Mataranka and Katherine

I’d been really looking forward to these places, and they did not disappoint. Both of them interesting and special in their own ways. We were sad to leave them.

Just quickly though, and worth a photo, we stopped here on the way…

Mataranka

Some of you may have heard of the novel and movie ‘We of the Never Never’ – the story of Jeannie Gunn. She went as a newly-wed, from Melbourne, in 1902 or so, with her husband to Elsey Station, near Mataranka. It was rough ‘n’ tough back then, and a man’s world where women were not welcome. Anyway, she fell in love with the place, despite the hardship and isolation, kept a diary, from which she developed a book. And the movie was made many years later. She said it was ‘Never Never land’ because once it got its hooks into you, you’d never never want to leave. Anyway, Mataranka is known as the heart of Never Never land, and it has lots of references to Jeannie’s story throughout the town. Elliot and I loved it – it did feel kind of special.

Whilst there, we enjoyed two of the thermal springs. We also saw our first wild crocs in the Roper River – they were the first of many to come as we headed further north. I think the 3 hours we spent at Bitter Springs was one of our highlights of the trip so far. The colour of the water was like all colours (except red/orange) of a blue opal, and crystal clear too. The water bubbles up at about 30.5 million litres per day and is a consistent 34°C. It was completely natural. We were surrounded by water lilies and reeds, and floated for about 10 minutes with the current along with the fish and turtles. Having snorkels with us gave us a glimpse of the underwater world. We were blown away by this magic.

We were lucky to meet a lovely family, whose daughter took some underwater shots of us. The rest are the ones we took out of the water.  

The main pool of Bitter Springs, leading off to the creek whose current you could drift along with.

Where you climbed out, to walk back and do it all over again!

Happy days!!

There were water lilies in bloom everywhere.

Katherine

We packed a lot into a couple of days here. Bushwalking, kayaking, an Aboriginal cultural experience, and a Stockman’s dinner. The last three mentioned here, we did all in the same day! It was a biggie, and a very memorable day. Awesome again!

Nitmiluk National Park and Gorge (formerly know as Katherine Gorge and NP) is a large area. One big gorge, with lots of smaller ones joining it. It was stinking hot when Elliot and I did a bushwalk to Butterfly Gorge, down to Nitmiluk Gorge. To be honest, we weren’t majorly impressed by the walk, probably because the ones we’d done at Kata Tjuta, Uluru, Kings Canyon and the MacDonnell Ranges had been incredible. Oh to be spoilt eh?! We only splashed about in the gorge for a few minutes, as we were still a bit scared about the possibility crocs would be present, despite the waters having been declared safe for swimming. The day we took a dip in the gorge was the first day it had been opened!

However, the next day was one of my favourites so far, and very memorable. That was where we did kayaking in the morning, followed by an Aboriginal Cultural experience, then the Stockman’s dinner at night.

Kayaking:

We went with the same family we’d met at Bitter Springs, and it was great company for both of us. It was so nice to see Nitmiluk Gorge from water level, as mostly you see gorges from lookouts, or you’re clambering over rocks along dry river beds. I felt much more at ease about the crocs now, and enjoyed a couple of swims too. The huge croc traps and baits along the river bank were untouched, and I’d seen some kayakers come back safe before us, so at least I knew we weren’t the ‘test run’!

Relaxed and happy – who me?!

One of the many lovely beaches along Nitmiluk Gorge. The crocs get the best spots…(crocs had been removed by the way, but their nesting areas remain protected)

Elliot taking a break from kayaking. Gee, he looks pretty vulnerable in the middle of the Katherine River on his own doesn’t he?

A shallow tributary – so peaceful.

