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Punda Rock Art Site is on the way to Hickman Crater, north of Newman in Pilbara region in Western Australia. It is a restricted area that has cultural significance for Aboriginal people.
Aboriginal art
Aboriginal art has always been a subject of fascination for me. Partly, because it is so unique, partly because it looks very mysterious. The ancient culture of Aboriginals dates back some 60,000 to 80,000 years. To me, something as ancient as that has a lot of meaning and value. Although it is not something that you can understand easily (unless you have some knowledge). Aboriginal people do not have a written language, so their culture and knowledge of the land, beliefs and tribal laws are passed on from generation to generation through art which dates back more than 20,000 years. The stories, history and teachings are recorded in the art.
Punda Rock Art site was on the way to Hickman Crater, where we camped for a night, so I was excited to spend a couple of hours exploring the rock art since it was already on the way.
Rock art can take two main forms: engravings (petroglyphs) and paintings or drawings (pictographs). (Source: National Museum Australia). Petroglyphs are created by removing rock through pecking or hammering, while pictographs are made by applying pigments, such as charcoal, clay, chalk and ochre to the rock. Punda Rock art is classified as petroglyphs.
I must confess that I know so little about the Aboriginal culture and art, then I am in no way claim to be an expert, rather someone who is observing and learning by taking pictures and researching the places we visit.
On directions how to get to Punda Rock Art, check our previous post about Hickman Crater. Please note that a permit is required to travel along BHP Billiton Access Road to get to Punda Rock Art, which can be obtained from Newman Visitor Centre.
This was on the way back to Newman, along BHP Billiton Access Road. Trains carrying iron ore in Pilbara are very long. On average they have 268 carriages and are 2.8km long but the record-breaking ore train from BHP Billiton company was 7,300 m long, according to Wikipedia.
Hickman Crater is a meteorite impact crater, 35 km north of Newman in Pilbara, Western Australia. It was first discovered in 2007 by Dr Arthur Hickman by chance as he browsed Google Earth. At 260m wide and 30m deep, this almost perfectly circular hole is Australia’s most recently confirmed meteorite impact structure, according to Australian Geographic.
After a quick trip to Newman to fill up diesel and obtain mud maps from Tourist Information Centre, we went back onto the corrugated road we used to get to Cobbah Downs River Crossing. But this time the route was slightly different.
We stopped many times on the way there…. Kids found various entertainments during the trip, while adults took pictures of the corrugated road from various angles.
How to get to Hickman Crater
Travelling south (from Newman) on Great Northern Highway, we turned left onto Marble Bar Road and covered approximately 28 km before turning left onto Kalgan Pool Road. Shortly after turning onto Kalgan Road, there is a fork junction. To get to Hickman Crater, we turned right onto access road and travelled approximately 31 km along the BHP Billiton Access Road (good dirty road).
Traveling for 31 km along BHP Billiton Access Road
At 356km rail peg we turned left onto the track rated 4WD only.
We travelled approximately 13km until we reached a fork. Straight ahead was Punda Rock Art which we were going to visit afterwards, so for now we turned left to get to Hickman Crater. Having covered approximately 9.6km of bulldozer made track we reached a tree and a sign indicating GO STRAIGHT AHEAD. These last 3km is a definitely 4WD only track. It is very rocky up hill and corrugated. Having tried to go ahead, eventually we stopped and turned back, because our friends Iulia and Sergei in a non 4WD vehicle couldn’t make it.
The bulldozer made track to Hickman Crater
We did make it to the Crater eventually – just without caravan and the other car (our friends decided to hike instead). Taking the left turn from Y junction, the track took us to the Letter box right on the edge of the crater and below was the Crater itself.
We stayed there for a while, enjoying the solitude, the vast view from the edge of the crater and the heat. Kids were practicing a perfect throw of small stones inside the crater.
Camping near Hickman Crater
So, not in a crater itself as I hoped, but roughly 3km from Hickman Crater we set up our camp just off the track. This is how the place looked like 😊.
