Absolutely lucky to have the opportunity to visit an aboriginal community in Arnhem Land on the weekend. You have to have a permit to enter Arnhem Land and a reason to be there. After waiting for the water in the Alligator River to drop low enough to get in, we drove in on Saturday Morning, leaving Darwin at around 445am. These are some pics from the trip…..Like a holiday album but something completely different. Thanks to Rob and Mim for making this possible as it was interesting and something so different. The town we visited was Gunbalanya which has a population of 1200 and is a major Aboriginal town in Arnhem Land and has a school (prep to 12) and police station, two stores, fuel, and arts centre
and so much more like views that are fantastic!….Oh and crocs!
For More info in Gunbalanya try
information about Gunbalanya
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| This was my Kakadu sunrise, through the windscreen on the way out |
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| From Jabiru (In Kakadu), Gunbalanya is around60km and the road was a bit messy |
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| Cahills crossing is all tide related, the other water crossings were rain related, but this one is only on low tide at this time of year |
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| Scenery was stunning |
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| Once we got there it was time for a tour, we were there with a teacher so first stop was the school. This was one side of the road and the other side was much newer |
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| This is a local shed where people can hang out (kind of like a mens shed I guess) |
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| The Art Gallery and it had some great stuff. Canvases, and loads of baskets and just beautiful things |
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| This is Rozie and she is making a big fish net, I showed her this pic and she laughed. |
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| The supermarket |
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| Inside the supermarket |
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| The service station and store |
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| Inside the service station.The supermarket was much the same. |
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| On the Sunday our trip to Jabiru for a day trip ended up being turn around and go home, every waterhole was much bigger and the mud was getting deeper (and no I wasn't driving!) |
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| More scenery…….while they were digging out the 4WD |
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| We went fishing near here and apparently a croc lives in the water (so we found out after we got home) |
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| Rob with a Barramundi, this one was 7cm too small so it went back in the water (maybe to feed the croc) |
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| Mim and the growing crowd of fishermen |
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| Gunbalanya is a dry community |
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| Our group (and the bear) |
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| Every night we saw a ton of frogs, from the little guys like this to big cane toads |
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| A view of the streets and some locals |
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| This is how most streets look |
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| Some of the houses were a bit older |
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| The medical centre |
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| This was our accommodation, trades and teachers stayed here or in ATCO huts |
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| The cane toads came in each night and I spent the night chasing them around the yard…... |
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| The waterhole was great for a dip |
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| Houses and streetscape in the shadow of a hill |
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| The DeMed CommunityResource Cenrtre |
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| Although a dry community this bar is open four nights a week for three hours at a time and sells light and mid-strength beer and there are pool tables and music, it was a great place to sit and watch the footy on the big screen |
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| Unfortuntely we couldn't drive out as the water was rising so it was this plane to get out |
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| Gunbalanya airport |
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| Gunbalanya from the air |
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| Water weaving its way |
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| The river and the hills, it looked fantastic from the air |
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| So many rocks in Arnhem Land |
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| Jabiru from the air |
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| You can see the Ranger Mine over to the Left and the hills of Kakadu to the right |
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| From the plane, the things you see |
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| The obligatory bear flying the plane shot |
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| We all went there (and even brought the bear home) |
Great photos Judith. Looks like you had a great time so far. Have fun with the rest of your time there! Regards, Lotje
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