A trip to the top end: Part 4 (Final)
December 6th 2008 01:19
Part of our 3-day top end tour was a day spent in the Aboriginal land of Arnhemland. Permits are required to enter this part of the country and hence there are very limited number of tourists.
Our 4WD flipped up the red dusts as we sped through the 'highway', stopping at any areas of interest as the passengers ooo'ed and ahhh'ed along the way. To be honest, there isn't that much difference between Kakadu National Park and Arnhemland, but that here, in Aborignal territory, the rock art works are unfenced and a lot more prettier, and we were able to visit sacred sites such as burial sites and spear throwing sites.
We visited an Aboriginal community where a fairtrade shop was set up for selling their art work direct to the visiting public. If you ever have the chance to visit such a local community store, it is worthwhile purchasing some of the art works as most of the money does go towards the artist and the community, and once these art work gets sold to someone in Darwin for example, it'll be marked up 200% in price.
After Arnhemland, on the third day, I decided to fork out some money for a sightseeing flight. And I was glad I did. Kakadu's vast environment is beautiful on the ground, but from land you simply cannot see the actual landscape and its relevance to the rest of the environment as well as from atop. From the flight, we were able to trace the rock formations along with the river system and the wetland areas and see how they interconnect. We were able to really appreciate just how big and diverse the land at the top end is, and how little of the area we saw in comparison to the rest. From the top we were also able to see some of the structures built for viewing from the top, such as the famous Crocodile Hotel, as well as the sheer size of the uranium mine nearby.
After landing at the very tiny "airport" we were then ushered onto the East Alligator Cruise for some crocodile sighting. We were also taken to a 'desert', a naturally formed area by the destruction of Cyclone George in 2006 where an entire rainforest was wipped out and sands from the coast were blown in causing it look like a sandy beach effect. Surprisingly, trees continue to grow out of the sand, the force of mother nature once again, and hopefully soon, the vegetation will be restored and the forest reinstated again.
It was an amazing trip and I was glad I spent the money and effort to make it up there. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to visit other parts of the wonderful top end, but eventually I am sure, we'll make it there.
Entry permit required
The beautiful wetland landscape in Arnhemland
Our 4WD flipped up the red dusts as we sped through the 'highway', stopping at any areas of interest as the passengers ooo'ed and ahhh'ed along the way. To be honest, there isn't that much difference between Kakadu National Park and Arnhemland, but that here, in Aborignal territory, the rock art works are unfenced and a lot more prettier, and we were able to visit sacred sites such as burial sites and spear throwing sites.
Rock arts tell a lot of history of the first white encounter
We visited an Aboriginal community where a fairtrade shop was set up for selling their art work direct to the visiting public. If you ever have the chance to visit such a local community store, it is worthwhile purchasing some of the art works as most of the money does go towards the artist and the community, and once these art work gets sold to someone in Darwin for example, it'll be marked up 200% in price.
The community art centre at Gunbalanya
After Arnhemland, on the third day, I decided to fork out some money for a sightseeing flight. And I was glad I did. Kakadu's vast environment is beautiful on the ground, but from land you simply cannot see the actual landscape and its relevance to the rest of the environment as well as from atop. From the flight, we were able to trace the rock formations along with the river system and the wetland areas and see how they interconnect. We were able to really appreciate just how big and diverse the land at the top end is, and how little of the area we saw in comparison to the rest. From the top we were also able to see some of the structures built for viewing from the top, such as the famous Crocodile Hotel, as well as the sheer size of the uranium mine nearby.
East Alligator River from the top
The landscape from the top
The Crocodile Hotel
After landing at the very tiny "airport" we were then ushered onto the East Alligator Cruise for some crocodile sighting. We were also taken to a 'desert', a naturally formed area by the destruction of Cyclone George in 2006 where an entire rainforest was wipped out and sands from the coast were blown in causing it look like a sandy beach effect. Surprisingly, trees continue to grow out of the sand, the force of mother nature once again, and hopefully soon, the vegetation will be restored and the forest reinstated again.
The desert-like environment caused by cyclone
It was an amazing trip and I was glad I spent the money and effort to make it up there. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to visit other parts of the wonderful top end, but eventually I am sure, we'll make it there.
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