Our Hickman Crater campground
Pilbara region (and this place in particular) is characterized by two things: iron ore rich stones – red in colour and producing metal sounds when you hit them – and spinifex.
Spinifex and iron ore rich stones
Spinifex is an iconic Australian bush plant – very hardy, with needle like sharp leaves, growing in clusters. Spinifex when it grows among those red stones looks very unique but it doesn’t feel pleasant when you accidently touch its spikes with your feet.
The kids, as usual, were collecting wood for the evening fire and found that spinifex burns quite well. They were desperate to dig as many of the plants as possible while making space for our campground. The adults were preparing meals.
Sausages grilled over the fire and boiled potatoes in the pot tasted delicious!
As we were preparing for the night – part of our team cleaning the dishes and the other part supervising kids taking shower at the back of the caravan – we heard the howling of dingoes in the distance. We could neither see them, nor distinguish by sound how many of them were around. Having cleared the table, kept the food and prudently stored away all the rubbish, we settled for the night in our tents and caravan. Dingoes howled one more time. Laying in bed and looking out of the window, I saw quite distinct outlines of the scarce bushes, our cars and friends’ tents. It was nice and cozy inside the caravan. I felt protected from the unlikely invasion of dingoes and almost wished they would come closer, so I could see them in the moonlight. An encounter with wild dingoes near Hickman Crater in Pilbara! That would have been a nice story to write about 😊.
The next day at Hickman Crater
Before I knew it, the night gave way to day. We were up early, preparing and eating breakfast, then quickly packing up as to avoid the midday heat and annoying flies. There was a long trip back to Newman (nearly 2 hours) but we wanted to stop half way to see Punda Rock Art. Read about it in our next post.
P.s A permit is required to travel on BHP Billiton Access Road to get to Hickman Crater, as well as Cobbah Downs River Crossing and Punda Rock Art. It can be obtained from Newman Tourist Centre for a gold coin donation.
Our group of 10 people (including children) enjoyed a wonderful morning exploring beauty and uniqueness of Walga Rock. After a quick meal of sandwiches and fruits, it was time to leave. While our main destination was Karijini, my heart was drawn to Newman and its surroundings where I planned to spend a couple of days before heading to famous gorges of Karijini. My initial plan was to have a night at Wunna Munna, where we could see Aboriginal rock art.
The journey was long. We had to cover more than 600 km and were hoping to get to the destination before sunset. It is always unnerving to set up a camp in the dark. We stopped a few times. Some stops were necessary as we had to fill up diesel and water bottles. At other times we stopped to stretch and move the limbs. I always took this opportunity to take pictures of flowers and scenery.
On the way to Newman
Yet another stop to fill up diesel. While the kids are posing for a picture, I take notice of the famous truck sign that reads “Without trucks Australia stops”. I feel appreciation for the trucks and the hard work truck drivers do, covering long distances through harsh outback every day.
Without trucks Australia stops
The sun is setting and we are nowhere near our destination. As I look out of the window and take a picture of the sunset, I am amazed to spot the moon next to the sun. Sun is going down and only rays of its light are now visible. The moon is shining brighter with each passing minute.
I am having second thoughts about our stop over and start to discuss with Andrey alternatives. Through wikicamp I found a place that promised to have water, which meant we could take a shower or go for a swim. It was a very welcoming thought, considering that we didn’t have shower for 2 days. I also thought that this place was nearer than Wunna Munna.
How to get to Cobbah Downs River Crossing campground
There are no clear directions to Cobbah Downs River Crossing, so the best way is to obtain a mud map from Newman Visitor Centre (along with the permit to get there, as it is a requirement) and travel during the day time. However, traveling at night we had no other option but to locate Cobbah Downs River Crossing campground in wikicamp and then set directions from there when we had internet connection approaching Newman.
