Day 11 Thursday

Time for another look at an aboriginal rock art site at Nourlangie, about 20ks from Jabiru. This one was quite different from Ubirr with a challenging walk to get to the art. The guide was the same person we had on our visit to Ubirr but the art was different and so the stories were new and interesting. All of the Stories are absolutely fascinating and you have to suspend scientific knowledge and just accept the way it was for the Country People.
Just a small example. We saw some art on a rock overhang about 5 metres above our head. How did that get there? Answer -  At night the spirits came out, pulled the rock overhang down, drew on it, then pushed it back up before dawn broke. ( Unlikely you might say – so how do you think it got there?)
You can get quite blasé listening to a guide who says ‘this art is probably 20,000 years old’ – then you realise she just said ’20,000 years’. They date the drawings from the colours used; there are only four – black, white, yellow and red. Red ochre permeates the rock up to a depth of 8mm and it takes 20,000 years to wear away, more if it is protected from the elements. They can’t be precise as there is no carbon dating. But even if you see a figure in white, that is definitely up to 2,000 years. So like the pyramids or Roman ruins, 2000 years is comprehensible. – but 20,000????, and we are staring at it.
After Nourlangie we headed back to the Bowali visitor centre where we picked up some odds and ends and a coffee!!!!!!
Then we headed back to the library to use their free wifi and do some catching up with emails and the blog, but Quelle Horreur !!, the library was closed ‘until further notice’. However, playing a hunch, I checked if there wifi was still on, which it was, so we sat outside the building and did what we wanted.
Finished the day with a quick look at the Ranger Mine – just a big hole in the ground as you can see.
We could only see Pit 3 which ceased operation in 2012 and is now being ‘rehabilitated’ with production of uranium oxide being extracted from the tailings - this will be completed in 2025. Pit 1 ceased operation in 1994 and will be rehabilitated by 2020. At the weekend festival we saw the plans for the future of the mine sites after rehabilitation. Looks impressive but I wouldn’t be too sure the timelines will stand up. Only 46% of the workforce is from local residents, 18% are female, and guess what – only 13% are indigenous.
So we are moving from Jabiru tomorrow and out of Kakadu. We have had a great week here and are totally engrossed by the history and culture of this country.