YOU CALL THAT A TRIP?

Tammie recently took a trip back to Canada to catch up with the girls and carry out a few Canadian domestic chores. Tammie was only gone for 12 days and a whole chunk of that time was taken up in travelling.

This is how Tammie travelled to Canada and back to Tennant Creek, Northern Territory.

An early morning, 5am start for the 525 kilometre road trip to Alice Springs. It was still dark until 7am so you have to drive carefully as kangaroo’s, camels and other critters just love to stroll onto the road in front of speeding cars.

Arrive in Alice Springs after a four and a half hour plus drive pooped. No respite though as Tammie has to wait in a crowded Alice airport for her 3 hour Qantas flight to Melbourne.

 

Another wait and Tammie boards V Australia, to take her to Los Angeles. The plane is almost full so no room to spread out. The service is fine and Tammie is happy with the flight.

The happiness was short lived. Tammie had just 2 hours to alight from the aircraft and clear American Immigration and Customs....No Way.  As is usual at LAX the line up of people was horrendous and the pace was slow. When you arrive through LAX you can never say it is a pleasant experience as the US officers are generally rude and aggressive. Welcome to the USA!

Needless to say Tammie missed her connecting flight to Vancouver and had to not only reschedule her onwards journey but the returns flights as well. What a pain in the butt not to mention the costs involved.

So Tammie had a six hour wait in LAX, not the most user friendly airport anywhere.

Finally it was time to board the  Alaska Airlines flight to Vancouver a little under 3 hours from LAX.  Alaska Airlines have a reasonably good reputation for a US airline but even so they aren’t all that flash.

What a relief to get to Canada and to be greeted by “nice Canadians.” Tammie was back home but still had a journey in front of her.

A couple of hours wait in Vancouver Airport one of the nicest airports in the world, before boarding an Air Canada Jazz for the 50 minute flight to Kelowna. This is just a small commuter aircraft that makes the short hop across the Rocky Mountains.

Tammie landed in Kelowna late in the evening and then had to get a hire car and drive 100 kilometres to Okanagan Falls, British Columbia.

The journey was over some 40+ hours after it started. And the lucky girl that she is, she gets to do it all again in 10 days time the only variation being that she flew Westjet to Vancouver.

After arriving back in Alice Springs Tammie had to do a dash to Tennant Creek in the car as we had tickets booked for La Traviata. Yes, the Australian Opera was in Tennant Creek for a one off performance.

FROM THIS:

TO THIS;

DINGO FACTS

Often when we are out with the dingoes we see people stop and stare at them and we know what is running through their minds, “are they dingoes?” Those that are more inquisitive will actually ask what they are. When we inform them that they are dingo pups the people are very surprised.

Then the questions flow: “Are you allowed to keep them?” “Are they vicious?” “What are they like to live with?”  And so it goes.

Here are a few quick dingo facts:

·    Dingoes cannot bark - but they can howl.

• Dingoes have unique wrists in the canine world, capable of rotation. This enables dingoes to use their paws like hands and turn door knobs. Their ability to go where other dogs can't means dingoes can cause more problems for humans than other wild members of the dog family can.
• A dingo can turn its head through almost 180 degrees in each direction.
• Dingoes have permanently erect ears.
• The plural of dingo is dingoes, not dingos.
• Male dingoes are larger than females. Males weigh 26 to 43 pounds (12 to 20 kg) and females weigh 21 to 35 pounds.
• Most Australian dingoes are ginger-coloured or sandy coloured with white chests. There are also dark coloured dingoes.
• Wild dingoes can live for up to ten years but usually live for more like five or six years.

• Dingoes cared for by people can live up to 15 years or more.
• Domestication of dingoes has been difficult. Dingoes are intelligent animals. They are more independent and harder to train than other dogs.
• Dingoes have larger canine teeth than domestic dogs.
• Wild Australian dingoes kill and eat prey ranging in size from small lizards, birds and rodents up to sheep and kangaroos. They will also scavenge carrion.
• The days of the pure dingo may be numbered. Dingoes are increasingly mating with feral domestic dogs. Some of the genetically purest dingoes live on Fraser Island in Queensland.
• Dingoes breed once a year.
• Australian dingoes mate in autumn.
• Dingoes' gestation period is two months.
• Dingoes produce one litter of pups each year.
• Dingo litter sizes range between one and ten pups. The average number of pups born is five or six.
• The dominant female dingo kills any pups born to other females in a dingo pack.
• Pack members help care for the pups of the dominant dingo pair.
• At around 8 weeks old, pups are weaned onto solid food, often consisting of regurgitated meat.

The important thing to remember is that dingoes are not dogs, they are a separate species. The dingo (Canis lupus dingo) probably descended from the Indian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes). Studies of dingo skeletons suggest they are very similar to Indian pariah dogs and wolves. Australian dingo skulls are between those of dogs and wolves.
Dingoes appear to be somewhere between wolves and dogs. This makes it possible that dingoes are the descendants of one of man's early attempts to domesticate wolves.

WORK DINGOES

So what do you do with two 9 week old dingoes when you have to go to work? Simple you take them with you! 

The two dingo pups were still skittish, they jumped, ran and hid at every noise, movement and shadow. I suppose this is understandable as each had a wild born parent and no doubt in the wild a dingo pup would run and hide at any hint of danger. 



So off I went to work, dingoes in tow. As always once in the front seat of my truck they crawled under the seat to hide. I had a hell of a time getting them both out from under the seat especially the male Jampin as he was squeezed in tight. 

So with a dingo under each arm I strode into my office and introduced them both to my colleague. I placed the pups on the floor and they immediately bolted and hid under my desk.

