Gwion Gwion rock paintings

This is such a remote part of the Kimberly and here are more rock paintings this time by the Gwion Gwion people. Their style of art is quite different compared to the Wanjiina paintings we saw earlier. Many painted some 16,000 years or more ago. Unfortunately, there has been no preservation of the pieces by the local tribe, not part of their tradition. Those that are there have been in part preserved it is believed by fungus and microbacteria that has grown in the paint providing a protective layer.

The first excursion of the day is to look at a plane wreck which happened during the second world war. The pilot was off course and ran out of fuel but managed to land the plane on the beach and they all survived. I wasn't much interested in a plane wreck, Bob went of course I can see the photos later. It's often a mistake to miss out on an excursion as it was in this case, after looking at the crashed plane there was a walk. He saw a flock of brolgas and wallabies (not rock wallabies but about the same size as we would see in Victoria).

It is quite hot and humid in this part of the country at this time of the year. The walk to see the rock paintings is quite short, but there is no shade. The paintings themselves are not as clear and detailed as those of the Wanjiina. They depict ornaments and weapons although it is often quite hard to work out quite what the paintings are depicting. For researchers it isn't obvious either. They include what are believed to be the oldest representation of human figures in Australia. There are two caves and both are challenging to actually get into as the top of the caves are both quite low and there are rocks on either side of the area that we need to pass through in order to see the paintings. Most of the paintings are on the roof of the cave which requires some agility to actually see and take pictures of. Our group is quite small so the guide stops at one point where there is a conveniently located flat Rock and invites us to lie on the rock and look at the ceiling. It is the only way we could possibly have seen the paintings.

We have one last excursion tomorrow then we're heading to DarwinRead more