We stayed in Nhulumbuy for another three days so that we could go and explore the area. Nothing was too far away but everything was either track or beach driving to get to. We had a great couple of days. First day we spent checking out Wanuway/ Cape Arnhem so pretty, a little like being on fraser Island, especially when we got bogged. Yep FOUR times!! The sand was so fine and so deep and unfortunately Jock had not put his recovery tracks in the car so it was hard work getting our big heavy Toyota Landcruiser out. Michelle picked up drift wood and packed it under the wheels and we were off.

Even driving between these places was an adventure and interesting. The dogs got to have a run on the beach, Emma got to go searching for shells and I think Trevor was like myself just in awe and taking it all in. Jock had a fish when possible but did not catch anything, not in one place long enough.

It was a great day, we saw the odd tourist but in all we had these beaches to ourselves. On our way back to camp we saw a sign for a lookout so we headed up the hill. There was a tower to climb up so taking it easy we all got to the top and were rewarded with a great view our over Nhulumbuy.

The other sites we visited were just as spectacular, Maccassons beach, Turtle beach and little Bondi. One of the beaches had rubbish washed up on the beach, it was a terrible shame there was so much from thongs(flip flops), chairs, plastic bottles of all descriptions, fishermen’s nets and hooks, polystyrene, you name it is was there. The locals clear it every 3 months and the rubbish is studied to see where it is coming from. Apparently there is a current that brings it in and if it misses this beach it is dumped on a beach in Indonesia. A sad sight to see.

One of the days we took a picnic and sat on the beach most of the day just taking in the scenery. Emma and Michelle went rock pooling, Jock was fishing, Trevor was laying in the shade under a tree and I was just watching the day go by as I minded the dogs. I was day dreaming about when we would be back hoping that would be next year.

Michelle, Trevor and Emma headed in early today as they wanted to participate in the early morning Thai Chi with Jack Thompson. We headed in a little later and met them for breakfast. After breakfast we went over to have a coffee, oh no they were closed and there was a sign on the hatch saying they had run out. Michelle and I were devastated and Emma pretty unhappy she had to spend the rest of the day with us with no coffee lol. Michelle and I headed down to the women’s only healing area. Trevor went to the Yidaki healer Djalu and had some time chatting to him and a healing. And Jock and Emma wandered about what stalls were left.

There were no phones or photos allowed at the healing, here secret women’s business is very secret. Mind you a man was found trying to come in, he was deaf and did not understand why it was a closed area. He went very red when he found out but he gave us a laugh. The area was enclosed with hessian, as you walked in there was a huge mat to sit on, there were two old baths sunk in to the ground with hot water from the fire being poured in. Also there were leaves, about 4 different kinds boiling in the water and then added to the baths. Who ever wanted to could take a turn getting into the baths and local ladies massaged the leaves all over their bodies, concentrating on pacific areas if told there was a problem there. Michelle got in and enjoyed her session, I could not get in as there was no way I would have been able to get out with my knees and hips. The ladies were great, they got me to sit over my walker, bum hanging out and massaged the leaves into the base of my spine then turned to my broken finger and my knees. It was relaxing and most definitely helped for a while obviously helping the inflammation. I got to talk to one of the local young ladies for a while she was very informative and talked about having more facilities for the disabled next Garma, she herself was in a wheel chair. We also got to witness a couple of younger ladies having fertility healing, it is said that by 6 months after this they would be pregnant. They sat with legs apart with certain leave smoking in a pot and a towel over their lap to keep the smoke in. It was a lovely morning, the ladies were all very friendly and could not help enough. Yet another privilege of the Garma.

We wandered about after lunch, chatted to people and waited for Bunngal time. This was the closing ceremony, Jack Thompson was up on the stage and the dancers danced and danced and danced it was fantastic. Apparently when they have a celebration or especially a death in the village they can do these dances all night long. We did not see all our little friends this evening, just one and a couple of new faces. The kids are so damn cute you could just swoop them up and take them home. The elder in charge of the ceremony kept saying over the microphone, just one more dance, just one more dance, I think he was as sad as we were to see this festival come to an end.

