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Published: July 26th 2008
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Tue 22nd July
Another early start, as we set out for the 2nd day of our Kakadu tour.
Amazingly, it seems to have been raining significantly during the night, and
there is still a little rain when we awake. This is pretty much unheard of in
the dry season - we are later told it has happened just twice in the guide's 6
years experience. Fortunately, the rain soon clears away...
Today, we are heading out to Arnhemland, which is not strictly speaking part of
Kakadu. It is an Aboriginal-controlled area, entrance to which requires a
permit. We are picked up at 7.15 from our hotel in Kakadu, and treated to a
beautiful sunrise on the coach, which drop us off half an hour later for
transfer to a four-wheel drive minibus. Here, we meet our guide for the day,
who introduces herself as Smiley Kylie :-) . It looks as though a paint factory
has exploded in her hair, but it is initially unclear if she knows this.
We spend the morning travelling around a number of sites of varying
significance. Many contain rock art, which is again very impressive. And the
rocks themselves are simply amazing
- probably the result of the erosion caused
by the extreme wet seasons they have in this area. At and between each site,
Kylie gives us lessons about Aboriginal culture, explaining:
- the skin type
system that determines who can marry whom
- the punishment system that is used under their law
- how a lot of their knowledge and practices are divided into "men's business", and "women's business".
- some of the dreamtime stories and their depiction in the rock art
- the way they deliberately burning parts in the dry season (which helps avoid fiercer and more destructive fires that would start naturally in the build-up to the wet season)
- the way they use calendar trees, which tell the people (for example by flowering) when certain activities, such as collecting crocodile eggs, should be performed - more reliably in fact than you could with our own calendar.
- how they use various plants in the environment
... and much more! It is clearly a complex and very developed culture, in many ways, although there are aspects that seem barbaric (for example, when twins are born, the weakest looking one
would typically be killed, as they believed that the spirit of the child had been split in two). However, it also seems that there is much that we could learn from the culture, particularly in terms of respect for one's environment.
We stop for a packed lunch at a truly idyllic spot by a billabong. It has a
beautiful Sandy beach and some shady trees. There are apparently a couple of
crocs there, though, so we are advised not to get too close to the waters edge!
Towards the end of lunch, Kylie actually spots a crocodile's head in the water
in the distance. We also see something under the water, which we all think is a
crocodile, but no one is too sure.
After lunch, we visit an Aboriginal community, and in particular the arts and
crafts centre there. Here, we get a chance to see them producing some of their
art work - a couple of guys are painting, and there is a woman weaving a
basket. It is awesome to see. However, it does feel a little awkward - they
don't seem very forthcoming, and it is hard to know if they are just shy
with
so many stranger gawping at them doing their work, or if they would rather we
weren't there at all or what. There are a couple of guys around who smile and
say hello, though. When we go inside, there are numerour artefacts available
for purchase, and it is good to know that all of the profits are going back
into the community that produced the art.
We visit one more site in the afternoon, which is a training ground for
Aboriginal boys; we get shown where some of their spear heads are lodged some
20 metres over our heads in a crevice in the rocks... that's some shot! A
little further on, we are also shown a burial site. Then it is time to go home
- Kylie has been a brilliant guide for the day, and it has been very
educational. When we get home, we are delighted to see a couple of wallabies
wandering around in the hotel grounds! They we go for a little swim, and while
the evening away...
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