Roger Rambler  by Larry Low

Roger Rambler Class Page 

The Aborigines of Australia have existed for almost 65,000 years.   The Aborigines speak of their Dreamtime as though it were happening at this very moment instead of being a phenomenon that is said by the author of The Dreaming Universe to have existed before time began.

The land of the Dreaming is about how our Universe was created and how humans came to be on Earth.  In this land an awareness of how humans are expected to behave arises.  Where is the Dreamtime?  Quite simply, it is where you find it.  Dreamtime resides with the Rainbow Serpent.  

Allow me to introduce myself.  I am Roger Rambler.   I am not an Aboriginal person.  However, I once lived with the Aborigines at Urapunga, an out-of-the-way place.   Under a canopy of stars, while didjeridoos droned, I gleaned a glimpse of the Dreamtime. From this experience I have a need for going Walkabout,  a seeking of a time that existed before in an attempt to become truly aware of my own existence.

Encountering Dreamtime has changed me.  I now wish to experience it again. I have decided to take what I have learned about the Dreamtime and combine it with my talent for time travel.  If you do not understand what I'm getting at, you're not alone.  I barely understand it myself. What I do comprehend is that I somehow know that the Dreamtime and time travel are sometimes one and the same.

I spend most of my life seeking.  At the moment, I am in Timbuktu, a town that now appears to be of little significance.  Having just returned from the Timbuktu of 1306 A.D., I was shocked when I arrived in contemporary Timbuktu to discover how much the town had shrunk since the Middle Ages.  Some say that I have the knack for engaging in time travel but I do not pay it much heed.  I do however remember that In the 10th Century, Timbuktu had just been established by the Tuareg as a jumping off point for crossing the Sahara Desert.  By 1324, under the guidance of Mansa Musa, it had become a centre for learning.

When I left  Mali, I crossed into Niger.  You probably believe that Niger is all desert.  A farmer's field full of red hot peppers may persuade you otherwise.  On the western edge of Niger there are fabulous farms.   Why?  The farmers make good use of the water from the Niger River, which is unbelievably wide.

Where was I?  Oh yes, I was in Niger.    Of course most of Niger is desert.   Parts of Niger have magnificent sand dunes.  The only way to travel through this country is either by camel or by canoe.  There is a saying that Niger and Mali are where the camel meets the canoe.   Did I mention that there are rather large  spiders in Niger? 

The next stop is Chad. I  remain with the Tuareg all the way through Chad.   We stop to trade on the Ennedi Plateau. I am stunned by the size of the Aloba Arch carved our by fierce desert winds over a period of perhaps several thousand years.  For no good reason that I can figure out, my Tuareg friends, seeing as they are in the neighbourhood, decide to climb Mount Emi Koussi.

My only regret is having my boots cut to ribbons by sharp lava.  Of course being a determined traveller, I am well prepared and carry a second pair with me at all times.  The view from the peak of Emi Koussi is magnificent except that distant mountain ranges are lost in haze, which thickens during the late afternoon when a willy-willy or two swirls up dust.

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