Directions
Travelling on Great Northern Highway from Perth, we turned right onto Marble Bar Road (somewhat 10 km before Newman) and covered approximately 28 km before turning left onto Kalgan Pool Road. From here this dirt road is rated 4WD, although initially it is not. We got lost in the dark and having no clear posted signs wasn’t helpful either. Shortly after turning onto Kalgan Road, there is a fork junction and we made a mistake here by turning left too soon. The correct way is to go straight underneath the rail line and then, having passed the rail tracks, to turn left. Now we only had to travel for 17 km straight to our destination. However, this was the most difficult part of the journey. It took us 1.5 hour to cover those 17km on a badly corrugated road. Our Pajero towing 4WD caravan was managing well, but our friends in a non 4WD vehicle had some difficulty. We stopped a few times, waiting for them. Once or twice Captain Andrey had to take a shovel and level some of the holes in the road to make it a bit smoother. The vehicle rattled left and right vigorously. Initially the kids were scared, not even so much because of the rocking. The track was surrounded by bushes and they looked spooky in the moonlight. By the time we finally arrived at our destination at around 9pm, 2 of the 3 kids were fast asleep. Our friends arrived 10 minutes later.
The road to Cobbah Downs River
Setting up a camp
We were surprised to see that we were not the only adventurous people here. There were neighbours on our left with a camper and another 4WD with a rooftop tent across the stream. There was enough space for our whole group next to the neighbour with a camper, so we set up our camp there.
In the dark we heard soothing rustling sound of the running water and we ventured out to wash face and feet which was very pleasant and refreshing.
Cobbah Downs River Crossing at night
After a quick meal of canned food and vegetables we retired to bed.
Paradise
The new day greeted us warmly. We all were eager to explore this beautiful spot and jump into the river for a much-needed cleansing.
This place was so above our expectations (Andrey did jokingly promised that we would have swimming pool with a bar there) that we decided to stay the whole day and an extra night there so we could soak the beauty of this place and recuperate after a lot of driving for the past two days.
We couldn’t get enough of it. Crystal clear running water, revealing magnificent colours of the rocks and mermaid like seaweed underneath was mesmerizing. Where the rocks piled, the water was cascading, forming nice waterfalls and little swirls which were a delight to observe. The kids were having great time chasing each other in the water, while the adults cleansed themselves thoroughly by soaking.
While snacking on fruits we watched a number of 4WDs pass by across the stream.
Tracks from 4WDs crossing the river
This is where a strong desire to do the same was born in me. Neither me, nor my husband has never done this before and we were pretty much novice in real 4WD driving. Like a bird mother that kicks our her youngsters, Andrey refused to drive and said that we must do it ourselves. Let’s go for it! I was thrilled at the opportunity! The kids readily jumped at the back.
It was a true sense of adventure and achievement driving across the river for the first time. The key here was not to stop and keep driving all the way. Our achievement was celebrated by a Baptism ceremony performed by Andrey and Sergei, signifying that we are now officially 4WD travelers (Brian being the head of the family was the one to receive it 😊).
Brian being baptized as a real 4WD traveler!
Having running water at our disposal meant that we could use it not only for a swim or bath, but also for cooking. Ultimately, true camping means utilizing what the nature gives you, including water. Hot soup prepared with water from the stream in a campfire stove tasted delicious!
Cooking meals on an open fire stoveKids looking for fishes
Having rested after lunch, part of our group set off climbing up the hill and exploring that area. The colours of the blue sky, red earth and green bushes formed a magnificent contrast.
Climbing up the hill, while stepping on the rocks, we discovered that they produce metallic sound, when they hit each other, indicating just how much iron ore they contain. The rocks were of various sizes, colour shades and patterns.
The only way I could leave this paradise is by first capturing numerous images on the camera, so that I could remember and reminiscence the “out of this world” beauty of this amazing and unspoiled place in Pilbara.
Driving back to Newman, we saw in the daylight just how bad the corrugation was.
