Francesca and Henk-Jan's Backpacking Trip!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Snorkelling!
Hi all!
Coming back from our two-day-trip to Cape Tribulation warranted a day off for us. We spent the Monday sleeping in. We had planned the remainder of our stay, which meant we were going to the Great Barrier Reef the next day. We booked our tours through the hostel, and got a really good deal, which included transport, a semi-submersible reef tour and an introductory dive.
The second half of the day Francesca and I walked through Cairns. The mall yet again was a good escape from the heat outside. Francesca missed her Indian food, so we ordered Butter Chicken, Mango Chicken, and Rogan Josh along with some rice, two plain Naans and a drink.
We also knew we would need an underwater camera to get some good shots for all you fans. The guy from WetRez Cameras had convinced us and we decided to go back to him to pick up a camera. Luckily for us they still had cameras available, so we got a big black container for storage, along with detailed instructions and tips on how to use it. We knew we had space for about 900 photos so we could go crazy in the water the next day!
Later that day we went for dinner at the Woolshed once again, this time upgrading one of our free meals to the T-Bone Steak with mushroom sauce. It's still extremely cheap to just get one upgrade one free meal, and share both meals. The steak unfortunately did not taste that great... maybe we could blame it on the fact that the Woolshed char grills their meat? It definitely tasted too smokey. The pasta was decent again, and washing it all away with a glass of water makes sure the stomach is still full and satisfied.
I wanted to get to bed early to make sure we were both 100% for our trip the next day, so after coming back to the hostel I packed our bag, prepared lunch and went to bed. We had set the alarm on Francesca's phone, but due to Daylight Savings Time, the time on the phone had gone forward one hour overnight; we woke up one hour too early! I didn't realize this until after I had packed our lunch, but luckily the watch still showed the right time so we got some rest. The second time the alarm went off we did have to get out of bed. We got dressed and headed across the street to our pick-up point.
A quick drive to the pier with some other passengers and we were ready to check in! We got directions to our boat: the 'Osprey V,' a large and sleek vessel capable of great speeds. After sitting down with a cup of tea (and a glass of milk for Francesca) and a muffin in hand the crew introduced itself, giving us an itinerary of the day. Getting to the Outer Reef takes a good two hours, so whilst the waves sprayed by on either side of the ship we got comfortable. I covered my arms, legs, face and neck in sunscreen to make sure I wouldn't burn. Francesca and I had opted for a wetsuit to protect ourselves from the sun and stay warm.
After an hour and a half we were called up to get our scuba-diving instructions. Francesca had been rather nervous about scuba, because she had heard many bad stories about people hurting their ears. The instructions were all very clear though, and by the time we got to the reef we were ready to give it a shot. (Note from Francesca: I thought the instructions were confusing, too many, and I forgot them all shortly after they told us!) Francesca got a spot right next to the instructor, with me on her other side. We would try some basic exercises to see if we could make it underwater before embarking on a little dive. With our tanks on our backs we were lowered in the water. My mask was a little loose and kept filling with water. Francesca was having trouble getting herself to breathe underwater. She gave it as many shots as she could, but couldn't get herself to calm down and breathe. I went under a few times and did all the things asked of me, but I couldn't leave my girl behind.
We got out of the water and decided to go snorkelling together instead. It proved to be a great choice, because the reef was really shallow anyway. Furthermore, Francesca still had to learn how to breathe with a snorkel, which took a while. I helped her get used to it and soon after we were happily snorkelling away together. I had brought the camera to test its quality underwater. I noticed I had to get really close to fish and coral to get a good shot, which meant I had to dive. With the wetsuit on this proved quite difficult as it fills up with air, keeping you afloat.
We got to see some awesome fish. We were both amazed at the wide array of colors swimming by. Some fish looked like they'd been drawn by kids and colored in with crayons. Some had all the colors of the rainbow, and they came in all shapes and sizes. I had always thought the coral would look more colorful, but it seemed a bit colorless at times. I reminded myself to ask the crew later. Time seemed to fly as we played around in the water, and we were getting quite hungry.