We were all laughing at the end of each dance waiting for him to say, once more! But alas it did come to an end and the flags were all removed ceremoniously, so sad but on a high for all that we had experienced

I cannot leave Garma until I have introduced you to the lovely lady Sue Ellen who made this dream come true for us all. I will be forever indebted to her for inviting us and introducing us to her beautiful Yulongu family. We learnt so much and I know that one day we will return. Thank you Sue Ellen.

This morning Michelle and I were up very early, when I say very early we are talking 4am!! This morning we had the privilege of being invited to a traditional aboriginal crying ceremony. Aboriginal female elders cry in the day as the sun begins to rise, cry for their land and their people, mourn and comfort and call to each other. It was a ladies only morning and we sat silent in the darkness waiting for the ceremony to begin. When it did it was fascinating, eerie, spiritual, like something I have never experienced. Eunice had told us that what they are doing is airing their woes, their hopes and speaking to their ancestors. It is one of the greatest honours to be invited to a crying ceremony and it certainly felt very special, we felt like one with the aboriginal community. This is exactly what the Garma is all about trying to show the white Australian that we are one and all should be treated with the greatest respect. Everyone left quietly I think it had had some profound affect on us all. No cameras or recordings were allowed. It was mostly ladies at breakfast this morning with it still being so early in the morning. Michelle and I ate breakfast then headed back to camp to pick up Jock, Trevor and Emma. Once at camp Sue Ellen called to say not much different happening at Garma today and advised us to go exploring and be back at Garma for the Bunngal.

Melville Bay was where we headed to explore, there and the town wharf, someone had told Jock and Trevor fishing was good at the town wharf. We found the yacht club and boat ramp. We saw the ugly mine that was now being dismantled thank goodness, what an eye sore. But we had it explained to us that Nhulumbuy would not be the little town it is without it. It was the mining owners that built the town structure and it has benefitted the locals greatly. But nice to see it is going. The town wharf was well set up for people to picnic and fish and although it was right next to the shipping port it had a lovely outlook.

Time flew, we had had a great explore but it was time to head back to the Garma for the evening Bunngal, there is no way we wanted to miss that. Once again a great evening of dance. We decided not to stay for dinner but went back to camp and ordered pizza for a quiet night by the van. Tomorrow is last day of Garma, can’t believe it has gone so fast. It is going to be sad to say goodbye to this experience.

Trevor was well enough to come along to Garma today he enjoyed wandering about the different stalls, he was particularly interested in the Rio Tinto stall and had a good yarn to them. More areas were set up today with the ladies teaching the Yulongu language, weaving, spear making and all the kids activities. Emma put her hand on a large cloth that all children were signing, she drew around her hand then coloured it as she wished as long as she put her name to it. She also had a go at the rather large bubble hoops. The male healing elder had a session to explaining the healing qualities of the Didgeridoo, Yidaki healing and talked about their beliefs and hopes for the future. He also showed us the Didgeridoo’s that his family make and sell, they are just lovely and we watched them carving them. Whilst he was talking Jack Thompson joined us all and he had a Yidaki healing, it sent goose bumps down my arms. Jack Thompson is at Garma every year, he has a lot to do with the yulongu people and has been adopted as one of their own. Once the yadaki healer had finished he invited anyone who would like a Yidaki healing to come forward, not one person was going forward so I did. It was very spiritual, cant really explain it, you know you are participating in something that is millions of years of tradition for another culture and they are open to sharing this with you. I am so pleased I went forward, another out of my comfort zone experience, as I keep saying anyone who really knows me knows I do not go forward and volunteer for things in front of crowds.

By now it was lunch time so we headed for the dining area. Jock had been told that someone he knew and had worked with was also at Garma and we saw him in the dinner hall. They had a bit of a chat and then we met up with Grant and had our lunch followed by a lovely coffee from the little coffee hut.