I am employed as the Training and Employment Services Manager in a large Aboriginal Corporation in Tennant Creek. My job is to source training and educational courses for the local Aboriginal people. My office is situated in a construction yard a place where Aboriginal people who are engaged on Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) gather to work. I have a downstairs office in a prefabricated house. Just perfect for dingoes! 

The pups hardly appeared all day, they continually jumped at every noise and were wary of my workmate. It was only after everyone had gone home and the noise had subsided that they warily ventured out. 

As the days passed they became braver, well Galli the female did, she would venture out to have a snack and late in the afternoon she would visit the small garden outside my office.

We had been feeding a stray cat for a while and no doubt this feline was somewhat affronted by having to share space with two inquisitive dingo pups. The first time the cat came into the office Galli approached her tail wagging hopefully, she attempted to plant a big lick on the cat’s nose and was duly rewarded with a swipe across the face. Galli let out a loud and terrified yelp and bolted back under my desk.

She tried to make friends with the same cat a few days later this time trying a different tactic in approaching the cat from the rear, no doubt Galli thought that approach was safe.

Wrong! Galli received another whack across the head, the same terrified yelp ensued and she bolted back under my desk.

Dingoes are supposed to be smarter than dogs but I am not so sure as Galli has made repeated attempts to make the cats acquaintance with the same result every time. Perhaps Galli thinks that persistence, a cute face and a wagging tail will win the cat over.

The dingoes now appear to be at ease in the office they come out when people come in and want to explore outside, I long for the day when they were anchored under my desk.

LIVING WITH DINGOE'S

The dingo pups were very well behaved on their way from Alice Springs to Tennant Creek. Considering that it is a trip of 525 kilometres and they had already flown from Melbourne to Alice Springs. We stopped off at the Devils Marbles which is 100 kilometres south of Tennant Creek.

The Dingoes seemed right at home amongst the sandy-red coloured rock formations. Actually too much at home as they blended in beautifully with their surrounds. They were quick to scamper off and go to explore so Tammie and I were lead on a couple of merry chases.

We weren't quite sure what to expect when we got them home, how different would they be from domestic dogs?

Dingoes are similar to dogs in lots of ways, even though they are a separate species, Canis Lupus. I suppose the biggest difference was how skittish they appeared to be. The slightest noise would send them scurrying for cover. As both pups have a wild parent I suppose it is the wild survival instinct whereby any noise or movement can mean danger. The female though much smaller than the male is much bolder and more inquisitive. 

We had a few days to settle the pups in before both Tammie and I went back to work. We took them to the local dam to give them a run, and did they! As soon as we left them off the leash they bolted, it took some effort to round them back up.  

The male got a little too adventurous on the dam wall and fell in. I was in a flap trying to get him out, I had the camera in one hand and my phone and wallet in my pocket as it appeared I would be going for a dip as well. Tammie didn’t help by laughing wildly at my predicament. 

In the end the pup paddled to shore, well please with his effort. Dingoes are supposed to have a dislike for water but these two were more than happy to play on the water’s edge. Once again the dingoes blended in beautifully with their surrounds. They are certainly creatures of the desert country. 

The big test will come when I have to take them to work.

DINGO DAZE

When we moved back to Australia from Canada Tammie had a list of wants that she wanted to accomplish whilst here. We weren’t here for very long when she accomplished one of those by petting a wild dolphin. Another was to travel the outback. Check! We took a campervan from Cairns to Melbourne via the inland route which gave Tammie a good dose of the outback, including lots of flies, heat and bugs.

Another topic on her wish-list was to visit a dingo sanctuary that she had discovered online. The Dingo Discovery Centre is (http://www.dingodiscovery.net/index.php) located at Toolern Vale, on the outskirts of Melbourne. 

So after enquiries with the founder of the Dingo Discovery Centre, Lyn we set off to visit the Centre. Now let me state here and now that this was never my idea, I never wanted to visit the Centre, nor did I have any interest in dingoes’. But to keep the peace I agreed to the visit. That quickly turned into a mistake as we couldn’t find the Centre, I got frustrated and Tammie and I arrived at an argument. 

I said it couldn’t be found and we should turn back. Tammie said no keep looking. All of a sudden it changed. Tammie said she had had enough of my complaining so let’s go home.  

The gauntlet had been cast down. Once she said that I changed my tune and said I was going to find it and Tammie replied that even if I did she wouldn’t get out of the car. 

We’ll see I thought! 

Finally we did find the Centre and Lyn came to the car to greet us, Tammie, being a nice Canadian had no choice but to get out of the car and greet Lyn. 

The Dingo Discovery Centre is sensational!  

The Centre is nestled into a side of a hill that affords a commanding view of the valley below. We had arrived at the Centre right in the middle of breeding season so all of the Dingoes’ were slightly agitated. There was also a huge building program underway to build new kennels for the dingoes’. 

Tammie and I were lucky enough to have a guided tour of the centre and be introduced to two dingoes’ in an open enclosure. They were amazing animals, intelligent and attentive but ever so aloof.  

We both enjoyed our time at the Centre and left thinking that would be the end of our dingo adventure. 

Soon after Tammie and I commenced work with an Aboriginal organisation in Tennant Creek, Northern Territory we received an email from Lyn wanting to know if we were interested in “adopting” a dingo.  

Now didn’t that throw the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons! 

We had been contemplating a dog....perhaps. Our lifestyle is such that pets really aren’t too smart an option, but Tammie can be persuasive.  

Whist we were trying to figure out what to do Lyn came back to us and said in reality it would be better if we took two dingoes’, a male and a female as they would keep each other company and we could breed them.  

So many discussions followed, the pros and cons were laid out and finally the decision was made to go for the two dingoes’...............heaven help us!