Monday 5th February 2007. Kakadu. Northern Territory.

Well its Monday morning and I am off to the office, which this morning will be the wonders of Kakadu National Park in the wet season.

Kakadu is home to the world's largest and oldest rock-art collection where an estimated 5000 rock-art sites can be found. Our first stop is Nourlangie Rock to view that very gunbim (or rock-art). Our walking tour takes in all that is on offer including Anbangbang Gallery and the Gun-Warddehwarde Lookout.

As in cultures world-wide art plays an important part in the culture of aboriginal peoples, illustrating stories and 'educating' the next generation. Some rock-art stories are not for everyone to know, i.e. some stories are not for the consumption of the white man or others, they are sacred.

Aboriginal culture also offers interpretations for natural events such as lightening storms. These interpretations are similar to the traditional or ancient beliefs that Western cultures have chosen to destroy, e.g. the ancient belief that thunder meant God was angry.

I can't help but feel deprived that my culture has chosen to remain ignorant of the wonderful traditions of country folk that (just like aboriginal elders) tell of weather changes, food supply reliability etc simply from predicting the behaviour of the land by reading the behaviour of our animals.

On now to the Bowali Visitor Centre for an informative film on these lands that surround us.

It is very humid here in the wet season and these ancient lands have a Jurassic feel.

Wet or dry, the aboriginals have learned to live with the extremes of life here in the Northern Territory.

The wonders of Kakadu remain under threat with 10% of the worlds' uranium deposits found in or around Kakadu National Park.

This afternoon I take to the air for a scenic flight over Kakadu down to JimJim Falls and Twin Falls with Kakadu Air. It was such a laugh as we shot down the runway with the pilots door open and Paula saying her prayers. It is a small plane for up to 8 people and when we are airborne you begin to get a sense of just how vast this park is.

The town of Jabiru is unique in that it was built in the early 1980's specifically to meet the needs of the local mining industry with the land being leased from the local aboriginal people. Apart from the township and the mine this area is a huge geological treasure.

The road to the falls is closed at the beginning of the wet season and so the only way to see the falls in full flow is to fly over them.

We also flew over Double Falls and Death Adder Valley. What is striking is that most of this country below me has never seen the hand of man and so it remains as evolutionary pure as possible.

Walking back to my room tonight I am acutely aware of the presence of wildlife having seen a number of dingoes wandering the grounds in the last few days...as well as the brown snake Heather found in the pool last night.

Thought for the Day...

Law

Law never change,
always stay same,
Maybe it hard,
but proper one for all people.
Not like white European law,
always changing,
If you don't like it,
You change.
Aboriginal law never change.
Old people tell us,
'You got to keep it'.
It always stays.