Weaving was our next stop, Jock, Emma and I sat down to have a go. Jock and I made earrings and Emma made a bracelet. I have to admit Jocks earrings came out better than mine (but don’t tell him that). I reckon we were there a good hour and half if not two hours, the bunch of ladies sat with us were all good humoured and I loved that the Aboriginal girls called me Yappa. Yappa is sister, it is what another women calls you in Yulongu culture. We learnt a few words whilst we were there, gurtha is fire, yo is yes, yaka is no, yothu is child and yindi is mother. Waawaa I think was father. Over the years I hope to learn more of their language because the idea of coming to Garma again is high on my wish list.

Once again we had had a great day and it was time for the evening Bunngal, we headed to the same spot as last night and again had the children come see us. The dancing was as amazing as the night before, we were mesmerised. Jock got up and joined the dancers as did Emma actually a lot more people were up and dancing tonight, you just got up as you felt and copied the dancers. I don’t think we will tire of watching this every night of the Garma.

A short drive today soon saw us pulling into Nhulunbuy it is just a small town, our campsite was The Walkabout Lodge a nice little grassed area out the back of the lodge. We were able to use the facilities of the lodge so we all decided a night off cooking was the go. We got ready and headed over to the pub only to be told that no one under 18 could enter the pub, not even for a meal. We had never come across this before but realised it must be because of the strict alcohol laws up here. If we wanted to go and buy alcohol outside of the pub we had to go and get an alcohol licence. We did not bother as one or two drinks was all that was drunk on any one night and with the pub being beside us there was no need. The licence is because there is a huge problem in Aboriginal communities with alcohol. The indigenous people have a different body make up to ourselves and it really can not handle alcohol, it causes many problems. Anyway, I took Emma back to the caravan which allowed Trevor, Michelle and Jock to go and have a beer and order takeaway. I did not mind as I am not a fan of pubs and don’t drink anyway.

The Garma Festival of Traditional Culture is an annual festival that is held in north-east Arnhem Land. It is a celebration of the cultural inheritance of the Yolngu people, the aim is sharing knowledge and culture. It was started by the Yothu Yindi foundation. Poor Trevor was to miss the first day of Garma as he was not well enough, Michelle and Emma came in with us. There was not a lot going on the first day, lots of stalls for information for the Yolngu people, education, insurances all the everyday life things. We enjoyed wandering the stalls, Emma was picking up some nice freebies, we were all going for the free hats as it was pretty hot and not much shade about. We decided today would be the day to go and purchase any merchandise we wanted, I’m sure it will run out quickly. We met one of the ladies who designed one of the t-shirts, I bought a nice t-shirt for myself. It was like tent city there and each area put up in circles. You were not to enter any of the circles unless invited. Some were locals areas and others tourists. We passed by one and spotted Sue Ellen, we waved from outside and she came to greet us. She then took us in to meet her Aboriginal family, she has been adopted by this family as she nursed their father during his last weeks. He was the person who founded the Yothu Yindi foundation and was the lead singer of the group by the same name. We met his daughters and family, they were very welcoming and we felt very privileged to be sat in their camp chatting to them. One thing struck us, a young teenage girl was sitting with a billy in front of her on a little fire, she was pulling the leaves off a plant and throwing them in to the boiling water. We asked her what was she doing? Her reply, she was boiling the leaves to make a pack to put on her tooth as she had bad tooth ache. We were well impressed, we would have got our keys, got in the car, gone to the chemist and bought god knows what chemical and here she was happily sorting it out herself. Eunice showed us her weaving and the earrings she was also making, she told us stories and her hopes for the indigenous people. She had a great sense of humour.

When it came to late afternoon it was time to go and sit by the main arena in front of the stage for the evening Bunggul, traditional dancing. I have watched Aboriginal dancing before but this was not just for tourists this was the real thing, very different. We sat waiting for it to start and a young local girl came up to me and tried to get on my lap. I checked with her mother if it was okay and she said it was. Beautiful children, so friendly and inquisitive.

