Another cruisy start to the day, as we waited for the drop off, of the hire 4WD we were using for the next couple of days, to enable us to sightsee the harder to reach beaches. The Azure kookaburra, which sounds quite different to the normal Kookaburra calls, were out singing this morning. The night before, it was a Nightjar that was calling. I have been loving hearing these bird calls, that are so different to what we hear at home. Anyway, 5 out of the 6 of us climbed into the ex mining spec dualcab Hilux ute, that due to the blistered window tint needed the windows wound down so you could see out, but then the air con didn't work, so you needed the windows down anyway! It was in our price range to hire, so we were happy to just be not using the Clippers, as there was no way they would have got down the roads we went on today. Its only got 200000km on it but it looks like it's driven to hell & back. on red dirt the whole way. basically a registered farm ute. actually i need to check the rego... We headed out of town and down the dirt road turnoff, and this dirt road started out wide and well maintained as we drove past the mines, and eventually became a narrow and washed out bumpy road, with blind corners and sections of sand. But it's all part of the adventure as David likes to keep reminding us!! Our first stop was at Macassan Bay, as Elise and Simon had been camping here the night before. It is a beach and area where historically, the Macassan people would trade with the Indigenous locals, for hundreds of years when they would come to fish for sea cucumber. It was a peaceful relationship that benefitted both peoples, but once eventually stopped by red tape from the South Australian government in the early 1900's. We explored the rocks and area, and had morning tea, before we jumped back into the ute and headed for Turtle Bay, another pristine beach with fine white sand and amazing rock pools. If you sit and look long enough into the rock pools, it is amazing what you discover. I spotted what initially I had though were little fish, but i looked hard and noticed that they used side fins a bit like feet,and kind of looked like a gecko in their face and it was decided that they were tiny mudskippers. I had never seen them before. Meanwhile, Matt was spying crabs and taking photos of them. We have loved seeing all these new wildlife local to our diverse nation.
From Turtle Bay, we next stopped at Little Bondi Beach, and enjoyed our lunch under the she-oaks there. It had been a sandy and steep road to get there, and definitely not a road for the Clippers. (Well not a return trip anyway) We took a stroll after lunch and dared to dip our feet in the warm shallow waters, despite being croc territory. We didn't spot any. nothing but my little crabby critters. After our stroll, we headed back down the sand and dirt road, and back onto the main road. We opted to check out the Mulka/ Yirrkala art and cultural centre in the local Indigenous Yirrkala community. The building was very unassuming on the outside, (this means it looked derelict and closed ) but inside was filled with the most amazing Indigenous art work, historical art and stories inside.(it was much better inside) It was fascinating to read the stories and history and see some artists at work. lots of great indigenous art but really really expensive. 4-5 figures before the decimal point expensive. and some of it was engraved on council road signs that im pretty sure no one paid for, as a base to create art from. heaps of the local trees are ring barked and dead as they have cut slabs of bark off them for the painting bases.i couldnt take any photos in there as there was a ban on photography so youll have to go there yourself. i didnt take any photos of the building cause it was uninspiring. the crabs were better .
As we left the building, I noticed a man wearing a Uniting church t-shirt and called out to him and asked if he was the minister of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander church across the road from the art centre. Although he wasn't the local minister, he worked for the Uniting Church in Darwin, as a support worker for the Northern Regional Council of Congress he told us that there would be an ordination this coming Sunday and it will be an awesome experience to hear the service both in language and English, and to be part of it. So we are aiming to attend.
We headed back to the Clippers, and enjoyed a read and snack before dinner. There has been one bird call that I heard last year and again this year, and the bird has been elusive to both sight and name. But as I got my medical care ready for tonight, I heard it really close to 'Bridget' and looked out the window, and lo and behold, this tiny grey dove was on the ground. Thanks to google, I was then able to work out it was the 'Peaceful Dove!' so now I can stop wondering. Another happy day and amazing beauty around us, feeling blessed.
the video show maccasins beach (the rocky bits), little bondi beach and coming back into the township of Nhulunbuy where we are staying.
