Kakadu NP Pt. 3 - Ancient Art

We arrived at the hight of the heat at Nourlangie, an Ancient Art Gallery by the Aboriginal People of that land. To protect myself from the heat, I brought my dad's hat with me which honestly just looks ridiculous on anybody. Jim went to the toilet with me and I asked him "Don't I look ridiculous with this hat?" and he looked at me, scrutinising me. Then he answered "No, there are a lot of Australian wearing these kinds of hats at the beach. It's actually very smart, it protects the ears and neck as well." After that, I felt a bit better about the hat. We learned a lot about the makings of the art (e.g. the used Wallaby blood for the red paint) and the stories behind them. As non-aboriginal people though, we were only granted access to the "first story" of the paintings which is the most superficial side of the story. But we've learned that every story tells a moral for the people, e.g. "Don't go out at night" or "Don't sleep with your sister and then kill her for it"... Very deep, indeed.
It was cool being there though, as the vibe of the site is just very spiritual. And as you're right under a huge rock, you feel very tiny in comparison.
Afterwards, we could go to a nearby lookout if we wanted to and the Australian seniors surprised me and the guide once more. Nearly half of them wanted to go there and so we went. It was quite a fascinating view, overlooking the vast land and the ancient rocks. Pretty dope.
At last, the day was over and we could jump back on the bus to leave half of our people behind (just a resort, we aren't criminals). Jim left the bus patting on my shoulder and saying "Don't you worry, your hat looks alright" which I found to be very sweet. The rest of us got a nasty downgrade for the bus home. Still, I was so tired, that I fell asleep shortly after starting the ride back to Darwin. After another 2,5hrs, we were finally back in town and I could get into bed.Lue lisää