Wednesday, September 17th, 2025 - A Day in a Very Special Place! Arnhem Land

 

Cahill's Crossing - The Western Border to Arnhem Land

I knew the name, but other than that, Arnhem Land was a mystery to me. It wasn't until I got here that I realized it was private land, requiring permits to enter. The owners are its traditional owners, primarily the Yolnu people, through the Arnhem Land Aboriginal Land Trust. The owners retain the right to grant or refuse permission for access and use of their ancestral country. According to Wikipedia, Arnhem Land is arguably one of the last areas in Australia that could be seen as a completely separate country. Humans have lived here for 60,000 years - believed to have left Africa 15,000 years prior. It is thought that the Aboriginal inhabitants represent the oldest living culture on earth.

In order to visit, one must have a permit, so Frances and I signed up for a day tour, which made that process much easier. We entered through Cahill's Crossing, across the East Alligator River, which we had seen infested with crocodiles the previous day. Here there can be a confluence of high tides and heavy rain that leads it to be a place where many vehicles end slipping off the road into the river. I wasn't sure which would be the worse fate - being eaten by a crocodile, or drowning! Supposedly, in spite of many vehicles ending up in the river (sometimes several cars a month), there have only been two reported fatalities related to crocodiles.

Red Lily Lookout

As soon as we crossed the river, the 'highway' became a dirt road, explaining why our vehicle was a four wheel drive 'truck', with a bus body plonked on the top of the bed. Not long after we crossed we stopped at a beautiful little waterhole with a rocky overlook, where we spent quite a bit of time feeling the peace and quiet, the green-ness and the bird life.

Ahh.....

The day was peaceful, with reflections that were mirror-like.

A Bird and a Dragonfly

There were many wading birds walking across the tops of the lilies. I don't know what this one was, but I share it so you can also check out the large dragonfly at the top left.

Jabiru? Jesus Bird? No, Ibis!

When we arrived at the lookout, we thought we could see a jabiru at the edge of the water. I was also hoping to se a Jesus bird, which my sister, Toni, had recommended that I look out for. When I saw the motion of a bird taking off, I turned my lens excitedly and was thrilled to get something in focus. Alas, it was neither of the ones I was looking for - it was an ibis. Oh well, enjoy it anyway.

However, I did learn from our guide that these 'bin chickens' have learned to eat the pesky and poisonous cane toads which are an invasive species. The toads were brought from Hawaii in the 1930's to control beetles that were damaging sugar cane crops. Unfortunately, the toads didn't eat the beetles and became a horrible pest which excrete a toxin that kills native predators. Ibis here have learned to pick up the toad and flick it around, causing it to excrete the poison. Then the bird washes it in water or on wet grass, before popping the whole pest into it's mouth! Way to go, ibis!

Another Good Place for Fish

Not long after we left the Red Lily Lookout, we stopped at a rock art site. I'm not sure exactly where it is. The tour company gave me the name of Mawurndaddja, but I couldn't find reference to the images we saw on the internet. Looking at the images above, is offered a great example of X-ray art. The whiskers suggest catfish again.

Lightning Man Again?

This image struck me as looking a lot like Lightning Man, similar to the one we saw at Ubirr, but this time he lacks the long tail that resembled a bolt of lightning.

Reckitts Blue Sailing Ship

The guide pointed out this sailing ship, which had been created using Reckitts Blue laundry whitener. This was introduced to the area through missionaries in the 1920's. The nuns in the missionaries used the 'bluing' powder for whitening their habits, and the new blue dye was used by Aboriginal artists in a number of sites throughout this part of the world. It offers a fairly precise way to date the paintings. 

It's a Long Way Up

Not long after leaving the rock art site, we came to this large overhang and were told to look up to the place where the two walls come together at the top.

Spears in the Rock Crevice - Look Carefully

This site was called the 'Seven Spears', because if you look carefully, you can see a number of spears stuck in the vertical crevice between the two rock faces. Spear throwing is an important part of initiation for young men, and this appears to have been a place where they were put to the test, before being taken on the hunt. I don't guarantee there are still seven spears here, but you can see at least four of them clearly. I do hope that more than seven boys were able to pass the test!

Gunbalanya

We were headed for Gunbalanya, which was our turning point for this excursion. The community is on land that has been occupied well before the arrival of  Europeans and is now home to about 1,500 people who speak the Kunwinjku language.  The people refer to themselves as Birriwinjku, which means 'freshwater people'. The first European to settle here was Paddy Cahill who established a homestead here in 1906. He mispronounced the Aboriginal name (Uwunbarlany) of the area, calling it Oenpelli, but the name was changed to Gunbalanya in 2001, to match the name of the lagoon nearby. 

Injalak Arts

The tradition of art has continued, but new media has become available, allowing artists weavers and craftspeople to receive compensation for their efforts. The Injalak Art Centre is a destination for visitors interested in contemporary arts and crafts - both following tradition or developing new styles of expression. The art center was established in 1989 and is an Aboriginal owned organization. Many of the 200 active members  artists continue to create traditional canvases and items that are inspired by connection to culture country and people.

It's Not Rock - But Won't Fit in a Suitcase!