Francesca and I were unaware of the presence of lunch on the ship, therefore we had brought our own. When we went back for a bit of rest we found lunch was being served. Francesca laid down for a while whilst I grabbed us both lunch. They were serving a "delicious Aussie BBQ lunch including prawns, fish, steak, sausages, vegetarian, tropical salads and pastas," as their website states. We had to agree, the food was amazing and re-energized us completely. As I went back for some seconds, I saw some people pointing at the water and I checked it out. There was a turtle surfacing behind the boat. Francesca came and had a look as well. Pretty cool! Whilst we finished our meals the captain of the 'Osprey V' took us to the second location, where we would spend another three hours snorkelling.
Francesca and I decided it'd be wiser to take our wetsuits off and just go for it without any floaters. I grabbed the camera once again, and we found this reef to be even more beautiful than the previous one. When I got in the water I saw a crew-member feeding something rather large: it was Wally, the Maori Wrasse. These fish are huge, reaching 6 feet (2 m) in length and weighing up to 420 lbs (190.5 kg). They can grow 30 years old! The feeding frenzy also attracted other fish, and Francesca and I were literally covered in them. I even got to touch the Wrasse, which felt cold and slimy.
After Wally, Francesca and I swam off, exploring the reef on our own. This reef was even more shallow and much more colorful. We saw so many different kinds of fish and coral, it's hard to fathom how it all looks when you just see the pictures. I did make a video for you all. Please wave back!
We tried to capture the reef to the best of our abilities, so we hope you like what we did! We definitely loved our time out there, happily swimming around, chasing fish, pointing at them and trying to get the other person to look at one fish, whilst another cool one swam by. We weren't bothered by other people in the least bit. One long black and white fish actually liked me a lot; it touched me several times and Francesca said it even wrapped itself around my leg! Here is that fish:
Around 14:00PM Francesca and I heard some screams, and we were directed back to the boat for our semi-submersible tour. We weighed the options: snorkelling, with a better view of the reef or the tour, with more information about the reef. We chose to take a little break after an hour and a half of nonstop snorkelling. We sat down and listened to Elvis, a hilarious member of the crew whose sole purpose was to entertain and inform. Elvis showed us anemones, as can be seen in Finding Nemo, along with little Nemos hovering near it. Nemos, or 'Clownfish' come in several different colors, but are mostly orange.
We also saw giant clams, sea-cucumbers and Elvis explained to us why the reef looked rather bleak. Apparently, just a few days of clouds makes the reef less colorful, and it takes a lot of sunny days for the coral to get its color back. We still saw a wide array of colors, but missed out on the real 'fireworks.' As the semisub made its way back to the 'Osprey V' Elvis told us we'd have about another half an hour in the water before the boat would head back to Cairns.
Francesca and I wanted to make the most of it, asking one of the crew to point us to the best spots. With directions in our head we made our way to a very shallow part of the reef, where we spotted another anemone. I tried to take as many pictures as I could, capturing as many colors as possible along the way. The thirty minutes went by very fast. When the final call came we slowly swam back, and spotted a really slender fish in the water! We're not wholly sure what it is, so take a gander all you marine biologists out there!
Back on board we stood around on the deck whilst the boat got ready for its return. Elvis came by with a big bucket, filled with a Crown-of-Thorns. Crowns-of-Thorns are the second-largest starfish in the world, and are highly dangerous to the reef. They climb onto reef structures, and then suck the nutrients out of the coral. Obviously, this destroys the reef. They have no natural predators, so they're cleaned off the reef every 18 months, when new waves come down from other parts of the pacific.
When we got back inside we spotted a large platter with several slices of melons, including my favorite: watermelon. Francesca and I grabbed a few slices and sat down. Yum! But it got even better! When the last fruit disappeared a new platter appeared. Cheese and crackers! Francesca grabbed a huge stack and I added some as well. We sat down, whilst Elvis entertained us with his guitar. The trip home was fast and painless. Well, not entirely... I realized I hadn't put sunscreen on my back and Francesca confirmed I looked a bit like a lobster. Luckily, it didn't hurt that bad. Still, stupid, stupid, stupid!
Elvis invited us for free dinner at the Rhino Bar later that night, so we figured we could give that a shot later. We were quite tired, so when the van arrived we headed back to the hostel first. We dropped off our lunch and relaxed for a bit, before going back to town to return the camera and get food. We had to wait about an hour before the photos would be done, so we used the free internet at the McDonald's whilst waiting. When the pictures were done and we had looked through all of them, we headed for dinner.