Cultural Experience:

Next, we headed towards Katherine town to do the ‘Cultural Experience’, and it was awesome!! Our Aboriginal guide was Manuel, who first told us a brief story of his life, where he was born in a ‘humpy’ in the bush, surrounded by the traditional customary ways of life, and didn’t see his first white man til he was about 7 years old (he was terrified of him by the way – thought he was a ‘spirit’ come to get him). Manuel is a very traditional Aboriginal man, and carries his traditions, stories and cultural ways with him. He doesn’t know his birthday, and can only guess at his age. Anyway, after a bit of storytelling, in that beautiful engaging way Aboriginal people do, he played a bit of didgeridoo, then took us of to show us how to light a fire with sticks. Then he showed us how to creep up on prey, and how to throw a spear. Then, he taught us how to do a painting in the style of people from the north/Kakadu/Arnhem Land, using traditional grasses and tools. We learnt that the most important thing for a painting done by someone in his tribe (Dalabon) is to have four white lines repeated at intervals when filling in the middle of the design. Any more or any less than 4 would symbolise another tribe. Traditionally only men would paint, but now women do it too. He said that when he was learning to paint in early adolescence (part of the rite of passage), if you did something wrong in your painting, particularly the 4 white lines bit, your punishment would be a spear through the leg. I asked other Aboriginal men about this punishment in subsequent tours, and they did exactly the same thing. Similar punishment would also be dished out for swearing. ‘Where did we go wrong in Western Culture?’, I asked myself??! But seriously, they have an incredibly strong kinship system and strict laws of how to live (as determined by Dreamtime), which they enforce without mercy. Anyway, we got through our paintings without punishment, and reluctantly left Manuel. He’d been fantastic – so patient, engaging, humerous, interesting and friendly. He made a great impression on us both. 

A taste of the Aboriginal kinship system. This example is only the tip of the iceberg – wait til you hear of who you’re allowed to marry because of your skin name, and that you can actually be your own grandson or something! I got totally lost, despite hearing about this over and over through the following weeks! Mind boggling! And all to do with keeping blood lines clean and to stop inbreeding. Aboriginal people has it right tens of thousands of years ago, like so many other things in their culture.

Me attempting to make embers through friction, to then throw onto the dried grass in front of Manuel. It was hard work, and took about 4 of us tourists to have a go before we succeeded! 

Manuel with fire sticks and a Woomera (multi purpose tool). The fire sticks are from the Kurrajong tree, as it’s soft, and easily made into embers. The Woomera is made of Ironbark – a very hard wood, and therefore won’t catch fire easily. It’s used to catch the embers which are then tossed onto the grass. The other highly significant tree Aboriginal people use is Paperbark. They use it to wrap things up, like food, their newborns, their dead, to build canoes out of…the list goes on. The fire sticks are kept, as each burn hole is a prompt for a story eg, the 5^th hole from the left is when so and so did such and such, or when someone was born or died etc. 

Manuel teaching Elliot how to throw a spear. Again, the Woomera appears, as extra leverage for spear throwing. 

Manuel is also an artist. This was his ‘step by step’ drawing board of how to do a painting. Step 5 is the crucial one – the one where you need to put in your 4 white lines symbolising the ‘Dalabon’ tribe. This was the ‘spear through the leg’ moment if you got it wrong!!

Me at stage 3. Elliot (above me in pic) is on stage 4.

Elliot’s finished painting. 

And mine! Can’t wait to hang this above my desk at work.

Elliot was really taken with ‘Maddie’ – an Agile Wallaby orphan joey. She was so cute!!!

The Stockman’s Dinner

Couldn’t have chosen a better night for this after all the activity we’d done! Marksie, the storyteller and chef, had his traditional camp kitchen set up in the grounds of the ‘Outback History’ museum, and it looked beautiful.

And between Marksie’s tales, this is what he served up, all of it cooked over a campfire!! Takes him about 8 hours every time he holds one of his dinners…

Entrée:

·      Crocodile and beef sausage roll with 4 vegetables and a bush tomato

seasoning topped with a desert quandong sauce.

·      Camel sausage with a mountain pepper seasoning and a bird's eye sweet chilli

sauce

·      Wild Barramundi in a lemon myrtle and rainforest spice, served with a fresh

mango salsa

·      Roast wattleseed cheese topped damper

Mains:

·      Roast Lamb in a wild rosemary and a 5 spice stemgrass

·      Roast Beef in a native pepperberry sauce

·      Roast Potato,   Roast local pumpkin,  Tomato and Onion Bread crumb topped

pie (with grandma's secret "bomb")

·      Peas in Native Mint.

