Ubirr - Point Stuart
We reach Ubirr at about 1 o'clock. It is beyond bloody hot. We slap on the Banana Boat sunscreen and pack lots of water. The Ubirr site itself is a series of rocky outcrops on otherwise flat, tropical land. There are more than 5,000 rock painting sites in Kakadu alone, but this is the most important (That they let us whitefella tourists see, anyway).
Eli in the jungle
In Ubirr itself, there are around 120 rock painting sites of which 5 are open to the public. This seemed a bit odd, until I started to understand that this is not a travelling circus. It is not put up for my benefit. It is very sacred to the local people.
Various outcrops poking up out of the floodplain.
Dating the paintings are difficult, but some of them have been dated at at least 20 000 years old. That makes them the oldest examples of human art on Earth.
Bear in mind that the aboriginal people reached Australia between 60 000 and 65 000 years ago. They are the living descendants of mankind's first successful migration out of Africa. Theirs is the oldest living culture on Earth. We are privileged indeed to see their art.
An image of a long necked turtle.
A circular path takes us past all the sites. The rock art is done in white, yellow, orange, red and black ochre. Newer paintings sometimes overwriting older ones, sometimes reinforcing the older ones. Some of the paintings have incredible details, like fishes showing the position of the backbone and internal organs - An anatomy lesson in stone! Others are painted 5 meters above ground level on the lip of the cave!
Images of Barramundi. Notice the backbone and organs.
More x-ray fish!
Several sandstone outcrops are covered in paintings and the path takes us past each. There are also explanatory plaques to explain the context of what we are seeing. In one spot, a whitefella smoking a pipe is shown.
Here's a wallaby and a whitefella with his hands in his pockets. Lots of other, fainter, images.
Here's a turtle done in white, with a human stick figure to the left. The stick figures are some of the oldest drawings.
We walk up to a lookout point, allowing us a view over the entire landscape. From here we can see wetlands, floodplains, savannah, forest and mountain. It is easy to see how someone can feel particularly close to his gods in a place like this.
Looking out over the wetlands.
Another view over the wetlands.
We drive on and reach Point Stuart 2 hours later. This is an oasis close the the north coast of Australia. The birds are singing in the trees, the wallabies grazing on the verges of the forest. Our room is basic. Very basic. 2 Basic boarding school style single beds, separated by a fridge, an airconditioner mounted on the wall. Thats it. But its clean and mozzie free. We think its heaven.
We reach Ubirr at about 1 o'clock. It is beyond bloody hot. We slap on the Banana Boat sunscreen and pack lots of water. The Ubirr site itself is a series of rocky outcrops on otherwise flat, tropical land. There are more than 5,000 rock painting sites in Kakadu alone, but this is the most important (That they let us whitefella tourists see, anyway).
Eli in the jungleIn Ubirr itself, there are around 120 rock painting sites of which 5 are open to the public. This seemed a bit odd, until I started to understand that this is not a travelling circus. It is not put up for my benefit. It is very sacred to the local people.
Various outcrops poking up out of the floodplain.Dating the paintings are difficult, but some of them have been dated at at least 20 000 years old. That makes them the oldest examples of human art on Earth.
Bear in mind that the aboriginal people reached Australia between 60 000 and 65 000 years ago. They are the living descendants of mankind's first successful migration out of Africa. Theirs is the oldest living culture on Earth. We are privileged indeed to see their art.
An image of a long necked turtle. A circular path takes us past all the sites. The rock art is done in white, yellow, orange, red and black ochre. Newer paintings sometimes overwriting older ones, sometimes reinforcing the older ones. Some of the paintings have incredible details, like fishes showing the position of the backbone and internal organs - An anatomy lesson in stone! Others are painted 5 meters above ground level on the lip of the cave!
Images of Barramundi. Notice the backbone and organs. More x-ray fish! Several sandstone outcrops are covered in paintings and the path takes us past each. There are also explanatory plaques to explain the context of what we are seeing. In one spot, a whitefella smoking a pipe is shown.
