Sat 9th August – Day 91: East Alligator region

The smoke haze had dissipated overnight and we had a lazy weekend morning packing up by 11 for our drive further North towards Ubirr.
The Bowali Visitor Centre in Jabiru was a worthwhile aside and we spent a good hour wandering around, & watching ‘The Big Wet’ DVD of Kakadu. An icecream treat and a roadside stop to collect firewood saw us pull into Merl Camping Area mid afternoon.
By late afternoon the temperature was pushing 36°C but it was the humidity which really sapped our energies. We dragged the kids down to Ubirr art site where a ranger was giving a talk on various topics right up until sunset which you view from the top of a rocky outcrop with magnificent views of the Nardab floodplain. The first talk was held at the ‘Rainbow Serpent’ image explaining the creation era and Aboriginal naming and kinship. It went a long way to explaining the major differences in their culture from ours. Up here each person receives both a kinship name and a skin name, there are strict rules on who can marry or even associate with who, and often you hear the term ‘They are not the right skin type for me”, meaning I am not allowed to associate with that person. There are only 2 kinship names, passed from the father’s side of the family, and all plants, animals and land are also associated with 1 of the 2 kinship names. This means everyone has a responsibility to ensure the well-being of the plants, animals and earth which comes under your kin name. Mothers pass on the skin name in a rotating fashion with 4 different names used in rotating order. Anyone with the same kinship and skin name as you is considered extended family and thus obliged to either help look after children or share resources. In this way genetic diversity is encouraged and everyone becomes responsible for everyone else and the environment they live in. With only 350 indigenous people living in the Kakadu region they practice is still used today with varying degress of strictness. It also explains why white folks intervention is sometimes completely useless eg. A large clinic was built for the local people with a small waiting room at the front. The white folk noticed some of the older people just never visited, when asked why, they replied “well the waiting room is so small and whenever I have been, there are ‘skin types’ that I am not allowed to associate with”. The joint management of the park is a continual compromise on both sides as the rangers try to get people working together for the good of the park.
Next it was onto the main art site where we learnt about the different types of rock art that are present and the scientists view that there have been 4 major types of art represented here spanning over 20000 years. We saw paintings of animals long extinct from this area (ie Thylacine), weapons no longer feasible (ie boomerangs, which nowadays with all the trees would be useless for hunting, but were highly prized during the last ice age when the area was mostly grasslands) and animals thought not to exist in this country (eg pig nosed turtle) until very recently when scientists questioned locals to find them alive and thriving in local billabongs.
Finally at the lookout we learnt all about the 6 local environments – Savanna Woodlands, Monsoon Forests, Southern Hills & Ridges, Stone Country, Tidal Flats & Coast and The Floodplains & billabongs. Afterwards we sat back and watched the sunset over the billabong below and marvelled at the beauty surrounding us. Once dark however, everyone is required to leave the area and the mosquitoes are very effective in making you go…. Back at camp we built another big bonfire and sat outside under the stars for dinner and toasted marshmellows.
Merl Bush Camp (free as no ranger present)