Late afternoon sun is glowing across the Endeavour River, I am stumbling through the back of my house, tripping over piles of leaves gathered by the Brush turkeys and crawling over rocks and through bushes.....all to get to a meeting with the Mayor. It does make me laugh, as I wander along in my thongs, about the dress code and style of meetings in Cooktown as opposed to the big city. Shorts and thongs are ok and if you havent got a tattoo you dont really fit in!
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| Quandong |
The rest of my time at the moment is spent driving 40 kms to a glorious place called Home Rule which sits on Wallaby Creek, a clear fast flowing creek that tumbles over granite rocks...and is crocodile free! Surrounded by the most magnificent wet tropics rainforest with towering trees and vines we see lots of wallaby's, the occassional tree kangaroo and many butterflies and birds.
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| Native nutmeg |
Out there I am still working with the Kuku Nyungkal Rangers and learning heaps about their bubu (country) and their flora and fauna. I find it so difficult to pronounce the words they try and teach me - there is just some way they annunciate things that I dont think any westerner will ever be able to mimic. In return I am doing plans for them regarding Visitor Management and Tourism which is so interesting.
They take me to sacred sites and show me all the trees that are scar trees where the tribes have in the past cut bark from trees to make shields, bowls, and other weapons, leaving scars on the trees.
Sean came home two days ago with a woomerah to go with his spear, given to him by Neville. He just has to learn how to use it! And catch a mullet!
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| Sean Creek one of the rangers |
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