This was one such assignment to Weipa, up on the western coast of Cape York. The very tip of Australia for those of you who don't know it.
Coincidentally I'd just come back from there on a week-long assignment and got a call to head back there again. Only this time with a special guest.
Olympic champion and all-round beautiful lady Cathy Freeman was filming the second series of her hit TV show Going Bush. In the first series she'd been accompanied by one of my favourite actresses, Deb Mailman. In this second series she was joined by young actor Luke Carroll.
What made it so special was the reaction from the young aboriginal children in the communities she visited. To say that she is a hero to these people is like saying Superman is a little bit special. They were all waiting down on the beach when we arrived and a quick yell from one of the elders and they just came running from everywhere.
We filmed it in quite a secluded location because, basically, we didn't need a riot on our hands! But to see the absolute joy, pride and honour on these kids' faces was very humbling. And Cathy took it all with total aplomb. Cathy is quite a shy person and seemed to feel uncomfortable with all the attention, until she started playing with the kids and organizing running races on the sand. Then the fun was on for young and old.
Fishing with spears, face painting, totem pole painting. We crammed a lot in in a short period of time but it was an experience I will cherish forever. The camera really is an amazing gate key to so many incredible experiences and this truly is an incredible part of the world.
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