2006/06 Australia trip - Nganalm, Keep River |
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Our first stop was at the Cockatoo Lagoon, which had brolgas, ibis, darters, spoonbills, cormorants, and corellas, but few cockatoos. The brolgas are cranes, very tall grey birds with red patches on their heads. Like their counterparts in Japan, the brolgas love to dance, a rare and enchanting sight. This time they danced until we got within camera range and then went back to vigorously pecking the ground.
At Ginger Hill, the park service has recreated an aboriginal hawk trap. The aborigine hunter would put bird feathers on top of the trap and then hide underneath. As the hawk landed on the trap looking for a bird lunch, 
the hunter would grab the hawk’s legs. This seems a dangerous form of hunting as it’s unlikely that the hunter would be able to immobilize two talons and a beak.
At Jinumum, we hiked up the gorge beneath great red cliffs to an area with shallow caves under the overhangs. This is where generations of aborigines lived and cooked their meals and drew their stories on the rocks. We didn’t know if the paintings were from thousands of years ago or last week, but they are still interesting as they show a different view of the world. I particularly liked the one of the chicken making a hockey stop. (In fairness to the artist, it’s probably meant to
be an emu drinking. They really do fold their legs like that.)
By this time the day had become very hot and Sandie was overheating. We took one more slow hike out to Nganalm to viewthe best of the aboriginal art. It was also the most scenic spot, with a great window in the rock surrounded by aboriginal paintings. See the two figures of Gangi Nganang on the upper right and the rainbow snake Garrimalam drawn on the left.
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Keep River (8.46) |  |
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North of there the road to Jarnem was closed due to flood damage, so we headed back to the campground, and saw a flock of 
black cockatoos showing off their red tails.
Back at the campground, it was now almost full, and we took a site on the outer edge, well away from generator-man. We waited for the cool of evening and then climbed the trail up and around the mountain to catch the sunset, which promised to be good with all those little clouds in the sky. The sunset wasn’t just good: it was awe-inspiring, with the whole sky lit up and deep red fire over the mountain tops. We watched until it faded, but then we had to climb down a ladder onto the valley bottom and find our way back to the campground in the dark. For once I’d remembered to bring the headlight along.
Back at Gurrundalng, the campground was almost full, and generator-man and his arc lights were going again, but this time we were camped further away.
Monday July 3rd
We could have done with his generator as our camping batteries ran down to nothing during the night: too much sight-seeing and not enough driving to get them charged up. The battery for the engine and starter was fine though.