Francesca wanted to check out the Rhino Bar, but I wasn't really hungry and felt kinda bad due to the sunburn. However, I did not want to deprive her of a meal, so she got her spaghetti bolognese at the bar, which looked a lot better than the Woolshed's attempt at Italian food. She enjoyed her meal, and I watched a bit of Rugby in the meantime. After dinner we headed back to the hostel, because we were both tired and needed sleep.
On Wednesday we had planned to improve our knowledge of the Aboriginal culture on our last day in Cairns. Francesca had found a place called Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, which had both a day-time and a night-time program. At first, the night-time show seemed cooler, coming with a lavish buffet. However, it was a little on the pricey side, so we decided the day-time visit would fit us better. The day-time program also seemed to include a bit more history than just show.
I got our tickets from reception and we headed for the bus-stop. We had managed to save more money by just taking the bus ourselves, rather than organizing transport through Tjapukai. It took only 15 minutes to get there and even less to get started with the show. The receptionist gave us a timetable to follow. The park itself was located right next to rainforest, with a little river running through. It looked very picturesque.
Our first stop was the Didgeridoo-show. We learned how the instrument was traditionally only played by men during ceremonies. The didge is the oldest wind-instrument known to men. The trees used are picked carefully, and checked for termites, because termites hollow out the tree in a spiral pattern. The Aboriginals would then further hollow the tree out and perfect it for play. He played the didge by vibrating his lips together tightly and blowing air into it, while at the same time making high pitched or low growling noises in the back of his throat. It was pretty amazing to see him play without stopping, using circular breathing.
Our next stop was a narration about bush medicine and foods by Manny, one of the first Aboriginals to join Tjapukai. He showed us the foods that can be found in the rainforest around us, and what medicinal purposes they have. Some of the food is highly poisonous eaten directly, and takes several days of preparation before it can be eaten. All Aboriginals learn how to prepare their own food; men need food when hunting, women when they are in the villages. Most of the food is pretty tasteless or bitter, but all high on protein and Vitamin C. That is also the reason they never got sick. However, when they got in touch with Europeans and their diseases, they fell ill all of a sudden; they had never developed a strong immune system, and thus died quickly when infected.
Manny also told us there are still some secrets kept by the Elders. He shared that there is a certain tree which cures arthritis and has a great healing power for broken bones and wounds. Afraid of the destruction of the rainforest the Elders have decided to not share this information with the world. Understandable, seeing how their people have been treated.
We got to try some really sour berries called Lemon Aspen, which tasted kinda like a lemon 'Warhead' (you know, the candy). It "could be used (with care) in recipes where limes or lemons are used. It complements fruits such as mangoes, rhubarb and combines with ginger, lemon-grass for dressings, marinades, butters, icecream, curds, butter sauces (for shellfish) and shortbreads."
Manny then took us to the boomerang and woomera/spear-throwing. We each got try to throw two boomerangs, after Manny showed us how to do it. It's more difficult than you think! You have to watch the wind carefully and throw very carefully. Boomerangs were used to knock birds out of the sky whilst hunting in groups. We would get to keep our boomerangs if we were to catch it. Francesca and I got our boomerangs to come back, but they didn't come close to us.
The woomera is a somewhat like a sling, and is used to propel a spear forward. The back end of the spear 'hooks' into the top of the woomera, and by flicking the woomera, the spear is launched forward. With the woomera spears can be thrown much further and more accurate. During my first attempt I forgot to hold on to my woomera, which promptly followed my spear, almost hitting my darling. Oops! I felt we didn't get enough time to play with the weapons. Shame, because it was really cool!
Next, we got to see a show about the Aboriginal 'Creation Story,' which combined both digital images and live actors/actresses. We learned that the Tjapukai people saw themselves coming from one of two groups: the 'Gurrabana' (meaning the 'wet') or the 'Gurraminya' (meaning the 'dry.') We read later in the history display that: "These distinctions refer to the great seasonal extremes in this part of Australia occupied by the Tjapukai people... Marriage laws required that a person find a spouse from the opposite group to their own. A man or woman would belong to their father's side and would always belong to the opposite side than their mother." Furthermore, each side had its unique 'totems' or ancestral spirits:
Gurrabana (Wet): Water, Lightning, Rain, Eel, Crocodile, Cassowary, Lawyer Cane, etc.
