Lulu Bell and the Sea Turtle (3 page)

Lulu woke up and peeked out through the netting. The sun was rising over the islands to the east. Dad had already started the camp fire and was boiling the billy. Rosie and Gus were still asleep. It was a beautiful day.

Lulu jumped out of bed and dressed. She wore shorts, a shirt and her favourite boots. Then she crept outside to join Dad. Breakfast was eggs and bacon cooked over the fire.

Soon Harry arrived to take Mum into Ardyaloon to meet the other artists. Mum grabbed her camera and her notebook. She wanted to take lots of photos of the artists and their work to include in the show.

‘You'd better hurry up,' Harry told Lulu. ‘Anthony is already making spears.'

Lulu jumped up. She didn't want to miss out.

Mum kissed them all goodbye. ‘Have a fun day. I'll see you this afternoon.'

‘Bye, Mum,' called Lulu. ‘Good luck.'

Mum and Harry drove off in Harry's four-wheel drive.

‘Why don't you and Rosie walk over and meet Anthony now?' suggested Dad. ‘Gus and I can do the washing up. We'll join you in a few minutes.'

So Lulu and Rosie set off for the house. Jacob's mum was sitting on the verandah drawing. Chilli the puppy was asleep at her feet.

The boys were all gathered around the fire with Anthony. Each one had a long, straight stick.

‘Hello, Lulu and Rosie,' called Anthony. ‘We started without you.'

Lulu looked around for Tam and Zalie. They weren't there. ‘Where are the girls?' asked Lulu.

‘The girls have gone out with our grandmother,' said Zac. ‘She's showing them which plants to gather for bush tucker and medicine.'

‘The boys have each chosen a sapling,' said Anthony. He pointed to a pile of sticks leaning against the side of the house.

Jacob explained how they had found the sticks. Anthony had helped them find long, straight wattle saplings in the bush. They had cut the saplings, stripped the bark and shaved off any bumps. The saplings had been left to dry for a couple of days.

The boys were now rubbing the wood with sandpaper.

Lulu and Rosie watched. Anthony showed the boys how to polish the wood to make it as smooth as possible.

‘Then we heat sections of the wood in the fire like this,' said Anthony. He showed them with one of the saplings. ‘This makes the wood soft so we can make it nice and straight. Then it sets hard.'

Anthony bent the hot wood against the table to straighten out a kink.

It was interesting to see the boys at work – polishing, heating and straightening. Dad and Gus arrived. Gus found a stick to draw in the dirt. Lulu asked Zac and Jacob lots of questions.

‘What do you use the spears for?' asked Lulu. ‘Are they for games?'

Zac shook his head. ‘These spears aren't toys. We hunt with them.'

‘Hunt?' asked Lulu. She wasn't quite sure if she believed him. ‘What do you hunt?'

‘Turtles, fish, stingrays,' said Zac. He mimed striking his spear at the ground.

‘Oh,' said Rosie. ‘The poor turtles.'

‘Most of our food comes from the sea, as it always has. And we gather fruit and berries and medicine in the bush,' explained Anthony. ‘We never hunt more than we need to eat. Nothing is ever wasted.'

‘I don't think I'd like to eat turtle,' said Rosie. ‘Don't you buy food at the shop?'

Anthony laughed. ‘Some things. There is a shop in Ardyaloon where we can buy extra things we need.'

‘Like chocolate,' said Zac. He rubbed his tummy and gave a cheeky grin.

Anthony nodded. ‘Tomorrow I'm taking all the boys out hunting stingrays at the reef. You can come with us if you like.'

Lulu turned to Dad. ‘Can we go, Dad? Pleeeease?'

‘I wouldn't miss it for the world,' agreed Dad.

Dad and Anthony helped the boys to carve a point on one end of each spear with a sharp knife. One side of the point was flattened out. A deep groove was carved down the centre.

Then they put a short steel rod in the groove. The rod was lashed to the spear using fishing line.

‘And now it's finished,' said Anthony.

Zac twisted his spear proudly. Gus reached for Zac's spear. ‘Me go?'

Anthony looked at all the children. His face was very serious. ‘You must never use anyone else's spear, unless they offer to lend it to you.'

Gus pouted. Lulu and Rosie nodded.

Anthony smiled. ‘I'm going to do some painting now. We'll see you here tomorrow.'

‘Thanks, Anthony,' said Lulu.

‘Well, I'm a bit smoky after watching all that hard work,' said Dad as the Bell family walked back to their camp. ‘I think we might go for a swim.'

