Judy & Brian Tour Oz

Day 10 - Seven Spirit Bay and Port Essington For me, today promised to deliver one of the highlights of the trip: a visit to the Victoria Settlement, popularly known as Port Essington. This is the ruins of a fort established in1837 to protect Britain’s claim to Australia against the French and the Dutch. It was established strictly as a garrison town, as opposed to a free settler town. The idea was that it would be easier to maintain discipline and morale if they excluded free settlers who would want to by freehold land and indulge in commerce. As it was, the position was strategically chosen: the guns were mounted on a not-so-high cliff overlooking the water course, with a reef on the other side, thus forcing any vessel entering to come into range of this guns. Not that they were ever used in anger; now there’s a recurring theme in Australia's defence history. Anyhow, it was established and many prefabricated building erected on stone bases, such as the store, the marri...

Day 7 - Travel from Maningrida to Mount Borradaile Up again at silly o’clock, this time to be on the road by 7am so that we could get into Davidson’s Safari Lodge at Mt Borradaile by 1 pm. By the time we arrived we were hot and bothered and the first order of business for about half a dozen of us was a swim in the pool. It’s not huge, but again, very deep, and oh so refreshing. Pure bliss. This is the only place not owned by Outback Spirit but it has been substantially updated to accommodate the 20 odd guests that appear every two days in comfort and style. And this they do in newly refurbished ‘tin sheds’, which have large screened windows, an ensuite and a balcony. No air-con though, you just leave everything open and the overhead fan running. After a delicious lunch we were given more swim-time and a bit of time off before we boarded a bus and headed out to our first attraction: aboriginal cave rock art. The bus was a treat. It is a big Toyota thing that holds 20 or so, but its pa...

Day 5 - Travel from Murwangi to Maningrida An early start and another big day on the road. First stop for morning tea was at the aboriginal township, or Out Station as they are called, of Ramingining. We were made very welcome at the Bula Bula Arts centre, and it would have to be the best one we’ve been in.  Arts centre. Ramingining NT Arts centre. Ramingining NT Arts centre. Ramingining NT Ramingining NT There was just something different about the feel of the place: happy artists and striking artwork. About six or seven artists lined up and we were introduced one by one and they made us very welcome. Inside the gallery and workshop they have artwork that just looks better than other work that we have seen. We sat on the floor and talked with a very old man about an intriguing piece he was doing that he said depicted the passing of an ancestor and the family gathering to send the spirit on its way.  Danny and his unfinished artwork.  Ra...