Gurraminya (Dry): Sun, Wind, Fire, Lizard, Kangaroo, Possum, Yellow Walnut, Mountain Yam, etc.
Our next show was a dance-performance. We heard how the Aboriginals based some of their dances on the movement of certain animals. For example, we saw them jumping around like kangaroos, or pecking away like a cassowary. We also saw them making fire (without matches or a lighter!). Their dances are very rhythmic, with a lot of stamping and clapping (with sticks), and the didge as the spine of the songs. In the end we even got to sing a song!
Our last stop was a documentary about the history of the Tjapukai people. We heard how they were hunted down and massacred. How they tried to fight back, but couldn't beat the guns. We saw how they changed from proud self-reliant hunter-gatherers to poor opium-addicts, roaming the outskirts of white society. Finally, we also saw how nowadays the clan is on the way back. The art flourishes and the language came back from the verge of extinction.
Being done with the shows, Francesca and I headed for the little museum where we saw some Tjapukai artifacts and artworks. We love their way of painting! We had to wait a little while for the bus, so we checked out the retail shop and one of the employees let us try to play a didgeridoo. We both got a little sound out of it, but I fear we need some more practice before we can let you all listen to our skills.
The bus pulled up and we went back to town. We wanted to do some research for a hostel in Alice Springs -- or so I thought... Francesca said we were flying into Ayers Rock, not Alice Springs. Then we also found out there's pretty much only one hostel in Ayers Rock, which costs about AU$200 per night. Not good! We decided to call American Airlines - One World, and change our flight to give ourselves a bit more time to figure out what to do. Francesca went to a tour agent and found out we could fly into Ayers Rock early Saturday morning and start a tour that same day. The tour would take two days and two nights, including overnight stays. We could then fly out on Monday and head for Perth, without having to stay in the hostel. So much better!
Now we're just taking it easy in Cairns, making sure our laundry is completely clean and our bodies are ready for more adventures. We managed to upload all our photos for free and download some new movies in the progress. Tomorrow we have to catch the 04:55AM shuttle to the airport. Wish us luck!
Ciao,
Henku
Coming back from our two-day-trip to Cape Tribulation warranted a day off for us. We spent the Monday sleeping in. We had planned the remainder of our stay, which meant we were going to the Great Barrier Reef the next day. We booked our tours through the hostel, and got a really good deal, which included transport, a semi-submersible reef tour and an introductory dive.
The second half of the day Francesca and I walked through Cairns. The mall yet again was a good escape from the heat outside. Francesca missed her Indian food, so we ordered Butter Chicken, Mango Chicken, and Rogan Josh along with some rice, two plain Naans and a drink.
We also knew we would need an underwater camera to get some good shots for all you fans. The guy from WetRez Cameras had convinced us and we decided to go back to him to pick up a camera. Luckily for us they still had cameras available, so we got a big black container for storage, along with detailed instructions and tips on how to use it. We knew we had space for about 900 photos so we could go crazy in the water the next day!
Later that day we went for dinner at the Woolshed once again, this time upgrading one of our free meals to the T-Bone Steak with mushroom sauce. It's still extremely cheap to just get one upgrade one free meal, and share both meals. The steak unfortunately did not taste that great... maybe we could blame it on the fact that the Woolshed char grills their meat? It definitely tasted too smokey. The pasta was decent again, and washing it all away with a glass of water makes sure the stomach is still full and satisfied.
I wanted to get to bed early to make sure we were both 100% for our trip the next day, so after coming back to the hostel I packed our bag, prepared lunch and went to bed. We had set the alarm on Francesca's phone, but due to Daylight Savings Time, the time on the phone had gone forward one hour overnight; we woke up one hour too early! I didn't realize this until after I had packed our lunch, but luckily the watch still showed the right time so we got some rest. The second time the alarm went off we did have to get out of bed. We got dressed and headed across the street to our pick-up point.
A quick drive to the pier with some other passengers and we were ready to check in! We got directions to our boat: the 'Osprey V,' a large and sleek vessel capable of great speeds. After sitting down with a cup of tea (and a glass of milk for Francesca) and a muffin in hand the crew introduced itself, giving us an itinerary of the day. Getting to the Outer Reef takes a good two hours, so whilst the waves sprayed by on either side of the ship we got comfortable. I covered my arms, legs, face and neck in sunscreen to make sure I wouldn't burn. Francesca and I had opted for a wetsuit to protect ourselves from the sun and stay warm.
