That night we stayed at Oak Valley, owned by a family from the Luritja group. Craig, the owner, took us on a little drive around the property…
… Teaching us about the Luritja culture and stories. Not just about the past but what is happening at the moment. He was very open and honest, as well as engaging. I think what he had to say impressed us all.
He also showed us some interesting rock formations. Looks very much like snakeskin doesn’t it? Maybe the rainbow serpent slithered through here?
We took a walk in Ormiston Gorge the next morning: over the hill and into the deep gorge. The hills form layers, one on top of the other, towering above the cool river bed.
When we came out of the gorge, we saw a heron perched beside the river, contemplating the ancient landscape.
Glen Helen is deep within the West Macdonnell Ranges. We arrived late in the day to watch the last rays of the sun reflect off the gorgeous red rock, before having dinner under the stars.
I love the ghost gums that grow out of the rock, their white trunks standing out even in the twilight.
A bumpy ride brought us to the Finke Gorge National Park. This rock amphitheatre at Kalaranga Lookout reminds me a lot of the Wild West.
I love the colour of the rock, a rich red due to the iron ore accummulated through millions of years of exposure.
I flew to Alice Springs right after I returned from Arnhemland, and the next day I was on the road again, this time with Wayoutback Tours.
We visited the West Macdonnell Ranges on the first day, and the first place we stopped at was Hermansburg. It’s a bit of an oddity because it’s an old Lutheran mission. The Germans made it up to Alice overland from Adelaide in the late 1800’s, and have had a great influence on the locals. It was my first taste of the vivid desert colours – red of the earth, blue of the morning sky.
We’ll farewell the Top End with another stupendous sunset cruise on the Coopers River billabong.
It was a profound, emotional experience, and I’m not the only one who feels this way. The wildlife, scenery and rock art are amazing, but above all, the cultural things that I learned that typically only happens when I visit a completely foreign country. I admit that this all comes at a price, but if you have an opportunity to visit Mount Borradaile, jump at it. Magnificent sunsets like this one awaits you.
This isn’t the end of my Northern Territory journey, though. Next up, the Red Centre!
I had thought the giant rainbow serpent impressive, but there was even a bigger surprise in store when Max brought us out on to a large rock overhang. He called the place (for want of a better name) “Major Art”, as if everything else was minor compared to this.
When we saw the massive wall, covered from top to bottom with paintings, I could see what he meant by it. It really was a history of civilisation.
Paintings aren’t redrawn but drawn over, so that the story remains. There were illustrations of spirits and detailed paintings of animals. There was a depiction of a sailing ship as well as guns that illustrate the arrival of westerners.
And there were hundreds of handprints.
That was just what was on the surface. As a matter of fact, the wall was thick with ochre. I was very moved, more moved than I’ve felt sitting in some grand cathedrals. The 50,000 years of civilisation, how many people have come here to illustrate their lives? It brought home that Australia is a very ancient country. Ancient and grand.
We went further into the bush, almost at the wetlands, to the catacombs.
It was all very Indiana Jones, as we went through dark tunnels, slipped through crevaces, and disturbed a cave full of flying foxes. Max showed us remnants of life and of trade with neighbours overland and overseas. An axe. A rosewood domino. Shards of Chinese pottery. A Dutch tobacco box. All untouched, as it was when the locals were moved to settlements 50 or so years ago.
The landscape of the Top End is so very different from down south, so it follows that the plants there are very different too. It’s fascinating to see the variety that exists, as well as finding out from Max their many uses.
We were given insight into traditional life of the clans in Arnhemland, like the proper way to do back burning (unlike the massive operations I saw from the plane): in the late afternoon and in a small area so that it will burn out by itself, as demonstrated here. That way the bush will have time to regenerate properly.
Our next adventure was visiting the most striking single piece of rock art in the area: the giant rainbow serpent. The rainbow serpent stories actually originated in Arnhemland, so it’s fitting that I was able to see one of the most vivid representations of it. Unlike in Kakadu, there were no walkways or handrails, just a ride in an ancient Jeep and a walk through the bush.
We eventually ended up in the overhang, and this is what we saw:
The painted serpent is a mammoth 6 metres long and thousands of years old (up to 10,000 years old some say). It’s quite humbling to sit at the foot of this painted serpent. So old and yet so alive. Completely wondrous.
Static and Silence 