We were sitting on the verandah, trying to stay cool by staying in the shade, when a young dog appeared out of nowhere. "He must be thirsty", Padma said. As it turned out, he was hungry as well and by the time she had fed him half a can of corned beef, we'd become inseparable.
"He can't stay here", I warned Padma. "Let's find out who his owners are." The little tag on his collar read "Red" with two mobile phone numbers. The first number rang out but the second one was answered by a man's voice with a thick accent. "We've got your dog", I told him. "Where are you?" He turned out to be an Austrian, and he and his wife had parked their large mobile home - for a small fee! - on the adjoining property downriver.
"I'll meet you at the backfence", I told him in my best "Hochdeutsch", put a lead on "Red" and walked towards that little white speck by the river that was their mobile home. By the time I got there, Manfred - which was his name - was already waiting. After exchanging the usual pleasantries with his wife Heather, he told me he'd come to Australia in 1985 and - get this! - had worked as an engineer on Bougainville Island!!! It's a small world!
They're staying for a few days, and we'll meet and talk some more later.