After an hour and a half we were called up to get our scuba-diving instructions. Francesca had been rather nervous about scuba, because she had heard many bad stories about people hurting their ears. The instructions were all very clear though, and by the time we got to the reef we were ready to give it a shot. (Note from Francesca: I thought the instructions were confusing, too many, and I forgot them all shortly after they told us!) Francesca got a spot right next to the instructor, with me on her other side. We would try some basic exercises to see if we could make it underwater before embarking on a little dive. With our tanks on our backs we were lowered in the water. My mask was a little loose and kept filling with water. Francesca was having trouble getting herself to breathe underwater. She gave it as many shots as she could, but couldn't get herself to calm down and breathe. I went under a few times and did all the things asked of me, but I couldn't leave my girl behind.
We got out of the water and decided to go snorkelling together instead. It proved to be a great choice, because the reef was really shallow anyway. Furthermore, Francesca still had to learn how to breathe with a snorkel, which took a while. I helped her get used to it and soon after we were happily snorkelling away together. I had brought the camera to test its quality underwater. I noticed I had to get really close to fish and coral to get a good shot, which meant I had to dive. With the wetsuit on this proved quite difficult as it fills up with air, keeping you afloat.
We got to see some awesome fish. We were both amazed at the wide array of colors swimming by. Some fish looked like they'd been drawn by kids and colored in with crayons. Some had all the colors of the rainbow, and they came in all shapes and sizes. I had always thought the coral would look more colorful, but it seemed a bit colorless at times. I reminded myself to ask the crew later. Time seemed to fly as we played around in the water, and we were getting quite hungry.
Francesca and I were unaware of the presence of lunch on the ship, therefore we had brought our own. When we went back for a bit of rest we found lunch was being served. Francesca laid down for a while whilst I grabbed us both lunch. They were serving a "delicious Aussie BBQ lunch including prawns, fish, steak, sausages, vegetarian, tropical salads and pastas," as their website states. We had to agree, the food was amazing and re-energized us completely. As I went back for some seconds, I saw some people pointing at the water and I checked it out. There was a turtle surfacing behind the boat. Francesca came and had a look as well. Pretty cool! Whilst we finished our meals the captain of the 'Osprey V' took us to the second location, where we would spend another three hours snorkelling.
Francesca and I decided it'd be wiser to take our wetsuits off and just go for it without any floaters. I grabbed the camera once again, and we found this reef to be even more beautiful than the previous one. When I got in the water I saw a crew-member feeding something rather large: it was Wally, the Maori Wrasse. These fish are huge, reaching 6 feet (2 m) in length and weighing up to 420 lbs (190.5 kg). They can grow 30 years old! The feeding frenzy also attracted other fish, and Francesca and I were literally covered in them. I even got to touch the Wrasse, which felt cold and slimy.
After Wally, Francesca and I swam off, exploring the reef on our own. This reef was even more shallow and much more colorful. We saw so many different kinds of fish and coral, it's hard to fathom how it all looks when you just see the pictures. I did make a video for you all. Please wave back!
We tried to capture the reef to the best of our abilities, so we hope you like what we did! We definitely loved our time out there, happily swimming around, chasing fish, pointing at them and trying to get the other person to look at one fish, whilst another cool one swam by. We weren't bothered by other people in the least bit. One long black and white fish actually liked me a lot; it touched me several times and Francesca said it even wrapped itself around my leg! Here is that fish:
Around 14:00PM Francesca and I heard some screams, and we were directed back to the boat for our semi-submersible tour. We weighed the options: snorkelling, with a better view of the reef or the tour, with more information about the reef. We chose to take a little break after an hour and a half of nonstop snorkelling. We sat down and listened to Elvis, a hilarious member of the crew whose sole purpose was to entertain and inform. Elvis showed us anemones, as can be seen in Finding Nemo, along with little Nemos hovering near it. Nemos, or 'Clownfish' come in several different colors, but are mostly orange.