One of the many stops on the 17km long corrugated road to Cobbah Downs RiverRelics on the trail
But the trip seemed to be shorter and a little bit easier than the night journey two days ago. Fascinated with Pilbara region we wanted to explore a few more places before heading to Karijini. See in you in the next post!
Lake Nallan was our first stop on the way to Karijini from Perth. It is 20km north of Cue, just off Great Northern Highway. It is a basic free camp site with no amenities but beautiful view of the lake. Being close to the road, it is popular too.
Lake Nallan in the evening in late September
There were around 10-12 families camping there when we arrived around 6pm or so, but it is big enough to find a secluded place for yourself. While some of the nice places with the fire pits already erected by some previous campers were occupied, we drove further and found a place for ourselves (even if it meant that we had to prepare our own fire pit 😊).
Preparing our own fire pit
There were a lot of road trains passing by in the evening and night, the sound being soothing and the lights adding nice feature to the night landscape.
Road trains on Great Norther Highway at night
We entertained ourselves with guitar songs and burning marshmallows in the fire.
In the morning the water in Lake Nallan started to turn pink which looked beautiful against the blue sky and red earth.
We have a long day ahead of us, with the first place to visit – Walga Rock! Off we go for an adventure!
Lake Nallan is located conveniently roughly half way to Karajini (if you take inland route), so it is a nice place to stop overnight. So, in April 2021 we stopped there again on the way back home from our Exmouth-Millstream-Chichester-Karijini trip. Even though it rained up north, Lake Nallan looked very dry. The lake was only half or even one third of what we saw the previous year in July).
You can see just how dry this place has become
Lake Nallan attracts a lot of birds in all seasons.
Black swans on the lake
The colours of the sunset and sunrise by the lake were amazing to watch.
Visiting Walga Rock was an unfinished business from our last trip to the Goldfields. This time, I decided to visit it first, so we don’t miss out. On a second day of our trip to Pilbara, after the first stop at Nallan Lake near Cue, we drove 48 km west of Cue on the Dalgaranga Road before we reached Walga Rock.
Walga Rock (also known as Wolgarna Rock or Walganna Rock in Aboriginal language, which does not have written equivalent, hence there could be many different spellings of the same name or word) is a huge monolith. Being 5 km in in diameter and 1.5 km long, it is considered the second largest monolith in Australia (after Uluru). It is a Registered Aboriginal Heritage Site, so it is fenced and you need to manually open the gate to proceed towards the actual Rock.
We spent 2 or 3 hours there, exploring and climbing the Rock, taking lots of pictures.
Climbing the Rock gave us a different perspective. Different people might have different experiences when standing on top of the rock, looking out in front at the isolated desert. For me, I felt a sense of serenity and harmony, and a revelation that there is a place for everything in nature – beautiful rocks, harsh desert, annoying flies, wild flowers trying to find their way out even in the rocks.
View from the top of Walga Rock
Kids were having fun too, climbing and playing in the rocks, inventing their own games (although, who knows what they were?)
It is interesting to see how relatively big rocks can stack themselves on top of the slanting side of even bigger Rock, without falling down.
Walga Rock holds deep spiritual significance for Aboriginal people and it is guarded by this mysterious creature. 😊
The main attraction of the Walga Rock is the gallery of Aboriginal paintings inside the large cave within the rock. This gallery of rock hand paintings, cast in rich red ochre, is considered the largest in the Murchison (and some say, the largest in the whole of Western Australia). Although it is hard to count, but a report by the University of Western Australia indicated there were more than 988 motifs on a 100-metre-long panel of the Rock.
Walga Rock Aboriginal paintings
There are paintings representing goannas, snakes, boomerangs, kangaroos and handprints, which are estimated to be 10,000 years old.
There is even a painting of a ship, which looks like a modern addition to the ancient Aboriginal paintings. The origin of the painting is unknown, especially considering that Walga Rock is 325 km inland from the West Australian coast. According to one theory, it was done by a Dutch sailor shipwrecked on the coast who was looked after by Aborigines.
