Today is our much-anticipated trip into Arnhem Land, a vast wilderness area in the indigenous Aboriginal regions of the Northwest Territories. It’s a huge place – 38,600 square miles (almost the size of Kentucky) defined by rocky escarpments, rivers, waterfalls and Aboriginal rock paintings, likely the largest concentration of rock art in the world.
Early morning, we drive to the northernmost region of Kakadu to Cahill’s Crossing, a crossing of the East Alligator River which is the border between Kakadu and Arnhem Land. Cahill’s Crossing is the sole entrance to Arnhem and is a single lane track across the river – often flooded during the year, impassable during the ‘wet’ season from December to March, and guarded by deadly salt crocs. The rains have just started so our passing is only through a foot or so of water, but still interesting. The upturned remains of a car that didn’t make the traverse are a great photo op. Our entry drive is probably 50 miles along single track, dirt road to the Aboriginal town of Gunbalanya.
A native guide is required to access the rock shelters and art of Injalak Hill, one of the most spectacular sites in Australia. Adam sets up our tour with ‘Greg’ a local Aboriginal. Wiry & shoeless, Gregg leads on a hike up the rocky slopes to the art viewing sites, some over 20,000 years old. The art is fantastic, some dating to over 10,000 years old. There are galleries all along the hill with hundreds of paintings. At some of the spots the taking of pictures is not permitted as they are sacred, burial sites.
Dick
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Onto Arnhem Land today, we leave the hotel early and drive for about an hour to the Aboriginal town of Gunbalanya. Adam wants to make sure we get a good guide for our tour. Arnhem Land comprises vast amounts of Aboriginal owned land, where local people practice their traditional ways. There are two sets of laws, Aboriginal and White, with Aboriginal taking precedence and the elders enforcing the law. Access into Arnhem Land is strictly regulated through a permit system, and we must have a local guide to take us into the sacred areas and to view the rock art.
Adam hooks us up with Greg, our local guide. We are to hike up to the rock shelters and caves to see some of the most spectacular Aboriginal rock art sites in Australia. Even with the early start, the day is warm and the path is somewhat challenging in many areas, our guide is barefoot. We take our time picking our way up the trail and eventually are rewarded with our first sighting.
The area is quite large and there are many paintings that date from 4,000 to 20,000 years old. We continue on to other sites, the amount of art is amazing.
In one area, we are in a sacred burial place and we see the skeleton of an ancient man. Greg provides commentary into the customs and beliefs of his people and interpretations of the art itself. As the Aboriginal people had no written word, the stories passed through the ancestors are done through the paintings. Many of them had morals to them to teach the children right from wrong, it is quite fascinating.
We spend several hours exploring this space, before climbing back down the escarpment. I usually have a strong fear of heights, but here, I just felt a sense of peace.
We head back to Gunbalanya to drop off Greg and observe the women weaving baskets in the traditional way, and the men painting. The sense of culture and community is quite strong.
We start our 4 hour return to Darwin with a new sense of knowledge about these people who have lived in Australia for many millennial. The Aboriginals do not believe they ‘own’ the land, but that they are the ‘caretakers’ of this amazing place they are blessed to call home.
Mary