Here's a wallaby and a whitefella with his hands in his pockets. Lots of other, fainter, images. Here's a turtle done in white, with a human stick figure to the left. The stick figures are some of the oldest drawings. We walk up to a lookout point, allowing us a view over the entire landscape. From here we can see wetlands, floodplains, savannah, forest and mountain. It is easy to see how someone can feel particularly close to his gods in a place like this.
Looking out over the wetlands. Another view over the wetlands. We drive on and reach Point Stuart 2 hours later. This is an oasis close the the north coast of Australia. The birds are singing in the trees, the wallabies grazing on the verges of the forest. Our room is basic. Very basic. 2 Basic boarding school style single beds, separated by a fridge, an airconditioner mounted on the wall. Thats it. But its clean and mozzie free. We think its heaven.
We make our way to the shaded pool where several other guests are already enjoying beers in the not so cool water. They swop fishing stories - this is barra country! Australia's world famous recreational sportfish, and pretty good to eat too.
I'm dying for a beer - all mine are warm, since I forgot to put any 'tinnies' in the fridge this morning. The bar/restaurant opens at 5 pm and we are the first there, complete with binoculars and bird book. We spot several new birds while relaxing in the shade.
The bar/restaurant is a corrugated iron annexe to the main homestead. Inside are numerous photos of guys holding massive barramundi, the odd crocodile skull, bush pig skulls and black and white photos of hunters with their feet on dead waterbuffaloes. They sell two types of beer and don't do tabs for anybody.
We both order barramundi and chips for dinner, which was excellent. The longer we sit, the more people arrive: Rough-necks, fishing types, drifters. Almost imperceptibly, the women leave. Eli is almost the last female to leave the bar.
An AFL game is set to start and the telly's volume is cranked up to compete with the music. Chairs are arranged in more of a cinema style, in order for everybody to be able to keep an eye on the game while getting on with the more important jobs of drinking and talking. I get talking with a few guys and am immediately introduced to a few others. Some of them won't give me the time of day once they find out I know nothing of barramundi fishing; with others I get on like a house on fire.
The bar/restaurant is a corrugated iron annexe to the main homestead. Inside are numerous photos of guys holding massive barramundi, the odd crocodile skull, bush pig skulls and black and white photos of hunters with their feet on dead waterbuffaloes. They sell two types of beer and don't do tabs for anybody.
We both order barramundi and chips for dinner, which was excellent. The longer we sit, the more people arrive: Rough-necks, fishing types, drifters. Almost imperceptibly, the women leave. Eli is almost the last female to leave the bar.
An AFL game is set to start and the telly's volume is cranked up to compete with the music. Chairs are arranged in more of a cinema style, in order for everybody to be able to keep an eye on the game while getting on with the more important jobs of drinking and talking. I get talking with a few guys and am immediately introduced to a few others. Some of them won't give me the time of day once they find out I know nothing of barramundi fishing; with others I get on like a house on fire.
One guy and his father are on their annual barra fishing trip. They drive the 4 000km from Melbourne every year - in just 4 days, towing the boat. Another guy is the resort guide. He will be taking us on a birdwatching river cruise in the morning, but this evening we discuss the merits of kangaroo flesh and debate the best way of preparation.
This is my second experience of real Australia and real Australians. I realise again how incredibly friendly, helpful, genial and welcoming Australians are. Always ready with "G'day, howya doin?" Direct and no nonsense too, but I like it that way. These are hardy individualists, tough as nails, but equally ready with common courtesy or a pair of schooners.
Stories are told; laughs are shared; beer flows; jokes are exchanged; AFL teams are insulted. The later it gets, the better it gets. I could stay here all night, but the little voice manages to get a hearing too and I suspect I left at about 12, while they were still going strong.
What happens next? Read more on Day 10...
This is my second experience of real Australia and real Australians. I realise again how incredibly friendly, helpful, genial and welcoming Australians are. Always ready with "G'day, howya doin?" Direct and no nonsense too, but I like it that way. These are hardy individualists, tough as nails, but equally ready with common courtesy or a pair of schooners.
Stories are told; laughs are shared; beer flows; jokes are exchanged; AFL teams are insulted. The later it gets, the better it gets. I could stay here all night, but the little voice manages to get a hearing too and I suspect I left at about 12, while they were still going strong.
What happens next? Read more on Day 10...
