Finishing up the Top End

Well, my friends,

It's been quite awhile since I have been online. I have been in some places where getting to a computer has been pretty hard. Some of you may have read the last blog I posted that said I didn't know when I would next be online. Well, lucky me... I got to a hotel that has internet. I can at least blog tonight, so I deleted that post. I don't know if I will have another chance after this for at least a week again, so we'll see how far I can get you caught up tonight. That means I have to be a little less detailed in my post today, so I can catch you up to where I am. I am in a whole different country now! So, we'll get right to it. I am going to give you some highlights, with some shorter descriptions of what we did, and I'll just have to fill in the extra details when I see you at home, ok?

When I last wrote, I told you a little about aboriginal culture, and the fact that they believe in Dreamtime ancestors. If you can't remember all about that, you might want to look back at the last blog before you read this one. Part of their beliefs is that the ancestors sometimes became art on ancient rock walls. This art tells the story of the journeys or activities of the ancestors.  Sometimes this art also tells all about the lives of the people who live in the area, like where to hunt, or the story of an important event in the history of the culture. In fact, some people call this rock art a history book in stone. So Sasha and I went to see some of it. It was very interesting. The art was done in colors made from the things in the environment, like the crushed stone. Usually a reddish brown was used, as well as a lot of white. The people and creatures in the art were shown in a style called "x-ray" because they painted all the bones and internal organs of the creature. My favorite ones were of lightning man, who has lightning coming out of him, and axes on his elbows to make thunder; a picture of a corroboree, which is a special religious dance celebration; and a scary guy who hits people with a yam. I'll show you photos of these when I get back and tell you more about them then. So what else did we do in Kakadu?

1. We got an idea of what it is like to live far away from everywhere else. That's called remote. We went to the supermarket, and found that there was very little there. Only one pack of cheese, and three slices of ham at the deli, very little meat, no mushrooms, 2 bananas, etc. We talked to a lady that lives there and she said that the food comes about once a week, and that when they run out, you just have to do without until the next supplies come. You have to be creative with your cooking! Some days she said she would go in to find bread... and there wouldn't be any at all, so her family would have to eat crackers instead. How would you like to live in a place where you couldn't buy what you wanted? It was very interesting to Sasha and I.

2. Arnhemland: We took a tour into Arnhemland, which is to the east of Kakadu. This area is huge, and belongs totally to the aboriginals in the Top End. You are not allowed to go there without a special permission slip called a permit, and they don't give very many of these permits out. This is to protect their way of life from people who might come in and take over, or change it. However, they do let some tours come to visit the area, because these tours are either done by Aborigine people who will respect their ways, or other people who have earned the trust of the people, and will also respect their culture. We met up with Les, our guide, who is Aboriginal, and he took us across the river into this special land. On the way, we got to see a wallaby hop across the road! Les showed us many special places, and taught us about the aboriginal beliefs, and how they live on the land, and learn to respect it and care for it. He also took us to an Aboriginal community to an art center, where Aboriginal artists were creating beautiful pieces of artwork in a traditional style. I bought two x-ray style bark paintings, and a basket to show you all, and put in our culture kits. They are all hand-made, and very beautiful. Next, Les took us to a special site where boys were taught how to be men, and they learn all the stories of their Dreamtime ancestors. These stories have been passed down orally (by telling) for thousands of years, and these boys , when they grow up, will be expected to pass them on too. There were quite a few gorgeous rock art pieces there, including handprints of the traditional owner. In the old days, the handprint was used like a signature, since no 2 people's are alike. Then Les told us about the skills needed in the old days to hunt, and how the older men of the tribe would teach the boys these skills. He even showed us how they used to throw spears, which was really neat. At the end of the day, Les told us how he works with kids, and gave us some of his own artwork. Hopefully he will be able to keep in touch with us, so we can keep learning about Aboriginal culture from him.

3. The last day in Kakadu, we got to see the most amazing sunset. We climbed up to another rock art site, called Ubirr, and looked at all the art and the stories that went with it. Then we climbed even further up, high over the grassland and billabongs below, a high stone cliff in the background. There we sat on the edge of that high rock, and watched the sun go down over the plains and other rocks. The land changed color as the sun went from brilliant yellow, high in the sky, to a ball of red, and fading pinks as it went down. It was stunning to watch, and probably one of my favorite things about this whole trip.

4. That night, Sasha and I did something very much part of Australian culture. We cooked on the barbie! The barbie is the outdoor grill. We had gone back to the store, and the new shipment of food had come in, so we got some stuff, went back to the place we were staying, and cooked on the barbecue outside. It was a lot of fun, and delicious. We were really glad to be able to do something that most Australians do regularly. It helped us experience the culture in another way.

The next morning we headed back to Darwin, to get ready to fly out to Alice Springs. While in Darwin, we were able to walk on the beach, and dip our toes into the Arafura Sea, which is part of the Indian Ocean. We couldn't really go swimming, because there are quite a few jellyfish there, and although this wasn't the high season for them, it was still kind of risky. So we walked along the beach and looked at all the amazing shells, all shapes and sizes, all colors. The rocks were even beautiful; many were striped in shades of red and gold. We took pictures of some of them for you, but we didn't take any, because it was what is called a reserve, and you can't take stuff from there. That evening, we actually met up with Les's (our guide from Arnhemland) daughter who lives in Darwin. We went to the special night market they have down at the beach. It's a really busy and lively place with lots of different foods, crafts and music. Sasha, my niece, and Les's daughter, hung out and talked as we walked around and tasted different foods, listened to music, and looked at all the crafts. It was really busy there. It seemed like the whole city was there! We also got to see another fabulous sunset.

So that's how we ended our time in the Top End. It was wonderful there, and I was glad to have gotten to a place so remote. But the next stop.....well, I thought Kakadu was remote. The next place was even remoter! You'll have to read about that in my next post.