Before leaving this place and heading to our next destination near Newman, we decided to drive around the Rock. It looked interesting in its changing patterns and shape and I kept admiring the colours and contours of the Rock as we drove by.
After visiting London Bridge in Sandstone, our camping team had to make a decision of where to go next. Stopping the car for a few minutes at the junction we tossed pros and cons of heading straight across on the dirt road to our next camping spot or spending a bit more time exploring the area (potentially arriving in the dark to our next destination). We reached an agreement and decided to drive to Mt Magnet, where we could also pump diesel and stock up on fresh produce, which was so low at that moment, that we had to ration the fruits, dividing one apple and one pear between 7 people for breakfast.
Mount Magnet was named after local magnetic rock, which in turn was named by Explorer Robert Austin in 1854 who predicted this to be the one of the finest goldfields in the world. His predictions came true nearly 40 years later. Located 573km NE of Perth and with the current population of around 500 people, Mount Magnet is the longest goldmining centre in Western Australia and the digging still goes on.
With sealed roads to all four points of the compass, Mount Magnet is considered the Magnetic Centre of Australia’s Golden Outback. It also has a strong and rich Aboriginal presence revealed both in the ancient rocks, as well as in the modern paintings. After purchasing the necessities, we headed straight to Mount Magnet Visitor Centre, managed by lovely South African couple. Kids were fascinated by the amazing “Treasures of the Earth” rock collection, while we had a quick look at the beautiful aboriginal paintings, got some useful information there and stocked up on brochures for our next adventures.
At Mt Magnet Visitor Centre
I was planning to visit Wirnda Barna Arts Centre to look at more Aboriginal paintings, but it was closed at the time, so we continued on to see ancient rock formations. The first (and the only one we had time to visit) was the Granites. Located 9 km north of Mount Magnet, the Granites is a spectacular 15 metre escarpment sculptured by erosion and special sites. This place holds great significance to the local Badimaya people.
The Granites near Mt Magnet
At around 4pm, we set off along Great Northern Hwy, travelling south for our last overnight stop for this trip. Read our next post to find out where we stayed!
Sandstone (another little town in Goldfields we visited) derives its name from the dramatic contrast of natural rock formations, known as breakaways, with the rust stained sandstone landscape.
The two such famous places, where the rocks display their beauty are the Old Brewery and London Bridge. The Brewery was opened in 1907 supplying many thirsty miners of Sandstone with beer. It was built on top of the breakaway 10-15 meters in height and was visible up to 20km away, being an attractive sight. The beer was stored in barrels inside the cellar, which was a massive tunnel carved deep into the rock with the hole bored through the ceiling of the rock, which allowed beer remain remarkably cool even in hottest weather.
The Old Brewery near Sandstone
The main attraction of Sandstone, for me, was beautiful rock formation with a romantic name London Bridge. It is quite amazing that someone has named the place London Bridge, although it bears little similarity to the original bridge in London.
London Bridge in Australian bush?
London Bridge is part of a larger rock formation about 800 meters long and varying in height from 3 to 10 meters. It is believed to be about 350 million years old, while the underlying rocks of Sandstone area are thought to be as old as 2 billion years (considering that the planet Earth is about 4.5 billion years old!) The actual «bridge» is the result of erosion in hard and soft rock, which makes it thinner as years go by. Back in the yearly days of Sandstone’s founding (late 1800), the bridge was wide enough for a horse and buggy to cross. Nowadays, visitors are asked to refrain from climbing the bridge to preserve this natural beauty for the next generations for as long as possible (as well as for their own safety). So, if you do visit this place, please respect the rule and do not walk over the bridge.
“Kids, off you go to collect wood for the camp fire.” This is what our kids heard every night when we arrived at a new camping spot. Tonight, they were even responsible for starting and maintaining the fire.
At Lake Mason
Between 3 of them they had Campfire Leader, Main Wood Collector and 2nd Wood Collector 😊. While the kids were busy with their campfire duties and our Captain Andrei was unhitching and opening the caravan, I set off to explore this area.
