Monday, November 1, 2010

Karijini National Park

From Coral Bay we made our way inland to our third major stop on the trip which was Karijini National Park. The first night we got there, we had to keep our shoes, food and other things of odorous nature on the bus because of Dingoes. Apparently at night, they have been known to come into the campsites (even tents) and steal things that smell good to them, not just babies. One morning, I was still delirious from sleep, kind of on the cusp between the dream world and ours and I hear this growling. Not yet at my full senses, I think, "Oh God, ferocious ass dingo... Right outside our tent" Being still mostly asleep, my panic was comatose. When I fully came to, I realized that it was nothing more than my tent-mate Russ sawing logs.

Our day was full of hiking through vast gorges with red cliffs and freshwater pools that are held sacred to the Banyjima, Kurrama and Innawonga Aboriginal People who have inhabited the land for over 20,000 years. The water of these pools was some of the freshest, cleanest water that I have ever swam in. In some places there were waterfalls crawling down from the gorges above and this water, warmed by the sun, was as warm as shower water. You could feel it's connection to the spiritual ancestry of the Aboriginal People and although we had fun and enjoyed it, I could not help shaking the feeling that we were not there alone, as if something else beyond nature and us was inhabiting the space. When we returned from the trip, I talked with my rather eccentric Aboriginal Studies professor about my experience and he said plainly, "Oh Karijini? That's a magical place." with a smirk and a wink. And I can't tell you much beyond that myself. It truly was a magical place.

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