The dancing was fantastic, something I will never forget. The children dancing with their dads, children from the toddler to teenagers were watching their dads every move, it is how they learn. There were some very old men too obviously very fit as the dancing goes on and on. People were able to get up and join in as they pleased, actually they were encouraged to. Random locals would all of a sudden jump up and dance towards the others, one young man was my absolute favourite I was continuously watching and waiting for him to get up. The ladies were dancing now and then too. We were all in awe and very disappointed when it had to end. What a day, absolutely fantastic there is nothing I have ever experienced in my life that comes close. (outside of family of course).

We then headed over to have dinner, there is a big dining area and all food is laid on and very nice it was too. It was a time to mingle and chat with others. That evening the actor Jack Thompson was going to be reading poems by the fire so we headed over to have a listen. It was a lovely way to finish off the day, we sat in the dark by the fire with trees lit up all around us with Jack Thompson’s voice reciting poetry that his parents had recited to him over the years.

We were up early the morning we were heading up to Nhulunbuy we had a lot of driving to do to get us there in time for the start of the Garma Festival. The roads were not too bad, very corrugated and very dusty, red bull dust, if you have ever encountered red bulldust you will know the go but if not, it is very fine red dirt and fills holes and makes it look like there is no hole but you certainly know about it if you hit one. It did not take too long to identify these bull dust filled holes but still we hit a couple. Visibility was horrendous, if a truck came the other way we would just pull off the road and let it by then let the dust settle. We would stay back from Trevor enough to keep us out of their dust but still people would overtake, absolute nut cases because there is no way they could see what was coming because of the dust we were creating.

We had to stop for cattle crossing, wild horses, Donkeys and the odd Kangaroo. Actually we were surprised at how few Kangaroos we saw, years ago you would see hundreds of them along the outback roads. First fuel stop was the Mainoru store, out here you fuel up at every opportunity and bonus nice coffee available. As we continued there were ant hills everywhere first of all Magnetic ant hills way back off the road then right next to the road were the cathedral ant hills, some were huge.

The scenery changed from tree lined road to views right out over the bushland. We stopped at a lookout, if we had had the time we would have stopped there for the night it was stunning.

Along the road we saw lots of abandoned vehicles, some upside down and obviously from accidents and some just broken down and left there. The amount of tyres along the road was incredible some were completely shredded, no wonder with the state of some of the road. We just took it easy and watched for the sharp rocks we had so many people pass us. Idiots!

Our next fuel stop was at the settlement of Bulman we had a phone signal there so took the opportunity to phone Joy and wish her a happy birthday, it was her 70th. We had brought balloons etc with us to celebrate but it was her and her husband that ended leaving the Gibb river road before us and headed home early. We checked out Wiki camps and found our stop for the night, it was a gravel pit a lovely big open space in the trees all to ourselves. No sooner had we stopped a fire had been lit, the best thing about free camping, the camp fires. We all sat about and reminisced over the days drive we had loved the whole experience and our excitement was obvious, tomorrow we would arrive in Nhulunbuy.

The night before Michelle and Trevor had to fly down to Brisbane for Jim’s wedding we met Grant and Sue Ellen at a restaurant called Seafood on Cullen. My initial thought was it would be a waste of money for me as it is a set price for a smorgasbord well I soon changed my mind, I loved all I had and Jock certainly had the rest of my share. It is a lovely restaurant and I would recommend it to anyone. Actually it was nice to be in nice clean respectable clothes on a night out in a nice clean restaurant. This trip has been so dusty and we are always covered in red dirt and here we are all brushed up and presentable made a nice change.

