Saturday 14 June 2025

We had to be out of our rooms by 8am today, and have another several hours wait at Barra Lodge before we board our plane.  But this time I manage to post two blogs, so it is time well used.   We are driven to the airstrip at Maningrida, where we are given a wrap for lunch to consume whilst we wait for the planes to land, the next batch of tourists to disembark, the planes to be refueled and eventually we board two 12 seater Caravans. I’m an old hand at this flying now and a 12 seater seems huge.  But, I take a SeaLegs just in case.  From the air we see solar farms, in the middle of apparent nowhere, and this has become a common sight from the air. We also see smoke from the cool burns, the indigenous way of controlling growth.  They get carbon credits for these burns and the country is well controlled as a result of these low burns.  I am reminded of Rural Fire Service ex Assistant Commissioner Greg Mullins, who was so critical of white fellas backburns, and whose protests fell on deaf ears. Of course, rivers snake their way through this remote land

We fly over very different country….rocky country.  But the sight of the green patch exposes a spring, which is near the airstrip at Mt Borrodaile.  Another short, rough airstrip but we land in tact

Mt Borrodaile is a 700 square mile lease from the Amuduk people to white fella Max Davidson.  Max had intended to set up a hunting lodge but when the traditional owners, Charlie, showed him the country and the wonders of rock art it beheld, Max instead set up an eco tourism lodge.  If I must be honest, I need to fess up that Max died 8 years ago, but the lease passed to his daughters Lee and Diana.  Both live in Melbourne, both have apartments in Darwin, and one looks after the bookings and the other the marketing.  So they are very hands on and visit the lodge pretty regularly apparently.  Under the lease agreement, the lessees must conduct slow burns each year, and of course respect the ways of the traditional owners as to which sites they are unable to visit or photograph.  The sad side of this story is that Charlie is the last in the line of the Amuduk people.  He has no offspring, only some nephews on his mother’s side but no one on his father’s side.  So with the death of Charlie, the Amuduk clan also dies.  By the way, Charlie’s actual age is unknown but he is well into his 90s.

We are allocated our cabins and re-group 30 minutes later.  And set off on our first tour of this extraordinary place.  To the great relief of you all, I shall allow Cherrie’s pictures to do the talking

We make several stops to see and learn.  We walk through some country which recently experienced a low burn

And then we reach a billabong.  Don’t go too near, for it’s full of crocs

Buffalo, cattle, dingoes and wallabies inhabit this land but so do wild pigs and the destruction they cause is palpable. Otherwise pristine country, save for the cattle and buffalo, is simply ruined beyond reclaimation by those pigs. Our guide, Cameron, used to shoot them but this season any shooting has been banned, indeed any shooting will result in instant dismissal. Cameron is not sure from where this edict came. He knows that Charlie says there are too many pigs, so could it be from the owner sisters? Could it be that they want to revive their father’s original wish to found a hunting lodge? But who will pay the very high rates for this lodge when shooters can do their dirty work on other properties free of charge? It’s a swine of a mystery.

This afternoon we are introduced to some rock art. Between 20,000 and 10,000 years old, according to Cameron. He is a terrific, passionate guide but I do get the feeling that he really doesn’t know enough about this art, its age and its meaning to impart the true knowledge. However, the art is quite remarkable and one feels very privileged to be here to witness this phenomenon.

This afternoon’s tour ends with the pièce de résistance – the rainbow serpent. This is a breathtaking piece of art, reached by scrabbling over rocks and apparently, for me, insurmountable obstacles. But huge thanks to Cameron and Greg, our verbose permanent guide, they get me there with a strong pair of hands and guidance. My estimation of Greg has risen considerably

All the while, we are overlooked by a French Legionairre

We return to the Lodge for dinner. Two things are remarkable about this dinner. The first is that I sit opposite Greg, who I had noticed earlier in the tour chewed like Popeye, and now I see why. He slips his teeth out, upper and lower, and pops them into his shirt pocket. Then he miraculously tucks into dinner. Once consumed, which is very quick and efficient, the teeth return to their rightful place. The second noteworthy thing about dinner is that we are served Beef Wellington. It remains to be seen if this is my final blog