We drove on Sandstone-Wiluna road from Wiluna to reach this place. It took us 3 hours or even more due to a number of pee and photo stops.
Some weird nature design on the side of Sandstone-Wiluna Road
Kids did not complain being on the road for that long. Some used the opportunity to stay in the car and read books, while the youngest, played with the wheels of the caravan, pretending he was a mechanic!
Kids easily find their own entertainment out in the bush!
Waiting for the drone to fly there and back, I was taking pictures while my little son played with the red dirt. There is so many things you can pretend the red dirt could be. Let your imagination run free!
On Sandstone-Wiluna Road
The road, although being unsealed, was in a very good condition (suitable for 2-wheel drive).
Despite of that, we saw quite a number of abandoned cars on the road.
I must mention that during our travel (it was in July in the afternoon), we did not see a single car travelling in either direction during our nearly 3-hour journey.
on Sandstone-Wiluna Road
We found Lake Mason on Wikicamps and decided to camp there for the night. Originally cattle, then later sheep station, it is situated 50km north-east of Sandstone. In 2000 it was bought by Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) and turned into a conservation park, which covers nearly 150,000 hectares of land.
There are remnants of the homestead, which is run down, but is still looking very decent with all necessities for campers. There were a couple of picnic tables in the undercover area of the homestead, tap water in the adjacent kitchen, where we washed our dishes, cement fire pits with plates for cooking meals over fire. Flushing toilets (even with a roll of toilet paper!) were a bit further away.
We were pleasantly surprised to find 2 showers, where the water could be heated by burning fire wood.
One of the two showers at Lake Mason camp
We were the only campers there and made full use of the facilities – starting the fire and heating up showers, bringing lots of wood (even enough for the next users), using picnic tables, covering them with picnic table clothes, which made our dinner more home like.
Kids help with meal preparations
Going for a morning walk is one of my favourite pastimes. It is an opportunity to enjoy solicitude and take some pictures.
In the early hours at Lake Mason camp
It is normal for kids to go without showers (or even washing their faces) for days when camping wild. Even though Ilusha did take shower the night before (the first and the only one during the whole 7-night trip), he must have forgotten to wash his face… or it quickly became dirty again. Well, “wild and free” was not only our motto for that trip, it was how our hearts and bodies looked and felt!
After saying goodbye to one family of our companions (Yulia and Sergei), we left Morapoi Station and headed towards Wiluna. This small town lies 966km north east of Perth and is on the edge of the Little Sandy Desert, on the Goldfields Highway. It’s the gateway to the Canning Stock Route which runs north to Halls Creek, and the Gunbarrel Highway that runs east to Alice Springs. The town of Wiluna greets you with “the Last of the Nomads” statue. Having heard the songs about them sung by Greg from Morapoi Station where we stayed the night before, I was keen to learn more.
The statue of Last Nomads at the entrance of Wiluna town
Warri and Yatungka from Martu tribe are believed to have been Australia’s last desert nomads. They met in 1930s and fell in love but traditional tribal law forbade them from marrying because they were the wrong match according to “skin group” law, so they decided to run away.
Photo taken at Wiluna Canning-Gunbarrel Discovery Centre
They lived in isolation, hunting traditionally and eating what nature provided them with. Warri and Yatungka remained in exile for many years, finding joy in their two sons but never stopped missing their land and people. Eventually, Martu elders forgave them and Warri and Yatungka returned to Wiluna, where they spent their last days, passing away within three weeks of each other in 1979, marking the end of a tribal lifestyle lasting for more than 40000 years. The story of Warri and Yatungka still lives though through many aboriginal songs, poems and a bronze statue at the entrance to Wiluna.