Michelle spent all of the next day packing for their trip and making sure everything set for leaving the van for a few days. Their flight was early hours so Jock got them to Darwin airport for 12.00 midnight. They would arrive very early Friday morning, go to the wedding Saturday then fly back up to Darwin Sunday arriving late evening, it was such a rush for them and they were completely knackered. Jock and I on the other hand were nice and relaxed having had all that time to do nothing although we readied ourselves for breaking camp, our drive to Nhulunbuy was fast approaching. Whilst Emma was away with mum and dad I had gone out for a drive and added a hat to an ant hill we had spotted, Emma would laugh every time we passed it as it was being built next to an old farm gate and it looked like it was leaning up against the gate with its elbows resting on top. We called it Harriet but she ended up being called Henry Snell as it really did look like Henry’s pose(look back to Fitzroy Crossing and you will see what I mean). Anyway the hat was added for Emma so on our last drive past she would be surprised by it.

On our last night in Noonamah we all went out for a meal at the Noonamah pub a nice country town pub and good meals. It was nice to have that time with everyone before we left them and to say thank you to Chris and Lucy for their hospitality. Inside the pub entrance there was a big replica of a Brahman bull, why I don’t know but it was pretty cool. It was sad thinking of leaving them all they had all been good company, Oliver their baby son was the star of the night, such a lovely little boy.

Next day we packed up and headed for Katherine, it was about there we would turn on to the Central Arnhem land highway all dust and dirt again. Noonamah was a pretty rural area, I feel I should have taken more photos of the area but I am sure we will return one day.

Of course the last thing to do was to drive past Harriet so Emma could say goodbye to her. She laughed and laughed when she saw Harriet with her hat on and of course had to stop for a photo.

Litchfield park is not too far from Darwin and well worth a visit, Jock and I had been before but there is so much to see we did not get to see it all last time decided we would go and took Michelle and Emma with us for a day out. Trevor had to have a day off. The drive out there was lovely and before we knew it we were seeing lots of magnetic termite mounds, these termite mounds are the only place in the world to be found, not just in Litchfield park but in the north of the Northern Territory. They build very narrow mounds so that when the sun is at its hottest right above it shines on the least area of the mound, pretty clever hey? There were hundreds of them and they seemed to be in pockets scattered here and there. We also saw what are called cathedral termite mounds they are huge and very old. All very fascinating.

All the water holes were lovely my favourite being Buleys rockhole people were swimming in these rock holes as they cascaded down the rocks. I felt at ease watching as I felt no crocodile could get here and with all the rock around its unlikely they would bother. As this area is crocodile country I am very wary. But this place was just lovely and everyone was enjoying the cool water as it was a very hot day.

We did not spend too long at each place as we wanted to show Michelle as much as possible. There were waterfalls with water holes to swim in, unfortunately none of us had bought swimmers so did not get in. I would not have anyway I am not that brave, yes the water holes have been checked for crocs but what if one slipped in just after inspection?? No thank you! Wangi falls was lovely and everyone was enjoying their swim, we walked around the boardwalk for prime view of the falls and spotted the millions of bats hanging in the trees, yuk!

We also visited Tolmer falls and Florence falls they were all lovely, a couple we could not get down to as it was too far to be walking down and then to get back up again but we got a good view of everything from where we stood. Michelle, Jock and Emma did go closer to a couple but I stayed at the top.

We had a great day and wished we had longer there. There is a campsite near to it so I think on any return trip to this area we will camp there and really explore the surroundings.

If there is one place you have to visit when in Darwin it is the Mindle Markets. In the evening before dusk wander about the many stalls then just before sunset grab some food and sit on the beach and watch the sunset. That is if you can decide what food to buy, you have SO many choices, vegan, Asian, Greek, Indian, Pizza what ever you want, even road kill!!!!!

Most stalls are hand made items and beautiful things I could have spent a fortune. We stumbled upon one stall that had a familiar face behind it, books and talking books at that, we had been looking for talking books to listen to whilst on the road. It was Monte Dwyer, he was a news reader, journalist and now author. We had a good chat with him about the content of his books and he told us some funny stories. We bought a few of his books and all his talking book series. People watching is at a premium here so many quirky outfits or extreme coloured hair along with lots of different fashions and people. I find people watching fascinating I sometimes wish I could talk to the people and hear their stories.

