GHOSTS in the TANAMI

Hi

The photo below was taken on a cold, dark night in June, 2012 while I was working with Walpiri rangers in the Tanami Desert. The traditional name of this place is Nyukulka or Wilson Creek Flood-out.  I prefer Nyukulka. (Pronounced: Nyu-kul-ka).

Later I will share why I was at Nyukulka however firstly I would like to shared a little about this photo and what it means to me.

The trees are Ghost Gums,

Common in Central Australia,

To cope with the harsh summers, 

They produce a white powder on their trunks and branches,

An amazing natural heat control system.

My camera flash really highlighted these white trunks and branches,

I sometimes call this photo, 'Ghosts in the Tanami',

Ghostly figures appearing out of the dark, a silent and cold desert night,

Far from being spooky, there was is profound beauty,

Far from being remote and disconnected, there was a personal message.

The dark desert night background reminds me of life,

At times, harsh, lonely and dark,

Remote, unforgiving and at times even brutal,

Yet in the midst, there is a strength and beauty,

Honed by the extremes of the Tanami Desert.

The white trunks, reminds me of humans .... well of me,

The bent and twisted branches are like my life,

Definitely not all nice, clean, straight lines,

Broken branches - scares from past wounds,

Yet out of this, a strength and beauty. 

A verse from the Bible summarises what I am thinking - much easier to say than to put into practice consistently however I hope you are encouraged. 

We are full of joy even when we suffer. 

We know that our suffering gives us the strength to go on. 

The strength to go on produces character. 

Character produces hope. 

And hope will never let us down. 

(Romans 5:3-5)

Most people would say that Nyukulka is 'in the middle of no where'. It is located approximately 600 kms northwest of Alice Springs and a similar distance southwest of Katherine. The nearest settlement is Lajamanu. This vast country with big horizons has been home to the Walpiri people, for many thousands of years, well before Europeans arrived. 

So why did I come to be at Nyukulka?

While I was coordinating the rangers at Lajamanu, after discussions the local Walpiri elders and the Lajamanu School it was decided that a school camp would be held at Nyukulka. The rangers were asked to assisted. We travelled to Nyukulka to prepare. There are no services at all here so we needed to be completely self sufficient. No mobile service, no power, no drinking water, no shops - nothing. 

On the way to Nyukulka we crossed the typical Tanami Desert environment with stunted trees, native grasses, lots of spinifex all set in the central Australian red. No one had been to this area for years so the track was over grown in places and in others places it was indistinguishable. Thankfully, a couple of the senior rangers knew the way - no map or GPS needed. 

Nyukulka is a desert floodplain. What? A floodplain in the desert? 

When the area to north does receive good rain, some flows into the desert and just spreads out. The photo below shows cattle (mostly from Supplejack Station) feeding on the lush grass - in the desert. In very remote areas, not all stock are contained behind fences. So ..... when water flows to this area the cattle know there will be good feed so guess where they go? This area is Indigenous land.

After track clearing and digging toilet pits the rangers were keen to get some fresh meat - see below. It was a clean-skin (no brand) young bull taken on their land. 

Below -  our ranger camp after a good BBQ, cooked on a camp fire, under a chandelier of stars. A 'million star' experience! I feel really privileged and greatly blessed.

The 'Ghosts in the Tanami' photo mentioned above was taken around this time, just before the moon rose.

Early the next morning there were some great Ghost Gum reflections on the floodplain.

A week later the school camp commences - senior students, elders and rangers. A tent city had sprung up. The photo shows just a part of the camp.

In this area after rain, the goannas are numerous and fat. So .... they are keenly sort after, cooked and eaten. Below, are two goannas destined for the camp fire.

The catching of one of these goanna was quite amusing. 

The older ladies had gone off with the senior school young ladies. While out, an older lady found a goanna in its burrow. She tried to pull it out however it resisted furiously. Apart from a digging stick the old lady had no weapons so she was attempting to pull the goanna out of its burrow and all in the same motion swing it around and bang it's head on the ground to kill it. The goanna preferred the security of its hole. 

Eventually the goanna was extracted however by now the old lady's strength was fading and she struggled to despatch the reptile. For a while the onlookers were unsure who was going to win this battle - the goanna or the old lady. I need to mention that goannas can, if given a chance, give a nasty bite (not venomous). 

The old lady did prevail in the end. This incident quickly became the subject of much laughter and re-enacting over the next few days.

Out here, meat does not come neatly packaged from the supermarket or butcher. 

Jangala resting in the shade after a morning out showing the senior school lads how to cut suitable timber to make boomerangs. More about that later. 

The rangers killed an emu. It was plucked and cleaned and is lying ready to cook just to the left of the fire - below. 

Below - a Bilby burrow. Sadly, with the spread of feral cats and foxes into these areas, the beautiful bilby's distribution area is shrinking. 

One night Jangala gathered all the young lads into a circle around a fire under a big sky full of stars to teach them about the emu in the Milky Way. Due to light and air pollution in built up areas, most people would not be aware of an emu shape in the Milky Way but there is one. Jangala sang some songs and told stories about this emu - stories with deeper meanings aimed at teaching good life lessons to the young lads. 

Parts 2 of the Boomerang Making Lesson' - Jangala and another old man show the young lads how to shape the boomerang. The other old man (now deceased) was commonly known as Henry Cook. As a young man he worked as a cook so when interacting with mainstream Australia he was given the surname 'Cook'. Sadly, not much value was placed on learning traditional names.

He also worked as a drover when he was a young man. He told me that he helped to drive mob of cattle from the NT to Echuca on the Murray River. I was sceptical. I had heard accounts of Aboriginal stockman driving cattle to Dajarra in Queensland (near Mt Isa). Henry proceeded to tell me all of the names of the places they passed along the way across the Barkly Tableland, through western Queensland and then western New South Wales right to the Murray River. My scepticism melted quickly away. 

The photo below shows the vastness of the Tanami Desert. In 2008 I flew across the Tanami at low level from Alice Springs to Lajamanu (as I had no passengers). It amazes me that the Walpiri people lived in this often harsh country, knowing where to find food, water and shelter - during all seasons. 

So, is Nyukulka in the middle of no where? For sure, it does not appear in the Lonely Planet or any glossy tourist brochures. However like many other places on 'roads less travelled', it is a real gem. 

Until next time, blessings and take care.

Bryan and Nancy