Kakadu... Finally!! All of this time I've been so excited to go to Kakadu. I wanted to get a true feel for Kakadu. I couldn't wait to see all of the wild animals I had only ever seen before on TV, saltwater crocodiles, Jabirus, water buffaloes, birds that I never even knew existed. I couldn't wait to just feel like I truly was in wild country fearing for my life at every step. I'm an Australian, I have lived in Australia all 26 years of my life but something inside of me felt as though I had only truly reached Real Australia when I drove through those gates... into the wilderness of Kakadu National Park.
Firstly, the Rock Art in Kakadu is INCREDIBLE!! I would say Kakadu rock artists are the Picassos compared to anything else we've come across in our travels. What makes the art work so incredible isn't solely about their appearance. It's the lessons behind the stories told in each piece that makes it so intriguing...
Meet Nabulwinjbulwinj. He is the dangerous spirit who eats females after striking them with a yam. Not 100% sure on the lesson to be learnt in this one... probably not a great one to start off with.
The figure on the right is - Namarrgon A.K.A "lightning man," who is responsible for the violent electrical storms. He uses the stone axes that are mounted on his head, elbows and knees to split the dark clouds and strike the ground, creating lightning and thunder. The band around him is said to represent a band of lightning that looks like antenna. His children are said to be locusts who appear before the wet season who call to their 'father' to come to them. The aboriginal people use this as a sign to move to high ground before the wet.
The figure on the left is Namarndjolg. Namarndjolg and his skin sister broke the incest laws, when the others found out he was turned into a Ginga, a saltwater crocodile.
Mabuyu was dragging his catch on a string after a fishing expedition when a greedy person cut his string and stole his fish. That night, Mabuyu waited until the thieves had eaten his fish and were camped inside a cave near the East Alligator River. Then he blocked the cave with a huge rock. "Next morning, they never came out. Because they pinched it they got punished. Kids, Ladies, Men all dead - finished".
The bones of this person have been swollen as a sickness contractible if you disturb the stones of a sacred site.
Turtle...
Busy educating myself...
They use different coloured orche as their paint.
The abrasive nature of sandstone was used to grind down softer materials such as ochre or to sharpen weapons. This left little holes in the sandstone referred to as "Grinding Grooves".
Hahahahahahha. The lady was getting mad at the man because they lost each other on the 1km pathway to the top of Ubirr rock. Hahahahahaha they were quite the sight
Shady pit stop half way up Ubirr as we watched the funny couple having a little tiff. hahahaha
Top of Ubirr rock!! Just breathtaking.
The termite mounds are getting even bigger!!
And BIGGGGGGGER!!!
The Ranger Mine... Uranium mine...
The Archway...
Crocodile Hotel. One guess how it got its name...
Now how's that for a campsite photo...
As soon as we got back to camp, the was only one thing in the world that would put me right...
It worked! But just incase, we thought it was best to have dinner there too... and another beer. And a giant chip...
Rating : 10 / 20
Facilities : Quite reasonably priced which was a pleasant surprise - $13p/p for unpowered site. Camp kitchen with free barbeques. Great pool with adjoining bar and bistro.
This dingo was loving all of the attention from passer-bys...
We found a lovely birdwatching observation deck. I was desperate to let off a shotgun just to see the hundreds of birds escape from the grass and fill the sky...
Urgh! Snake skin...
Now that's the face of a very happy man...
And I would like to finish this blog post on a very important note... Gentlemen, this photo is not to be taken lightly...
No comments:
Post a Comment