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Arnhem Land
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World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, covering over 19,000 square kilometres, is a landscape of contrasts. Experience the spectacular Jim Jim Falls, ancient Aboriginal rock art at Ubirr or Nourlangie Rock and explore Yellow Water, a billabong teeming with wildlife. The Gove Peninsula is a must see with long white sandy beaches, warm temperatures and plenty of cool breezes. Arnhem Land is a culturally strong, remote and pristine environment owned by the Yolngu (Aboriginal) people -a truly unforgettable outback experience. |
- Stay in Arnhem Land this weekend!
Arnhem Land Reviews
A living, lasting experience, Saturday, 28 June 2008
It marked the end of a perfect day in Arnhem Land, the last unspoiled part of Australia. . . in a bright, sunny, dusty, over-exposed kind of outback, where the people have very dark skin, even darker, depthless dark eyes and smiling white teeth.
Only in remote Arnhem Land can you understand a little of Australia's First People. Hear their Dreamtime stories; listen to their music, their ancient chants, their history passed down through the generations - their story, the story of their land and ours.
Visit the art galleries and fall in love with an ochre-painted work that tells yet another story. Meet the artists. Watch them work. Learn just a little.
Nhulunbuy is only the starting point - a sprawling town where people come to buy the necessities of life. Go to the air-conditioned supermarket. Or have lunch on the yacht club's shady lawns.
Venture north or south. Pristine beaches. Catch barra as you've never fished before on a chartered boat. Find towns where the schoolchildren who make music come south to the capital cities, to the Opera House to perform. Visit a school and open your mind to a different kind of teaching and learning. See the renowned Yothu Yindi band's studio. It's their homeland.
Night comes quickly. If you're lucky, at sunset you may see the tribal dancers. Maybe even the ones from the internationally-acclaimed "Ten Canoes" movie.
But above all, tread lightly. Go slowly. Take time - as long as you possibly can - to be alone somewhere in this strange-scented bush, among trees, the red rocks, the ants, the rivers. Only then might you know its heart, the soul of Gondwana.
Everything you read, every picture in all the coffee-table books is true. The once-in-a-life chance to be part of the Yolgnu culture, to feel the throbbing of the didjeridu at dusk, deep inside, to soften under the healing hands of traditional elders, and to walk along timeless paths creating your own "Ten Canoes" saga, is a deep, spiritual, primal privilege. Don't leave it till it's too late.
And don't forget the shower.
wot a place, Tuesday, 01 July 2008
Peppers Seven Spirit Bay, Tuesday, 01 July 2008
The vista of this seemingly untouched national park is a sight to behold; what seems to be a tropical paradise with outdoor bathrooms and individual habitats that have windows extending from the floor to the ceiling; you can experience nature at every turn.
The Arufu Sea extends into the horizon as you sit at the deck of the restaurant, swapping stories of the day's adventures with fellow adventurers.
This experience could be described as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, however it is sure to be a destination that you will return to.
