How do you score the perfect bird's eye view of a town? Simple really you climb up an old water tank. Oh these stairs are narrow. Welcome to Port Augusta, located just over 300 km north of Adelaide where the ocean literally meets the outback. This place is often referred to as the crossroads of Australia. It's a pretty vibrant town with a lot going on. We're excited to show you around.

Hi I'm Kane and this is Courtney and we're teachers here in Port Augusta. I work at Port Augusta Secondary School. I'm the SAASTA coordinator there. I also teach PE and Outdoor Ed. I grew up in the area and it's always been home to me I teach health and PE at Flinders View Primary School I moved up here in Port Augusta 5 years ago and haven't looked back since. We're going to visit both schools but let's not keep the primary students waiting any longer we'll catch up with Courtney a bit later.

It's a new day, students are arriving and breakfast club is popping. Flinders View is a small friendly R to 6 school with a strong Aboriginal student cohort. The land we're on is Barngarla land that's like Port Augusta region some of the students are from here but most of the time they're from Adnyamathanha, Nukunu, Pitjantjatjara it's quite a diverse range of cultures here and it's celebrated within the school I’m big on culture and connection and wanting to know all the kids and families and I thought what better way to do that than to move out country move out to a smaller school also being Aboriginal wanted to teach the Aboriginal children and up here the population is quite high and this school in particular is about 70 odd percent of Aboriginal students.

As one of the few male staff here I make sure to bring plenty of fun to my lessons which the kids definitely seem to be enjoying. Good get to have that bit of banter bit of jokiness with the kids they're probably someone that they gravitate to a lot being both Aboriginal and male and I think I find the right balance of we're learning and let's have some fun and I think the kids respect that. What's your favourite thing about being at this school? Probably all the friends I've made and how much fun I've had here. Showing new kids around. Making friends. Math. We make culture a part of everything we do here at Flinders View Primary it's really at the heart of our day-to-day. For instance all students participate in at Adnyamathanha lessons which are often held in our beautiful Bushtucker garden. What the Adnyamathanha people used to do is they make a tea with it. Teaching Aboriginal students is important to me because I feel like I can be a good piece of the puzzle to help them see what education can bring to them we do a good resilience program here where you know when you're down you just talk yourself up they just keep the positive mindset and that will lead them to bright futures as well.

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Here at Port Augusta Secondary School there's just under 700 students enrolled from years 7 to 12 the school offers a range of facilities and opportunities including a new STEM centre, a trade training centre and industry pathway programs these students have sparked a passion for hands-on skills, getting ready for apprenticeships or further study. There's also a new technical college on site. I chose to come and work at PASS I’d been here before on placement and I really enjoyed it. I’m also an outdoor education teacher so we're always getting outside whenever we can. This week it's all about kayaking and sailing it really tests them and they see that there's a lot more out there than they thought that they could actually do. I also coordinate the SAASTA program. SAASTA is a South Australian Aboriginal Secondary Training Academy it's a specialist program for Aboriginal students. Once a term I try and organise a barbecue for SAASTA so for families and community to come in and we show off the work that their kids have been doing. The kids here are amazing they're giving things a go and they are great to be around.

Port Augusta is the fourth largest town in SA so it's got all the shops cafes and facilities you'd expect but it's real charm it's the perfect base for adventure. We're on our way to Quorn which is where I grew up we're going to be tasting some local foods, go for a hike and maybe even go and have some gin. At the Quandong Cafe the native Quandong is king. Kind of tastes a bit sweet tarty oh it's actually like rhubarb for another taste of the region look no further than Flinder's Gin.

Now that we've refuelled it's time to hit the trail in Warren Gorge this hike is short but sweet a scenic 2 and a half  kilometres and one of my favourite ways to stretch my legs and reset. I just found you a yellow footed rock wallaby.

Of course you can't visit Quorn without hopping aboard the historic Pichi Richi Railway or if you would rather swap the outback for the ocean Whyalla is just a short drive away where you can snorkel with the cuttlefish in one of the world's most weird and wonderful underwater experiences.

There's no doubt about it there's heaps to do in this region but for me a fun way to get to know the community has been through footy. I joined the Central Augusta Footy Club where I not only play but also coach. Coaching's been a big part of what's helped me build my name here and you get to know more of the town as well not just the inner circle of the school which has been great fun. On my days off when I'm not kicking the footy you'll usually find me out fishing like to catch some kingfish even some blue swimmer crabs. Today I'm trying my luck at Red Banks.

One thing we both love is walking through the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden. The scenery is beautiful everywhere you look different plant wildlife you see as well. Nice reset at the end of the day. Covering 200 hectares this stunning garden features arid zone habitats walking trails and over 150 bird species. The advice that I'd give to someone that's considering doing a placement here just come and have a go really get involved in it. The leaders at our school do everything they can to make you feel welcome at the school you know make you feel comfortable. You also get those opportunities to have mentors and progress through like if you're wanting to get into leadership there's lots of opportunities for those kinds of things and permanency.

How do I manage student behaviour? I think up here with Aboriginal culture connection is everything so if you connect with their families connect to the child make them know that you care for them make them know you want to know about them they want to respect you more they want to behave you and they want to learn for you. Comes back to that sport and in the community you spend 5 minutes before your game watching their game and just say like "Oh I saw you took that great shot in basketball like it was awesome." And it's that care they see that and that you're actually interested in what they're doing.

So if you're thinking about taking a country teaching position on our best advice is to just give it a go. One thing's for certain you'll get out of it what you put in its more than just a job you'll be joining a close-knit community and the rewards are truly worth it.

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