The family spent the afternoon swimming and exploring. Mum came back from Ardyaloon full of stories. She had met the other artists and seen their art. She showed Lulu the photos she had taken. There were five artists whose work she would feature in the show.

Lulu loved the bright, bold colours of the artworks. They were the same colours as the earth.

‘It's going to be a wonderful show, Mum,' said Lulu.

The next day, the Bell family was up at sunrise. Mum packed a big bag with snorkels, masks, flippers and towels. Dad packed an esky with fruit, sandwiches and drinks. Mum made sure all the kids had long-sleeved shirts and hats to protect them from the sun. They piled in the car and drove to the house.

Anthony was painting on the verandah. He had added two black whales on the sea. They were marked with grey stripes and spots. Lulu thought they looked majestic.

‘Ready to go?' Anthony asked.

They followed Anthony's car to a cove near Ardyaloon. There were several boats dragged up above the high tide mark. The kids all swam while the adults launched the boats. Then everyone piled on board.

Anthony had five nephews on his boat. The Bell family was in the other. Lulu, Rosie and Gus wore life vests and hats. The boats surged off into the turquoise water. The sea foamed and churned behind them.

It was low tide so the reef was exposed. Thousands of sharp black rocks
stuck up from the sea like teeth. The boats navigated carefully through the sandbanks and rocks. Anthony pointed to a little head that had popped up from the sea. Wise old eyes blinked slowly.

‘What is it?' asked Lulu.

‘It's a green sea turtle,' called Anthony.

Now Lulu could see its splotchy green-and-brown shell. Lulu was delighted. She had never seen a sea turtle in the wild before.

‘Oh!' cried Lulu. ‘It's so big.'

The turtle bobbed up and down in the water. It paddled its flippers. It watched Lulu curiously then dived and swam away.

Finally they reached their destination: Waterfall Reef. The top of the reef was as flat as a tabletop. At high tide the reef was under the sea. But when the tide dropped, the water flowed off the top of the reef and onto the lower reef surrounding it. This created a waterfall hundreds of metres wide that tumbled into the sea.

Dad and Anthony anchored the boats. The kids scrambled out. The boys carried their spears. On the lower reef, there were many shallow pools full of fish and stingrays.

Anthony showed the boys how to
take aim and throw. Zac threw his spear at a large fish. It zipped away in a flash of silver. The spear floated off harmlessly.

Anthony smiled. ‘Good try, Zac. Let's keep practising.'

The boys practised aiming and throwing their spears.

Dad preferred to fish his own way. He cast his fishing line and hook off the end of the boat. ‘I lost the bait again,' he cried in despair. ‘There's a big fish out there that has stolen my bait three times.'

‘A big fish, or perhaps a big shark,' joked Anthony. Dad peered over the side of the boat warily.

The five boys from Goorlil set off in bare feet. They ran and chased across the top reef. They hurled their spears at fish and stingrays. Lulu, Rosie and Gus climbed up after them. The Bell children wore runners to protect their feet from
the sharp rocks. Mum followed more slowly, carrying her camera.

The kids all stood on the edge of the reef. They peered over. The water poured between their feet.

Below them was a lower ledge. This ledge was a few metres wide then dropped away into the deep sea.

Zac scrambled over the edge of the waterfall. His cousins followed, carrying their spears.

‘Come down,' invited Zac. ‘You can have a shower under the waterfall.'

Lulu clambered down more slowly, using footholds in the rock. Lulu helped Rosie and Gus down too.

The boys dunked under the sheets of sea water pouring off the reef above. They splashed and laughed. The Bell kids joined in.

‘It's amazing to think that this will be under the sea soon,' said Lulu.

‘Yes, we have to be careful,' said Jacob. ‘The tide will turn. Then it comes rushing in. The water rises very quickly.'

Zac stood on the edge of the lower reef. He peered into the deeper sea water. A golden shape flickered past. Suddenly Zac threw himself off the edge.

Lulu got a shock. ‘Zac?' she cried.

Zac emerged from the sea laughing. Salt water dripped from his hair and skin.

Pierced on the end of his spear was a large golden fish. The boys all cheered.

‘It's a golden trevally,' said Jacob.

‘Fish for dinner tonight,' said Zac.

Mum took a photo of Zac proudly holding up his catch. He grinned from ear to ear.

‘That was amazing,' said Mum.

Anthony came over. He carried two big fish. ‘Well done, Zac. What a great catch. But now we need to get going. The tide has turned and it's coming in fast.'