Kakadu

Sunday 24th September

The trip into Kakadu was hard work with the heat – I think this was also partly to blame for me losing my temper big time when we ran out of fuel just 15km from a petrol station!! I ended up chucking a few things around in a fit – which pissed me off further because I hadn’t lost my temper like that for a long time AND I broke my bike – fucking typical!

The bonus was the Magnetic Termite mounds though - for some reason, the termites build their nests along the N/S magnetic lines of the Earth. No-one knows why, but it's pretty cool huh?!

The top thing about tonight was the sunset we were hoping to catch at Ubirr. There are a number of rock formations overlooking the wetlands to the West and it’s the site of some quite famous Aboriginal rock art. I can’t say I was over-enamoured by the art, as it didn’t seem that striking and a lot of it seemed to have been rubbed away. The view from the rocky outcrop was worth the climb though and I fell asleep on the warm rock as sun set, waking up after 20 minutes just in time to catch the Sunset! Coolio. We were all pretty shattered after getting to the Campsite, which was nice but absolutely crawling with mozzies – I was bitten to death just setting the van up! Still, at least Harriet has nets that you can put up; the two girls didn’t have anything and had to suffer the heat of the warm nights. That’s actually the killer here – how humid the nights are – it’s truly wretched. How I long for the fan – it makes life so much more bearable!

Monday 25th September

Thaaaasands of 'em!!

Nourlangie was the main point to stop today but we decided to detour to a place called Gulbarr which had a 3km each way walk to a little pool area which you could have a dip in. The heat, again, was up for the challenge and I have never felt like melting so much in my life! I took 3 litres of water to the pool and it was all drunk by the time we got back to the van – the water hole was lovely, sheltered in a little shady glen but with the pool itself largely in the sunlight. There were some Freshwater crocodile signs but nothing in the pool, which was clear as a glass of water, so I felt safe jumping in. On the way there, we passed a couple of people who’d also been in but one of the girls with her hubby was walking with no hat, bag or water. Her hubby didn’t have any either – she must’ve been suffering – poor girl. Its one thing to read the warning signs but quite another to experience the heat.
Nourlangie was the most impressive site I’ve seen in Oz to date w.r.t the Aboriginal art. There are a number of sites, but here the art is clear and you can make out many images very well. The best part of the rock art was a collection of drawings featuring a number of mythological figures, including the Lightning man – a great story which explains the build-up season and the terrific thunderstorms that occur. There was also a very clear drawing of Nulgabarr, another ancestor spirit, who committed ‘kinship incest’ with his ‘sister’. In order to get the point across, we were lucky to have the chance to listen to a Ranger who explained the Aboriginal kinship system. Briefly, the Aboriginals are given a kinship group depending on their Mother. This then means that anyone in that Kinship group are their Brothers and Sisters, even if not necessarily their blood kin. This then extends to ‘Mothers’, ‘Fathers’, Grandparents etc, so even Aboriginals who have not had kids are Mother and Father within their Kinship group. This grouping then dictates what other Kinship groups they can marry and interrelate with. After puberty, they aren’t allowed to foster close relationships with the opposite sex of their Kinship group, giving rise to the situation where they will not sometimes talk directly to, or look at these ‘forbidden people’. My first thought was how rude, but in fact it’s out of respect that they do this. So you can end up with a situation whereby a Kinship Brother and Sister are in the room with you, but they both talk to you to tell the other person something…. ‘Will you ell that Sister of mine that I’m off to the boozer for a short, sharp harp….’ Etc etc. This is because of the ‘incest’ committed by Nulgabarr! When you factor in that every plant, tree, animal and insect has a kinship group, you finally begin to see how the Aboriginals are tied to their land and how they learn their culture through these stories. Removing them, as we did when we first arrived, removed them from the only chance they ever had of identifying themselves and knowing who and what they are. Imagine that!! I am beginning to realise how completely differently Caucasians and Aboriginals think. On a positive note though, the effort made here in the NT to explain these things really is excellent and far outstrips anything I’ve seen so far in Oz – It’s fascinating though none-the-less.

The Lightening Man - Narmarrgon

We chowed down that night at a spot called Yellow River where again the sunset was supposed to be a winner. However, we all decided to drive up in Angie’s van and it broke down on the way! Bastard. So we didn’t get the chance – sniff!!


I have to say that at last I was seeing evidence of an advanced culture. Often the rock 'art' was circles, spots and stickmen but now you could appreciate how every part of Aboriginal life was represented via art to correspond to the weather, seasons, rites etc etc. Coupled with the didjeridoo, weaving, tools and what not on display in Darwin museums, you can see that the Aboriginals have a very distinguished culture. I wasn't a 'non-believer' at first but I was expecting more and here is a place to find it - wicked. Oh, and bring a 4WD next time!!