Day 6 Saturday

Day 6 Saturday

A quiet morning because we were going to a local festival in the afternoon. We wandered over about 2pm and the first ‘stall’ we came across was cooking up bush tucker on an open fire. Magpie goose was on the menu so we grabbed a serve with some damper. The goose can be a bit stringy but in the main is tender and very palatable. Magpie Goose pies are the iconic dish in the area and the small amount we tasted was very good. The festival was indigenous themed and there were basket weaving demonstrations and some t-shirts and souvenirs, but that was about all. The rest were stalls themed around what is happening in Jabiru as they spend the next few years trying to save the place from extinction after the closure of the Ranger Uranium mine. So after a quick look round we nicked back to the camping ground for a cocktail and swim then headed back for the evening activities.

This time the bush tucker was roasted emu and pig. We had some veges with this and it was very tasty. We had got back in time to watch some advertised "traditional dancing" and were really looking forward to it. A good group of musos on didgeridoo and clapper sticks provided some traditional sound but the dancing was a bit of a let down – 5 young guys did some impressive dances but they were dressed in street clothes, and basketball t-shirts, boardshorts and backward baseball caps didn’t quite meet our expectations. Plus, the lady ‘dancers’ didn’t have a lot to contribute, again dressed in street clothes and just swaying gently to and fro. Ah well, can’t always get what you want. Anyway,
later on was a fantastic dance display by the local school kids, probably around 80, who did a variety of story time themed numbers. Quite complex but really well done. So we headed home quite happy overall with our festival experience.