After filling up fuel at Wiluna, we decided it was time to settle for the night. I planned to stay at one of the farm stations 12km off Wiluna and return back to Wiluna to travel on Canning Stock Route to get a taste. However, what can be done today, must be done today – must have been God’s will for us that day😊. So, off we went on Canning Stock Route – one of the most challenging and isolating roads, that connects Wiluna to Halls Creek. Canning Stock Route was originally proposed by Kimberley pastoralists after east Kimberley cattle got infected with ticks, and was banned from shipping to southern markets. Named after Alfred Canning, who was commissioned to survey and build a stock route in 1906, Canning Stock Route is around 1850km and is the longest historic stock route in the world.
To be honest, I was worried traveling there at dusk but the road was good and we only travelled 20km or so and stopped for the night at North Pool (it is between Well 1 and Well 2, 10km off Canning Stock Route). North Pool turned to be quite pretty rock hole, surrounded with river gums, offering nice shade (not that we needed it at night). With only one other camper trailer tucked at the corner of the camp spot, this place was all to ourselves.
North Pool off Canning Stock Route
Collecting wood for the fire and preparing meal being our priority before it got too dark, I put taking pictures off till morning. It was another cold and starry night and we kept ourselves warm around the fire while exchanging stories and testing kids’ knowledge of constellations.
Do you think this piece of wood look more like a snake or a dinosaur? It definitely looks to me like it is from another world :).
Getting up just after the sun got up, I set off for a walk around the area. The surface at times looked like what I imagined the surface of the planet Mars would look like – red with quite big rocks scattered around and occasional weird looking plants.
After breakfast kids find themselves an entertainment – someone who has stayed there before us, has tied a rope to the tree. Our kids have fixed a plastic crate to it, and made it fly out into the water, a bit like a flying fox. Seeing kids play with it, I realised that they have too many unnecessary toys back at home, when in fact, they don’t need much to be satisfied and entertained. Nature provides everything they need to learn and play.
Kids entertaining themselves at North Pool on Canning Stock Route
Getting a taste of Canning Stock Route was not the only agenda I had in Wiluna. There is a wonderful Tjukurba Aboriginal Art Gallery that I was eager to visit.
At Tjukurba Aboriginal Art Gallery in Wiluna
Australian Aboriginal people do not have written language, so they use art and drawings in order to convey their cultural stories and pass them on to the next generations. Indigenous art is centered on storytelling. Their stories convey knowledge of the land, events and beliefs of Aboriginal people. I always find Aboriginal art so fascinating, maybe because Aboriginal artists use symbols, such as dots, curved and straight lines, which makes their paintings look very mysterious. It is through their oral stories and drawings that their children are taught lessons of behaviour, survival and use of land.
Captain Cook and his journeyWiluna Rock Holes
“Tjukurba” means “Dreaming” in the Aboriginal language. Dreaming or Dreamtime is Australian Aboriginal religio-cultural view of the world and is based on inter-relation and inter-connectedness of all people and things. Aboriginal people believe that ancestral spirits descended on the land and created life and all geographical formations and sites. The Dreaming stories explain the origin of the universe and illustrate the deep connection Aboriginal people have with the land and the complex relationships between animals, plants, people and landscapes. In Indigenous culture, the health of the country and animals is tied to the health of the people who belong and protect that landscape. Dreaming stories are also spiritual or moral guides to behaviour and actions and they form the basis for the children’s upbringing.
Emu Corroboree Dance
The pictures at the Tjukurba Gallery mostly depict beautiful landscapes along the Canning Stock Route and the Gunbarrel Highway, as well as bush food and flowers, including bush bananas (Gunkula), bush tomatoes (Gungili), kangaroo and quandongs. Nearly half of the pictures at the Gallery are named Bush Tucker, which is another representation of the knowledge of which food can be eaten and how it is obtained, which is passed on through the art.
Bush Tucker
Having satisfied our thirst for knowledge, our senses and real physical thirst (did I mention that you can get free coffee at the friendly Wiluna Canning-Gunbarrel Discovery Centre?), we have moved on towards Sandstone.