Desert:

·      Gem scones with native jam and fresh cream

·      Gum leaf billy tea

·      Non- alcoholic native jungle juice (native mint, forestberry herb, native

lime juice, pineapple & water'

Quite astonishing, and absolutely sensational! Marksie has spent 12 years perfecting his recipes and cooking techniques, over such a variable heat source. The other thing he did was infiltrate ‘women’s business’, as with the vast majority of his ingredients being bush tucker, and seasonal, he had to earn the trust and respect of the local Aboriginal ladies to learnt from them. Now, he adapts their knowledge, and develops his own combos, tests it out on the skeptical lades, who invariably absolutely love what he’s done. Quite a special bloke (now well in his 60’s I think), and a wonderful partnership he’s built up with them.

Returned back to camp, exhausted, but fully satiated, and smiling. What a day!!

Heading North – The Devil’s Marbles

The Devil’s Marbles was a welcome break from a long, straight drive, that was pretty much through flat scrub land with masses of termite mounds. There were a few bridges that crossed the railway line that offered a little elevation to allow you to see just how vast this landscape is. Quite incredible. Here’s me pointing the way!

Anyway, we set up camp just in time to head off to ‘The Marbles’ for sunset. And boy, was I surprised! I thought it was only a fairly small collection of boulders, but they were everywhere! Elliot and I estimated they covered an area of about 15-20 football fields. And resting in the most precarious positions. Another magic moment on our trip! Here are some shots…

I like this shot as it shows the dying rays of the sun, and the first two bright stars of the night.

With arriving so late, or at least in time for sunset, that also meant we could get up early the next morning and see them at sunrise – so we did! (By the way, if you haven’t already worked it out, I love rocks!!)

…like eggs split in two.

Reminded me of a big croissant. Well, it was time for breakfast!

About The Devil’s Marbles

Firstly, this site, ‘Karlwekarlwe’ in Aboriginal language, is rich in Dreaming stories and events for the four Aboriginal groups who have connections to this place. They believe that the Rainbow Serpent scattered its eggs around here. It is a sacred site that holds their stories, and also where, traditionally, they hunted and could find fresh water. Most of their stories are kept secret, and only passed onto each other at significant times in their lifespans. But here’s one they opted to share with tourists:

‘Aboriginal people believe that people from the Dreaming live here at Karlwekarlwe in the caves under the rocks.

They’re real people, like us. You can see them. A long time ago, I went with my billycan down to the creek here to get some water. One of these secret people came out and started playing with me. I couldn’t go away.

My mother came and got me, saved me. After that, we never camped at this place again, never. They’re kind, these secret people, but they can make you mad. They can change you into one of them. They can say ‘follow me’ and you can’t go back.

It happened like that with my cousin. He disappeared. The old people made a big ceremony, singing the ground and the rocks to make them let my cousin come back. We’ve lost that song now. We’ve got no song to bring children back’ – Senior Traditional Owner.

And scientist outline the Western point of view of how they formed…

Alice Springs and West MacDonnell Ranges

We changed our itinerary around a bit here, backtracking from Kings Canyon, back through Erldunda, then up to Alice. And boy am I glad we did! You see, the original plan was to take the Mereenie Loop from Kings Canyon around to Glen Helen Resort; an unsealed road, a good 180kms or so of it, and a bit rough at the best of times. We decided not to as there’d been quite a bit of rain, and I didn’t want to get bogged again as I had back at William Creek. Having a chat a few days down the track with people who’d done the Loop when we’d intended, but in proper, big 4WD’s with off road trailers, said the road had really shaken things up. People’s headlights smashed, fridges in their trailers fallen apart, and doors shaken off. We wouldn’t have stood a chance in our little ‘rig’!! So although it meant about another $100 in petrol, and an extra 300kms or so, I think it turned out pretty much the same, but far more relaxing!

So while fellow travellers were doing it tough on the Mereenie Loop, Elliot and I were enjoying being in Alice Springs – re-stocking supplies, enjoying a fantastic campsite, and going to Alice’s premier tourist attraction, ‘The Alice Springs Desert Park’. It was fantastic!! Set up beautifully to showcase all the desert has to offer, which is a lot! We were there about 5 hours and didn’t see it all. This was where we saw the most bird life (in their bird show, aviaries, and just flying about in the bushland all around), plus learnt a heap about how Aboriginal people used to live in such a harsh environment. Lots of interesting information about the wildlife, plants, eco-systems, and the biggest nocturnal house I’ve ever seen! So cool, and well worth a visit if you’re ever in Alice.

