The ROCK.

Travelin’ tandem to Uluru.

Is there nothing else you’d rather do ?

Travel with care. Take it real slow.

Ridin’ through bulldust is part of the go.

Seein’ our Aus. with rusty red dust.

Spinifex. Termites, is surely a must.

Adelaide, Port Augusta then Coober Pedy.

Well on your way, don’t be too speedy.

Turn off to the right to visit Lake Eyre,

many the sights you will see while your there.

Back on the Stuart, cross over the line,

a mark on your map, your doin’ fine.

Very soon after,

take the left turn,

headin’ now for the

‘ Rock.

An image will burn.

Sure, it is hot.

But scenery is the very best

part of the plot.

Locked in your memory for now and all time

are Aboriginal stories from their distant

Dreamtime.

Remember them well

Nicola Syme.

©.Rimeriter. 2/2012.

1 of 2.

Riding tandem to Uluru. (Caddie Brain)

ABC Alice Springs.

As the phrase says when life gets tough, the tough gets going.

And that's certainly true for Nicola Syme.

It all got a bit much for the young New Zealander who decided to hire a motorbike with a friend, and ride from Melbourne to Uluru.

"It was a rather large life upheaval really.

"I split up with a boyfriend, I quit my job, I moved interstate.

"And my friend Joel was like 'right, I need a holiday. Come on let's go and do a mission through the centre of Australia.'

"So there's lots of stuff going through my head; there's a lot of thinking going on.

"It's actually quite therpeudic."

The two travellers are riding tandem over thousands of kilometres, through the heat, with just a few small packs of luggage.

"The heat the last few days has definitely been the hardest thing to deal with.

"The sweat just drips down your legs.

"But I would not do it any other way, it's awesome."

***

Job Offers in the Internet Age.

Red Flags on Job Offers

by Lorraine Mace

In this internet age it has never been easier for writers to find work. Opportunities seem to be (and are) abundantly advertised on various sites, including bidding and pay per click revenue outlets. However, the downside of this is that it has also never been easier for writers to be taken for a ride and end up out of pocket in terms of time and effort. There are all too many supposed job offers that are, in truth, little more than slave labour and others that are scams. For the unwary writer looking to make a living from their craft, all too often unscrupulous people are waiting to take advantage of the writer’s readiness to take their job offer at face value.

So, how can you tell when an online writing job offer is better left unanswered than followed up? Fortunately, there are some obvious red flags to look out for.

Deadline for delivery, when paid (publication or on acceptance), the rights being purchased (all rights, electronic, or print), when payment will be made and how.

Remember that your non-fiction writing should be treated as a business. Writing fiction for the love of it, because the characters are burning holes in your brain is one thing, but researching, planning and writing an article should always have a payment at the end of it. If you value your worth as a writer, it is going to be harder for an unscrupulous person to take advantage of you.

Lorraine Mace is a columnist with Writing Magazine (UK) and also deputy editor of Words with JAM. She writes fiction for the women’s magazine market, features and photo-features for monthly glossy magazines and is a writing competition judge for Writers’ Forum.

Find out more about Lorraine by visiting her website: www.lorrainemace.com

BE CAREFUL.

DO NOT GET CAUGHT.

Jim.

Ayres Rock/Uluru.

Ayres Rock.

1952.                                                              

Nestling in a desert wasteland

is this monolith of fame,

perhaps a creature quietly sleeping,

omniscient, oh! so tame.

Knowing all but seeing nothing

as many others pass it by

while it dwells in concentration

underneath a pale blue sky.

Raw,coarse textures paint its surface,

colours vary, changing light.

Intense moods in many hues

deepen with approaching night.

Dark and brooding under starlight,

then with the coming dawn,

shifting shadows swiftly scamper

as new morning sun is born.

Rusty red and ochre orange

burst upon a new day’s page.

Pied Butcherbird trumpets, triumphantly

to announce another stage.

Silent,

ancient and archaic

where those rocky ranges rise

to a vista of extremes

underneath

hot azure skies.

©. Rimeriter. 2005.