Day 8 Monday

Day 8 Monday
An early start to the day and ready for a trip into Arnhem Land. Picked up by the tour operator in a 20 seater 4WD vehicle with 10 other folk. Thirty minutes on the bitumen,  quick stop at the Thai coffee shop then across the East Alligator river, and fasten your seat belts as we hum along a rough, rough, red dirt ‘road’. The river is the border between Kakadu and Arnhem Land and the difference in scenery was amazing. From scrubby unattractive savannah in Kakadu to wide open grassy plains dotted with billabongs and rocky outcrops. First stop is at one of these outcrops with a variety of rock art, and the next was to a burial site and a men’s ceremonial site, although they are no longer  used for these purposes.  These sites cannot be accessed without being with a tour guide.  Our guide, disappointingly not Indigenous, but very pleasant and knowledgeable, gave us an overview of the land and the people, adding to the stories we had heard on the boat trip. Then on to Gunbalanya originally a mission established in 1925 and now a centre (Injalak Arts and Crafts) for indigenous painters (men only) and basket weavers (women only) To watch both at work was amazing and the centre has a showroom where you can buy the works made on site. When you see how long it takes to produce this stuff, you can appreciate why prices seem pretty high. Thankfully all of the money goes back into the community. There isn’t a lot else happening in the town which looks pretty downtrodden but there is a school, municipal offices, ranger services and park mangers. When the wet season comes they are likely to be isolated for 4 or 5 months. Back in the wagon and another short and very bumpy ride to get to a lunch spot in the shade  of a huge overhanging rock. Nice salad lunch then on again, not too far, to another rock art site and more history. The rock art is truly amazing and the guide had many interesting stories to keep us engaged.   Time to strap in and head home. We did stop to see crocs feeding, but we had seen enough crocs on the boat trip so we opted  for a quick cappuccino at you know where.
Back  at the park and we are now enjoying our afternoon cocktail at the pool.