I figured out that the fastest way to learn is to learn from someone who has walked the path before you. For me that was the journey with the seafarers Klochkov family. Marina, Andrei and their daughters Anastasia and Lada have been living on a yacht and sailing around the world for the last 7 years. They’ve been to the most isolated and stormy places in the world, including Antarctica, Cape Horn, the Drake Strait and the fjords of Patagonia. After completing their journey, Klochkov family will be the first Russian family to circumnavigate the world around the Capes and Antarctica as a family with kids. And now the destiny has brought them to Fremantle in Western Australia, where we first met them and quickly became friends.
I was fascinated with this family and wanted to know how they managed to sail around the world without any help for many months. Survial skills are transferable and depend to a great degree on your mental attitude. People who can survive in deep ocean, far away from civilisation, relying on themselves only, are capable of doing that on the land. This is what I wanted to learn from them. I learnt the importance of being self-sufficient, flexibility of foregoing such luxuries as taking showers daily, and a delicate dance of proper planning and surrendering to the unfolding of the events and circumstances. Shiftig the focus of attention from myself and my own needs and desires to other people, to the environment and simply to the present moment, made a big difference.
Travelling and living with people who not only inspire you but also push you to your limits and beyond accelerates your own progress on the path to turning your dream to reality. And if you can share that dream with someone, it becomes a lot more meaningful. So I’ve organized this journey to the Golden Outback on our 7-seater Pajero pulling 5.5m caravan (where all 7 of us slept every night for a week). I carefully planned the route and destinations on our journey but as is the case with free spirited people, half way through the journey Captain Andrei changed my plans and instead of stopping at the farm stations overnight as I planned, he took us to wild free campsites.
Honestly, I was a bit nervous and fearful. I learnt that I had to trust. Trust was the first thing that I had to learn. Andrei told me about it directly: “Let go and trust life”. I heard that from him a number of times. First, when it came to interactions with my sons. “As a parent, you overprotect your children. You need to let go of that control and adopt a more relaxed way of accepting things.” I saw, with the help of Andrei, who was willing to constantly point that to me, that I had constructed boundaries around myself long time ago and I did not trust life itself. That distrust manifested in everything – the way I parented children, the way I was holding myself in the world, the way I was living my life.
With Andrei and Marina Klochkov. Photo courtesy of Marina Klochkova
Learning to trust life was the first thing I had to learn. And I learnt to trust Life by trusting Andrei take us to unknown, unpredictable places. Pulling out in the dark in the remote isolated place, off the road for the night was not a problem for him. I surrendered my desire to control and let go. May what comes, be. I don’t have to be in charge.
My older son Ariel and Lada Klochkova. Photo by Marina Klochkova
Quite often being around Klochkov family I feel that I have a long journey in front of me. It probably means many journeys are ahead of us, which we will undertake ourselves or perhaps, with Klochkov family or with new companions – who knows? Observing our friends – their passions, courage, strength, ability to go with the flow and change plans, as well as their knowledge about life, history, culture and people has made us stronger and more resilient. Every night we were spending around the fire, looking up in the sky and learning about constellations, galaxies, night sky, sun and stars navigation. Now my kids know where the Southern Cross, Corvus and Scorpius are. They can point to Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and to the stars Antares and Aldebaran. They know how to start a campfire safely. But more than anything, I learnt to trust the unknown. I came to see that the universe is abundant and always provides us with what we really need – whether it is challenges, wonderful uplifting experiences, hard lessons we need to learn or sufferings from which we emerge like new butterflies emerge from their cocoons in spring. I learnt that your intentions create your reality. If you intend to find gold, you will find gold. In my case, it was the gold of knowledge and experience. It is the attitude of openness and acceptance that carry you on your journey. Of course, planning, researching and proper preparation is important. More than anything else – taking a plunge into the cold waters of the oceans, which is your first step, is crucial.
May you dream big, may you trust life enough to take the first step. May you have the courage to take plunge and turn your dreams into reality. Life is given to us, so that we can grow and evolve into better, more open, brighter and lighter human beings.
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