Here are some photos:

A Barn Owl (??) – very common owl in the world, but gorgeous anyway!

Might be a Grey Headed Honeyeater - (sorry, don’t know my birds too well!) Lovely though!

A Painted Finch (I think)

Zebra Finch? Very cute and fluffy anyway!!

I know this one!! It’s a Tawny Frogmouth! Very cool – it just hangs around, disguised as a tree stump/branch. It’s an ‘opportunist’, as in, it just waits for some kind of insect to fly by, and grabs it. Think it’s part of the Kingfisher family, but it doesn’t fly too well. Just as well it likes hangin’ out!

A Brown Falcon. Absolutely beautiful bird. Watching the birds of prey in the bird show was amazing. Their aeronautic skills quite extraordinary. Just a slight turn of the head, or slight angle change of the tail can totally change their direction in a split second. The black markings under its eyes are to reflect the sun – kind of like a pair of sunnies!

Not a particularly great shot of a Bush Stone Curlew, but a beautiful bird. Nocturnal (huge eyes), and maybe got long legs for stalking through the grass? Can’t remember :(

A new ‘Aussie Animal favourite’ of mine, the Thorny Devil. They are so cute!!! Just small, maybe 15 – 20 cms long, and they have a really stiff walk, like they’ve got arthritis. They’ve adapted their walk and markings to look like a dead leaf fluttering in the breeze across the ground. Can’t see it myself! Just looks like a cute spiky lizard! I want one!!!!!

Of course, you can’t have an Aussie Desert Park without a few snake species – this is a King Brown (aka Mulga snake).

The stunning White Winged Fairy Wren. Apparently the only desert bird to have such bright colours. Depending on how the sunlight caught it, it looked either Cobalt or Electric blue. It looked quite like an iridescent blue butterfly when flitting around. Just gorgeous.  

No idea what this one is, but I loved watching it fossicking around in dead leaves on the ground to find its food. Was pretty cute too!

Sat in on an interesting talk about hunting and gathering methods of the local Aboriginal people. Elliot’s holding a shield here. Apparently, shields were quite rare, even when the Aboriginal people were living traditional lives. So when they did decide to make them, they made them out of Mulga wood (the most durable one in the area), and made them to fit the particular man that would use it. Because of its rarity, this one is quite precious, and it’s also one tool or traditional item that very few modern Aboriginal people would know how to make. We were told that, like non-Aboriginal folk, contemporary Aboriginal people now go to the shops to buy food, and if they go hunting, they do it in 4WDs with rifles. No more spear throwing and traditional hunting/trapping/gathering/processing methods any more. The most important thing now, is that their languages are kept alive. When that dies, so does any link they have to their fokelores and meaning behind their storytelling. That’s the keystone to what’s left of their cultures.

While I remember, I also learnt another sad thing at the Alice Springs Desert Park – while Australia has the world record, or is utterly unique in many things regarding flora and fauna, it also holds the world record for the most number of extinct species (particularly in contemporary times). Something like19 that we know of in the last 10 years. BOOO!!

This is Elliot with a desert boomerang. It’s a lot longer and straighter than the ones you might be familiar with. This one is thrown horizontally, and does not come back. Its purpose is to ‘kneecap’ emus and break large birds wings – stop them moving, so the men can get in there quick and finish the animal/bird off as quickly as possible with a blow to the head with a club. Again all these tools were made of Mulga. Boomerangs in tropical wetlands, or coastal areas were smaller, more curved and designed to come back, as going into the water to retrieve your boomerang would be like risking your life due to all the crocs and other nasties in the water! Clever huh?

This is a type of Mulga. I love the bark on it! Reminded me of a Piñata!!

This was pretty special – a full moon over Alice. I could just imagine all the desert predators we’d seen at the Desert Park having fantastic hunting sessions in this bright moonlight. Full moon over the desert – magic!

A visit to Alice Springs ED wasn’t so magic though. Elliot managed to break his toe whilst in thongs. Foot slipped off the pedal, straight into the ground. Ouch! Culdn’t have been that bad though – he was back into shoes in about 3 days, then continuing with hikes as usual. We were SO lucky!!