I liked seeing that many parts of the building were painted as if it were rock art. Inside one could purchase acrylic on canvas pieces, woven baskets, fabric, carvings etc. It was a nice collection. I was both pleased and disappointed to see that pricing was very 'first world'. The artists are not just giving their work away, with prices ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. It tells me they value their time and skill, which is good. Unfortunately, I'm always looking for a 'deal', so this was not where I shopped.

Old and New Housing

The town was somewhat rambling, but the housing appeared to be of good quality.

Lots of New Houses Going Up

There were many new houses being built, apparently paid for by the Northern Territory Government. Most of the ones we saw had solar panels and looked solid.

Indication that All is not Well in the State of Gunbulanya

I probably comes as no surprise that there are problems to be solved when modern culture and a 60,000 year old culture intersect. I saw this graffiti as we were driving out of town. It appears to be authored by someone young. Searching headlines on Google reveals headlines like 'Community leaders in Gunbalanya have called on the parents of 'out of control' teenagers to reign them in after a spate of youth crime in the region' (April 2021) and 'Northern Territory Government Under Fire over harmful youth justice policies' (July 2025). I suspect the author of this sign is not feeling the benefit of the 'free' world. I would have loved to learn more deeply how issues are being addressed within communities such as this one.

Australian Pelican in flight at Gunbalanya Lagoon

Beside the community was a beautiful and very active lake, the Gunbalanya Lagoon, which is part of the floodplains of the East Alligator River. We ate lunch here and I loved watching the pelicans and other birds swimming and soaring.

Whistling Kite in Flight

I was really pleased to be able to follow this kite as it soared over the lake. One could hear its whistle in the distance. The birds are raptors - both  hunter and scavenger. We were told that they are very intelligent and have learned to pick up burning sticks and drop them into an unburnt area in order to flush out prey like rodents, insects and reptiles. They then swoop down to catch them more easily. Thus, they have earned the nickname 'firehawk'. Kites have also learned to eat cane toads by flipping them on their back and eating the non-poisonous parts of the toad - either the tongue or through the belly.

....And the Crocodile Lurks....

There was lots of jollity on the lake - Australian pelicans and their offspring, cormorants and varieties of ducks or grebes. Lurking amongst all the action we saw the tell tale sign of crocodiles. You can see the shady horizontal line in the middle of the photo above, showing the croc just sitting at the surface. The lagoon is freshwater, so these are not the salties, but I imagine they have easy pickings when they are hungry.

Safety in Numbers?

Perhaps this is why the pelicans would periodically launch into flight and hang out a while on this little rocky promontory nearby.

Pelicans and Their Chicks

It had been a true delight watching all the bird life in this lush setting, while enjoying our own lunch. It had been a very peaceful interlude in our day and a continual source of entertainment.

Rock Art Shelter, Location Unknown

On our way back to Kakadu, we stopped at this overhang. The tour company told me it is connected to a place called Mawurndaddja, but I could find no online reference to it. It is not far from the Red Lily Lookout.

'Contact' Art

It was well worth stopping here to see this recent illustration demonstrating 'contact' with Europeans. The beautiful rendition of the sailing ship and the ladies gloves dates this as having been painted anywhere within the past 400 years. Hang on, you might say, Captain Cook didn't 'discover' Australia until 1770, which is 250 years ago, so it can't be 400 years old. The first European to visit here was a Dutch sailor, Jan Carstenszoon, whose ship, the Arnhem, explored the Gulf of Carpentaria and sighted this area in 1623. While the ship could be 400 years old, the women's lace gloves are likely from a later time. The area was named after the ship Arnhem.

Hand and Foot

In addition to the ship and glove, there was a hand print alongside a foot print. The hand print is unusual in that it is outlined, rather than being 'spray painted', with ochre sprayed from the mouth. The footprint is a more unusual motif, but shows the common spray paint technique.

Perched up High

Of course, when I saw there were other paintings up high, I had to scramble up to see. This shows you just how high above the others I had to get, to see the images.

Long and Skinny - Mimih Spirits

Now that you know about them, it shouldn't have taken you too much to guess that they were Mimih sprits up there. Although I was on eye level with them after my rock scramble, I would have needed a very long brush to have painted them.

Sandy Beach

We ended our day visiting this sand beach, along a bumpy track not far from Cahill's Crossing. For some reason, it was less active with bird life and had much more sand than the other billabongs we had visited. Overall it had been a magical day.

Burning

As we left this special part of Australia it seemed fitting to see the evidence of a burn taking place. I had wondered about the climate impact of this practice, wondering if it releases significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the air, which possibly increases the speed of climate change. I have to admit, I was surprised to discover that it is actually beneficial - by preventing hot burning fires that emit great amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In addition cool burning sequesters more carbon in the earth and the practice is used to gain carbon credits. So when I buy my carbon offsets for my travel (I always do, when it's offered) I might be benefiting indigenous people in this 'cool' burning practice! 

Addendum

Before we head back to Darwin to continue our travels, I want to share an object from the ancient history of our world - the pay phone! 

Blast From the Past!

Cell service was spotty up here, which might explain why we actually found good old-fashioned phone booths, with land lines still installed, in some places where we stopped. I have not seen anything like this in years. They always bring to mind stinky handsets, most often reeking of smoke. Yuk! We would stand there and pour coins into them like water, praying that the person was home at the other end, as there was no such thing as an answering machine.

Note the solar panels providing power. 

No Coins Needed Here

We were impressed to see that unless one was calling overseas, no coins were needed. Thank you Telstra!