Darwin is in the Northern Territory of Australia, a multi cultural capital but still in touch with it’s rich indigenous culture. The Aboriginal people, the original custodians of the region, continue to have an unique relationship and respect for their land, creatures, weather, seasons and dreams.
Darwin was heavily bombed in WW2 and then devastated again by Cyclone Tracy at Christmas in 1974. There is evidence of the continued rebuilding, almost like the Phoenix erupting out of the fire and the waterfront is particularly busy.
First impression of Darwin was not favourable, a totally different feel to that of Cairns, although Darwin is becoming a thriving backpackers delight, particularly as it is so close to the World Heritage parks with their stunning escarpments, wetlands, creatures, waterfalls and evident Aboriginal culture.
Bob, Stephen and Debbie hired a 4X4 and drove over 230 km to Jabiru in the Kakadu National Park. This is seen as one of Australia’s cultural and ecological treasures. We stayed in a serviced ‘lodge’ (corrugated metal shack with aircon) which was basic but very comfortable. There was nature all around us with the differing calls depending on the time of day; Cockatoos, Kookaburras, bats and numerous birds of prey. We were entertained by a terrific lighting storm (which was several weeks early, according to the locals) and as it is forbidden to buy alcohol as take out, we soon sought an alternative drinking hole other than our lodge. We had supper and wine at the near by Gagudju Crocodile Holiday Inn. The structure is in the shape of a crocodile, hence the name, but you’ve never been in a Holiday Inn where the restaurant felt like a school hall. We made our plans for the following day.
After an early breakfast we drove to the Bowali Visitor Centre where we bought our park passes. We headed off to Ubirr to view the Aboriginal rock art which show aspects of traditional law and learning plus the bush tucker found in the region. These paintings are thousands (if not tens of thousand) of years old. There are different art styles and new paintings are superimposed over older ones. Apparently it was forbidden to touch up another’s painting but quite alright to paint right over the top. The rock art is hugely important to the Aboriginal owners of Kakadu as it is a historic and scientific record of their ancestors occupation of this region.We continued our climb to the lookout where we were taken aback by the panoramic views across the wetlands towards the escarpments heading towards Arnhem Land, the sacred Aboriginal land which is unspoiled wilderness with a small community of Aboriginal people whose traditional culture is mainly intact without the interference of the ‘Europeans’. Access to these lands is heavily restricted and we were fortunate enough to join an Aboriginal tour in the afternoon which allowed us to walk a few metres onto the land.
We drove to East Alligator River and for the first time we saw ‘Salties’ in their natural habitat swimming effortlessly in the heat up and down the river. After lunch we returned to the river to join the Aboriginal owned Guluyambi Cultural cruise. Our guide was a local young man who gave us an insight into his culture, mythology, traditional bush survival skills, death and funeral protocols, bush tucker and close up views of the crocodiles in the water and lounging on the muddy banks. He moored the boat on the Arnhem Land riverbank and we were encouraged to walk up to the lookout to see further up the river and into the sacred lands. He also showed us a practical display of traditional hunting and gathering implements.
Towards the end of the day we were keen to see the sunset over the wetlands, a short drive brought us to Mirrai and we ascended to the Mirrai lookout quite a steep walk for 20 minutes. Unfortunately the views weren’t great so before it became too dark to see our footing we made our way back to the car and travelled to Muirella to watch for activity at Sandy billabong. We saw some wild boar and one kangaroo and millions of mosquitoes. We soon headed back to our lodge for tucker but became members of the local sport and social club to get a well earned alcoholic drink first.
Our last day in the park was spent in the Cooindu area. We visited the Waradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre which tells the story of the culture of two Aboriginal clans spanning over 50,000 years. This was a fantastic interactive display and we met one of the women who is prominent in the Binini clan, Violet. She and her people are very keen to share their stories and land with visitors to the region as this encourages respect and understanding of what they are trying to maintain in this hectic world.
Coffee in the Gagudju Lodge was necessary for the next part of the day’s planning. We drove off road through Black Jungle Spring, across South Alligator River with crocs swimming so close to the car, willing us to get out for a swim!, along Old Jim Jim road ( where we photographed a dead water buffalo) with military presence on both sides out onto the Arhem Highway into the Mary River area heading back to Darwin. Our outback trip had come to an end and we now had to prepare Amelie for our trip to Indonesia.