Sacred image
Photographer Jacky Ghossein brings her unique
perspective to Arnhem Land.
Who would have thought stubbing my toes, getting lost and
running out of petrol could be so much fun?
Not to mention the awesome “truckie’s tan” or the days it took
to remove the dirt from under my nails after coming home from a
four-wheel-drive photographic tour through Kakadu and Arnhem
Land.
Arnhem Land is no ordinary destination. For a start, you cannot
enter without a permit. There are two tour operators who can take
you in, otherwise it’s off limits. At any time the road in can be
closed due to “sorry business”, meaning a burial ceremony, and that
closure can go on for weeks. A warning to keen shutterbugs - some
sites cannot be photographed. Our cultural tour guide, Aboriginal
tourism development officer Wayne Turner, put our visit to this
unique place into perspective: “It’s not a right to go to Arnhem
Land, it’s a privilege.”
Another warning: when near any billabong we were to keep an eye
out for crocs. They were everywhere and if local lore is to be
believed, we humans taste like chicken.
From Kakadu, we crossed over to Arnhem Land reserve, which
covers 96,000 square kilometres - from Cahills Crossing through Red
Lilly Billabong and Mikinj Valley. We stopped at Gunbalanya,
checking the Injalak Arts and Crafts Association (it accepts Visa,
for which I was grateful, as I wanted to buy the whole shop), then
we headed off with two indigenous tour guides, Wilfred and Garry,
on a rock art tour of Injalak Hill. (If you ask politely Garry
might sing you a tune in his native tongue.).
We got back in our four-wheel-drive, headed to Mt Borradaile and
met up with Max from Davidson’s Arnhemland Safaris. Max has had an
exclusive arrangement with the traditional owners of the land for
17 years; he pays royalties and provides job opportunities.
We ended the day sipping wine on a sunset cruise along Coopers
Creek billabong, which is filled with salt-water crocs. The
birdlife is abundant, with wandering whistling ducks, jabirus,
snake-necked darters, jacana, white-bellied sea eagles and pacific
heron.
Back at the base, Ray the chef cooked up his delicious
specialty, barramundi. On our way across Arnhem Land to the Gove
Peninsula, we were granted special permission to drive to the
central Arnhem Land highway. We passed savanna woodlands and cycads
and stopped at Mumeka to have lunch and enjoy the sight of a bunch
of local kids splashing about, laughing in their native tongue.
During the eight-hour drive from Maningrida to the town of
Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula, we ran out of petrol. We flagged
down a passing motorist who turned out to be the local Liberal
party candidate, Adam Giles, with his entourage, who kindly towed
us in. We ended the trip in the best possible way at Bawaka, a
coastal village in Port Bradshaw, south of Nhulunbuy. You can only
reach it by helicopter or four-wheel-drive. It took us about two
hours to get in through the sand dunes and we got bogged several
times.
Our guide was Timmy Burarrwanga from the Yolngu tribe, who spoke
14 languages including English. Timmy speared fish and crabs for
our lunch. It was a fun cultural day, with the women and men split
up into separate groups - we did women’s business, swam (in our
clothes), danced, painted our faces and got sunburnt. This is where
my truckie’s tan really established itself.
What really stuck with me was Timmy’s message to us about
respecting the sacred sites: “Sacred areas are about something
special, something treasured - that’s what Aboriginals are now.
Respect the tribal people and their traditions, respect the land
and welcome, it is an opportunity to share in the land.”
Wayne Turner was right. I felt privileged to be there.
The writer was a guest of NT Tourism.
TRIP NOTES
Getting there: Qantas and Jetstar fly to Darwin
with fares starting from $600. See http://www.qantas.com.au or http://www.jetstar.com.au.
Touring Arnhem Land: Davidson’s Arnhemland
Safaris runs several tours year round including three-, four- and
five-day adventure packages. It can also arrange travel permits
into Arnhem Land during the dry season and supply route maps .
Phone (08)89275240 or see http://www.arnhemland-safaris.com/.
For more information: See http://www.travelnt.com.
EXHIBITION
Jacky Ghossein’s images are included in a photographic
exhibition of Kakadu and Arnhem Land which starts February 4 and
runs until February 15 at The Gallery at Darling Park, 201 Sussex
Street, Sydney. The Kakadu %26amp; Arnhem Land Photo
Exhibition is a free event, run by Tourism NT. The Gallery is
open during office hours, Monday to Friday, from 8.30am to 5pm.
Source: The Sun-Herald
Posted
on
Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 8:00 pm under