We also saw giant clams, sea-cucumbers and Elvis explained to us why the reef looked rather bleak. Apparently, just a few days of clouds makes the reef less colorful, and it takes a lot of sunny days for the coral to get its color back. We still saw a wide array of colors, but missed out on the real 'fireworks.' As the semisub made its way back to the 'Osprey V' Elvis told us we'd have about another half an hour in the water before the boat would head back to Cairns.
Francesca and I wanted to make the most of it, asking one of the crew to point us to the best spots. With directions in our head we made our way to a very shallow part of the reef, where we spotted another anemone. I tried to take as many pictures as I could, capturing as many colors as possible along the way. The thirty minutes went by very fast. When the final call came we slowly swam back, and spotted a really slender fish in the water! We're not wholly sure what it is, so take a gander all you marine biologists out there!
Back on board we stood around on the deck whilst the boat got ready for its return. Elvis came by with a big bucket, filled with a Crown-of-Thorns. Crowns-of-Thorns are the second-largest starfish in the world, and are highly dangerous to the reef. They climb onto reef structures, and then suck the nutrients out of the coral. Obviously, this destroys the reef. They have no natural predators, so they're cleaned off the reef every 18 months, when new waves come down from other parts of the pacific.
When we got back inside we spotted a large platter with several slices of melons, including my favorite: watermelon. Francesca and I grabbed a few slices and sat down. Yum! But it got even better! When the last fruit disappeared a new platter appeared. Cheese and crackers! Francesca grabbed a huge stack and I added some as well. We sat down, whilst Elvis entertained us with his guitar. The trip home was fast and painless. Well, not entirely... I realized I hadn't put sunscreen on my back and Francesca confirmed I looked a bit like a lobster. Luckily, it didn't hurt that bad. Still, stupid, stupid, stupid!
Elvis invited us for free dinner at the Rhino Bar later that night, so we figured we could give that a shot later. We were quite tired, so when the van arrived we headed back to the hostel first. We dropped off our lunch and relaxed for a bit, before going back to town to return the camera and get food. We had to wait about an hour before the photos would be done, so we used the free internet at the McDonald's whilst waiting. When the pictures were done and we had looked through all of them, we headed for dinner.
Francesca wanted to check out the Rhino Bar, but I wasn't really hungry and felt kinda bad due to the sunburn. However, I did not want to deprive her of a meal, so she got her spaghetti bolognese at the bar, which looked a lot better than the Woolshed's attempt at Italian food. She enjoyed her meal, and I watched a bit of Rugby in the meantime. After dinner we headed back to the hostel, because we were both tired and needed sleep.
On Wednesday we had planned to improve our knowledge of the Aboriginal culture on our last day in Cairns. Francesca had found a place called Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, which had both a day-time and a night-time program. At first, the night-time show seemed cooler, coming with a lavish buffet. However, it was a little on the pricey side, so we decided the day-time visit would fit us better. The day-time program also seemed to include a bit more history than just show.
I got our tickets from reception and we headed for the bus-stop. We had managed to save more money by just taking the bus ourselves, rather than organizing transport through Tjapukai. It took only 15 minutes to get there and even less to get started with the show. The receptionist gave us a timetable to follow. The park itself was located right next to rainforest, with a little river running through. It looked very picturesque.
Our first stop was the Didgeridoo-show. We learned how the instrument was traditionally only played by men during ceremonies. The didge is the oldest wind-instrument known to men. The trees used are picked carefully, and checked for termites, because termites hollow out the tree in a spiral pattern. The Aboriginals would then further hollow the tree out and perfect it for play. He played the didge by vibrating his lips together tightly and blowing air into it, while at the same time making high pitched or low growling noises in the back of his throat. It was pretty amazing to see him play without stopping, using circular breathing.
Our next stop was a narration about bush medicine and foods by Manny, one of the first Aboriginals to join Tjapukai. He showed us the foods that can be found in the rainforest around us, and what medicinal purposes they have. Some of the food is highly poisonous eaten directly, and takes several days of preparation before it can be eaten. All Aboriginals learn how to prepare their own food; men need food when hunting, women when they are in the villages. Most of the food is pretty tasteless or bitter, but all high on protein and Vitamin C. That is also the reason they never got sick. However, when they got in touch with Europeans and their diseases, they fell ill all of a sudden; they had never developed a strong immune system, and thus died quickly when infected.