Our car was due a service so we booked it in whilst we had the time in one town. Sue Ellen met up with us for a coffee and took us in to the city to the land council to purchase our permits for Arnhem land. Sue Ellen has acquired 5 tickets for us all to go to the Garma festival up in Nhullumby, Arnhem land. We can not wait, what an experience that will be, we feel so priveledged. We honestly do not know much about it just that we will experience the Aboriginal culture at its best. Once our car was ready to pick up Jock headed back to camp in it and Michelle and I went in her car, she needed something from Bunnings. On our way back to camp we kept passing a sign saying, Didgeridoo Hut so decided it was time we stopped for a look. It was lovely but the paintings and didgeridoo’s were far too expensive for us. I spotted a snake in an enclosure, I asked the girl if it was tame and she said it certainly was and would we like to hold it? Well, anyone who knows me knows at this point I would generally start running! But both Michelle and I had been pushing our boundaries this trip and I decided this was one I was going to brave out………OMG! I did not believe I was about to do this, I encouraged Michelle to also agree to hold the snake after all it was a pet and had never bitten anyone. That’s what kept going around in my mind, I felt my legs quiver as the girl handed me the snake……..WHAT AM I DOING?? Then I was calm, well, for a second as it just lay in my arms (yes it was that big) then it tried to slither up near my face……..SHIT! Ok I stayed relatively calm, still smiling at Michelle who by now was not sure at all. In the end I can honestly say I would hold this snake again, she was lovely and felt so warm. When we left the hut we felt pretty good about ourselves another challenge overcome, we could not wait to show the photos to Jock and Trevor they would never have believed us if we had not had photographic evidence.

Chris and Lucy were very good allowing us to set up at their place as they already had their parents in their huge motorhome and their friends in their off road trailer sitting in their driveway. We set up outside the fenced area as there was an old grumpy dog inside that would not get along with our dogs. We had a lovely set up, certainly good enough for the two weeks we were there.

Noonamah is very close to Humpty Doo, somewhere Jock and I remember from many years ago although I have to say much bigger we probably would not have recognised it if it wasn’t for the boxing croc! A very large statue of a crocodile up on its back legs with the two front legs in boxing gloves. Our first visit was in to the Darwin visitors centre to gather information as to what we may do this two weeks. As we approached Darwin I was blown away, it is huge! There were high rise buildings and I did not recognise anywhere, it is very sad to see it like this, it was such a small city many years ago. Even Jock was shocked and he had been here only 10 years ago this was one of his favourite places but not any more, what a shame.

In the evenings we would go around to where everyone else sat on the driveway to have happy hour. Everyone was so friendly, one night Sue Ellen (Trevor’s other cousin) and her partner Grant came over and Grant brought all his gear to give us some entertainment for the night, he is a great singer. We had a great night, bbq, entertainment, karaoke, dancing and even a conga line.

Most nights after dinner we would lay back and watch the sky, a couple of nights the moon gave us a good show with spooky rings around it. We saw the international space station go over and numerous satellites, we could see millions of stars with no town lights about. And it was mine and Emma’s mission to spot at least one shooting star per night.

Michelle, Emma and I had a great day out on the town which after the remote places we had been was very nice. We did not really need anything it was just really a look see but of course as soon as we spotted an Op shop we were in there and buying!! I got a lovely new expensive top for a couple of dollars and Michelle and Emma bought items. In the cheap shop we decided to try a few hats and masks on, as you do on a girls day out! It was a great relaxing therapy day for us all.

Jock went fishing with all the men one morning, they were all keen fishermen so it was good for Jock and Trevor to get away from camp with other males for the day. Michelle Emma and I went to meet up with a cousin of Michelle’s called Kathy, she lives here in Darwin.