Kakadu National Park
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Kakadu is the largest National
Park in Australia, covering 22,000 sq km. - the whole of the
South Alligator river system. There are two reasons for visiting
the Park: the Aboriginal rock art sites and the stunning wetlands.
Birds congregate by the thousands as the wetlands shrink in the
dry season. The traditional owners are the Gagadju people who
have lived and hunted in this rugged area of high escarpments
for at least 23,000 years. Today they own the land and help manage
the Park. |
Kakadu floods during the Big
Wet from October to May. |
High boulders are a feature of the escarpments. |
Cathedral termite mounds are
3 m high, using a buttress system to cool down the termite nest
within its walls. |
The Rainbow Serpent is a powerful
spirit in a woman's body. She is fickle and becomes very destructive
if disturbed, causing typhoons and floods. Ubirr Rocks. |
Mabuyn is a human figure with
hunting equipment. Ubirr Rocks. |
This is Nabulwinjbulwinj (pronounced
Nar-bullwin-bullwin) is a dangerous spirit who eats women after
striking them with a yam. |
Aboriginal paintings may have
religious power and influence the success of the hunt. |
For thousands of year the Aboriginals
have set small fires at the beginning of the Dry season to control
the spear grass that grows in the Wet. |
Fires as used a hunting tool
to attract kangaroos and wallabies to the new grass that springs
up days after the burn. |
At night the sky is lit up by
these fires that sweep by and burn out in minutes. |
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