Manny also told us there are still some secrets kept by the Elders. He shared that there is a certain tree which cures arthritis and has a great healing power for broken bones and wounds. Afraid of the destruction of the rainforest the Elders have decided to not share this information with the world. Understandable, seeing how their people have been treated.
We got to try some really sour berries called Lemon Aspen, which tasted kinda like a lemon 'Warhead' (you know, the candy). It "could be used (with care) in recipes where limes or lemons are used. It complements fruits such as mangoes, rhubarb and combines with ginger, lemon-grass for dressings, marinades, butters, icecream, curds, butter sauces (for shellfish) and shortbreads."
Manny then took us to the boomerang and woomera/spear-throwing. We each got try to throw two boomerangs, after Manny showed us how to do it. It's more difficult than you think! You have to watch the wind carefully and throw very carefully. Boomerangs were used to knock birds out of the sky whilst hunting in groups. We would get to keep our boomerangs if we were to catch it. Francesca and I got our boomerangs to come back, but they didn't come close to us.
The woomera is a somewhat like a sling, and is used to propel a spear forward. The back end of the spear 'hooks' into the top of the woomera, and by flicking the woomera, the spear is launched forward. With the woomera spears can be thrown much further and more accurate. During my first attempt I forgot to hold on to my woomera, which promptly followed my spear, almost hitting my darling. Oops! I felt we didn't get enough time to play with the weapons. Shame, because it was really cool!
Next, we got to see a show about the Aboriginal 'Creation Story,' which combined both digital images and live actors/actresses. We learned that the Tjapukai people saw themselves coming from one of two groups: the 'Gurrabana' (meaning the 'wet') or the 'Gurraminya' (meaning the 'dry.') We read later in the history display that: "These distinctions refer to the great seasonal extremes in this part of Australia occupied by the Tjapukai people... Marriage laws required that a person find a spouse from the opposite group to their own. A man or woman would belong to their father's side and would always belong to the opposite side than their mother." Furthermore, each side had its unique 'totems' or ancestral spirits:
Gurrabana (Wet): Water, Lightning, Rain, Eel, Crocodile, Cassowary, Lawyer Cane, etc.
Gurraminya (Dry): Sun, Wind, Fire, Lizard, Kangaroo, Possum, Yellow Walnut, Mountain Yam, etc.
Our next show was a dance-performance. We heard how the Aboriginals based some of their dances on the movement of certain animals. For example, we saw them jumping around like kangaroos, or pecking away like a cassowary. We also saw them making fire (without matches or a lighter!). Their dances are very rhythmic, with a lot of stamping and clapping (with sticks), and the didge as the spine of the songs. In the end we even got to sing a song!
Our last stop was a documentary about the history of the Tjapukai people. We heard how they were hunted down and massacred. How they tried to fight back, but couldn't beat the guns. We saw how they changed from proud self-reliant hunter-gatherers to poor opium-addicts, roaming the outskirts of white society. Finally, we also saw how nowadays the clan is on the way back. The art flourishes and the language came back from the verge of extinction.
Being done with the shows, Francesca and I headed for the little museum where we saw some Tjapukai artifacts and artworks. We love their way of painting! We had to wait a little while for the bus, so we checked out the retail shop and one of the employees let us try to play a didgeridoo. We both got a little sound out of it, but I fear we need some more practice before we can let you all listen to our skills.
The bus pulled up and we went back to town. We wanted to do some research for a hostel in Alice Springs -- or so I thought... Francesca said we were flying into Ayers Rock, not Alice Springs. Then we also found out there's pretty much only one hostel in Ayers Rock, which costs about AU$200 per night. Not good! We decided to call American Airlines - One World, and change our flight to give ourselves a bit more time to figure out what to do. Francesca went to a tour agent and found out we could fly into Ayers Rock early Saturday morning and start a tour that same day. The tour would take two days and two nights, including overnight stays. We could then fly out on Monday and head for Perth, without having to stay in the hostel. So much better!
Now we're just taking it easy in Cairns, making sure our laundry is completely clean and our bodies are ready for more adventures. We managed to upload all our photos for free and download some new movies in the progress. Tomorrow we have to catch the 04:55AM shuttle to the airport. Wish us luck!
Ciao,
Henku