West MacDonnell Ranges

The great thing about the WMR is you can see so much in a relatively short distance. Glen Helen is about the furthest west you can get from Alice as a place to stay, before the Merleenie Loop curls around to either Hermannsburg or off to Kings Canyon – and it’s only about 160kms from Alice. Along the north road through the WMR, you can see about 6 gorges a number of waterholes, and other attractions worth a look. I thought it was a great place if you’re short of time. Needless to say, it was beautiful, peaceful and loaded with meaning in Aboriginal fokelore. Here are some pics…

The landscape is so heavily textured, and the hills have this extraordinary ‘undulating’ pattern, with many different layers of rock types, with strips of green, also looking regulated. It looked to me like different colours of wool had been laid down to make their patterns. Very unusual!

Some of these stratas up close. They looked a lot like dry stone walls. So straight and perfect. I love the perspective in the above shot.

This is Mt Sonder. Aboriginal people believe it looks like a pregnant woman lying on her back. I can see it…can you?

These are the cliffs leading into Glen Helen Gorge, where we camped. I could see these cliffs through the window when I was having a shower!! Nae bad eh? Wonderful birdlife around these gorges. It’s amazing what a difference water makes!

And this was just across the road and up a bit from where we camped. So peaceful! I think the water is part of the Finke River – the main river in the Red Centre.

I found this awesome bug wriggling around on its back at the campsite. It was iridescent green – like metallic paint, especially on its underside. Very beautiful and eyecatching.

Redbank Gorge…

…is the narrowest in WMR, and never heated by direct sunlight. As a consequence, the water is absolutely freezing, and animals/reptiles that fall in it whilst drinking or whatever, usually perish. Neither Elliot or I ventured in (due to the risks), but admired the incredible rock formation and reflections in the dark, still water…

‘Scuse the socks ‘n’ Crocs – toe still too sore for shoes here! Lovely portrait of him though :)

Ormiston Gorge

This Gorge was huge, but incredibly peaceful. Elliot and I had lunch way up the gorge floor, with no people around. I lazed in the sun on the rocks afterwards, whilst Elliot looked in the waterholes at the little micro-worlds that go on in there. Of all the gorges we visited, I think this one had the most ‘life’ that we could see – lots of birds, some fish, and fantastic dragonflies. Felt so relaxed afterwards…

Me on the way down to the Gorge floor, after the lookout. The Gorge cliffs rise about 250m above the waterholes below. Quite magnificent. Again, the lines and angles of the rocks really struck me. Here’s what scientists say about how it became the way it is:

The sun was catching the tops of the branches of this beautiful gum tree, making them look silver. The branches I’ve taken a photo of remind me of bolts of lightening with their crooked angles and silver lines.

Our lunch spot for the day – at the end of the waterhole here.
 

Another of the waterholes. This had fish in it.

I loved the patterns in these creek bed rocks.

One of the many electric blue dragonflies busying around. Lucky this one stopped long enough for me to get a picture.

…and a flame red one. Lots of them too!

Ellery Creek Bighole

…the largest waterhole in the area. Elliot and I thought ‘Right, today’s the day we’ll take a dip in one of these – it’ll be nice!’ WRONG!!! It was absolutely freezing!! Not enjoyable in the least – just painful really. I was in and out in less than 10 seconds, and could hardly breathe. Terrible!! Reminded me of the polar plunge I did in Antarctica – no joke!! Nevertheless, it was beautiful. Here are some shots…

Look at that! Looked SO inviting – just swim across the first waterhole, cross a bit of sand into the next shimmering one…alas, it was not to be :(

 Took a photo instead.

The Ochre Pits

This was beautiful, and quite special. To Aboriginal people, Ochre was a highly valued trading commodity, used for all sorts of ceremonies (as it is still today for some remaining tribes). The signs at this site emphasised its importance to Aboriginal people, and for visitors to not touch the rocks (and definitely not take any home!) The four typical colours of Ochre used – red, yellow, black and white, had different meaning, and were therefore used to different extents and for different purposes. 

Ochre cliffs

The different colours available at this site.