed and bailed. When Namanji finally looked up he saw the waterspout had moved a long way out.

‘Hey, Bulak, you can stop now,' said Namanji.

‘I'm glad. I had my eyes closed the whole time, I was so scared.'

‘Yes,' said Namanji, ‘me too. But I think we'll be all right now because the wind is blowing us towards that beach.'

Away in the distance they could see the outline of a small island on the horizon.

The two brothers used their hands to paddle, and some time later they made it to the shoreline. They were exhausted, but very happy to be back on the land. They pulled the canoe up high on the beach so the tide couldn't take it, and then they collapsed
onto the sand under a casuarina tree.

Keeping an eye on the canoe, they wondered if their family had started to worry for them. They knew it was wise to stay on the beach until their family arrived.

‘Well,' said Namanji, ‘we're on land and we know how to find water.'

‘Yes,' said Bulak. ‘Now we really do have to look after ourselves.'

The rain began to ease off and Namanji could see some blue sky in the distance.

‘I think it will be fine tomorrow,' he said, ‘but for tonight we just have to drink water, no fish, because the wood is too wet.'

The brothers climbed over a sandhill and found some pandanus palms growing in a hollow, near the treeline. They dug into the hollow and soon water started to seep to the surface. They filled their bottle and returned to the casuarina tree, promising each other not to talk about food until
the morning. They made themselves comfortable on the cool sand and lay down to sleep.

The next morning a soft breeze was blowing and the sea was calm. The brothers chose the highest sandhill they could find and climbed to the top. When they looked around, they could see their island away in the distance. They couldn't see their community though, because that was located on the other side of the island.

‘We must gather lots of wood to make a fire with smoke,' said Namanji to his brother.

They collected wood, grass and green leaves and laid them in a big pile on top of the sandhill.

‘How are we going to light it?' asked Bulak, with a worried voice. He was still feeling a bit shaky after seeing the waterspout the day before.

‘I'll show you,' answered Namanji. ‘Go get the knife from the canoe while I look for some wood to make firesticks.'