9/14: A Bush Yarn at Uluru

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Steven loved this photo of me writing the blog late at night; I would be so lost without my headlamp!

One of our bunkmates in the dorm was a delightful young woman named Bianca from Germany. She had come to Australia mostly to visit her best friend living in Melbourne for a year but also to do a lot of traveling on her own. How very brave of her especially with fairly limited knowledge of English, I thought. We spent quite a bit of time with her last night which we all enjoyed as she was leaving when we did to go on an organized camping trip for a few days in the desert. We loved meeting you, Bianca, and hope to see you in Denver sometime as our home is always open to you.

How nice to be able to sleep in with no place to have to get to early today! Our flight didn’t leave til 3:30 so we had plenty of time to wander back to the Town Centre after making some breakfast and another cup of tea from the bottomless boiler of water in the kitchen.

  In the open area, many people gathered around while an Aboriginal man (I’ll call him AM from now on) was talking about weapons used by his people as part of a series of talks called Bush Yarns. Steven stood a few feet away and watched 2 Aboriginal women, an aunt and her niece, use acrylic paint on canvas as they created beautiful works of art. 

 I know everyone has seen photos at the very least of boomerangs and probably painted ones at that.  AM mentioned that up to 4 boomerangs could be made in a day using green wood with their being painted with ochre on the 2^nd day and the sun baking the color in. They are then stashed, he said in a cool dry place to dry and cure. The only dry place in the desert is a cave where the temperature is about 10 degrees cooler. The boomerangs are stored there for about 3 weeks until the wood is a lot harder and no longer green.

 At that point, the boomerangs can then be used for their intended purpose: hunting. The boomerangs, AM explained, are non-returnable, and are made to break immobilize and cripple its prey. The boomerang he showed us did not have the sharp V-shaped curve we’re used to seeing; it is fashioned with a slight arch. They’re also used to hunt underground mammals living in the desert by digging one end into the ground, then smoking the nocturnal animals out from their habitat. When the mammals ‘escape’ they are immediately killed because the mammals are blinded by the day’s bright sunlight.

It may seem obvious but AM mentioned that boomerangs can never be thrown at rocks as they will shatter on impact immediately. The boomerangs are made for use in the soft terrain of the desert where small and burrowing animals live where there are no rocks. We all were able to hold the boomerangs and I was amazed at how heavy they were – not surprising I guess since I had never laid eyes on a ‘real’ one before.

 AM then discussed a boomerang he referred to as the far more dangerous Desert Boomerang (DB), above,that was very different in shape. The angled piece is the root of the tree. He stated that this one would go right through animals’ tough neck muscles and bones on contact and that would be enough of ‘Good Night Irene.’! The other boomerang might require animals to be hit 3 times with it but not the DB when it’s once and done. Many animals could be killed at once with the DB because of the clubbing part at the end, he told us.

Another view of the angled part.

 The next boomerang style he demonstrated was what he jokingly referred to as the Nike model (above); it’s used mostly in rainforest country so certainly of no use in the Uluru area. AM shared that the heavier the weapon, the shorter the distance it could be thrown. Therefore it’s good for use in tall grasses when animals come in to a watering hole.

A close up view of the Desert Boomerang - I was amazed at how heavy it was and the
strength that is required by someone to throw it a fair distance.

  The hunting spear, the next weapon AM demonstrated, is made from a spear vine and will go straight through an animal’s rib cage. It’s made using the wood and not the bark of the vine so that it can be bowed. It is straightened out, then bent to the correct shape in the fire, and then sharpened so that it can penetrate large prey after gliding through the air.

Close up of the spear AM demonstrated.

 The last weapon AM showed us was the Deflective Shield used when a man’s getting punished and uses it to take into the circle.

This was seriously heavy!

 AM was quick to point out that the weapons he showed us were unique to his area around Uluru as different animals, vegetation, law and customs of the land elsewhere in Australia all combine to require weapons exclusive to that area. He stressed the necessity of Aborigines traveling from their area to another having to consult with the local Aborigines what is needed and used there. The motto he said is ‘if in doubt, ask a local’ as traditions change so much throughout the country.

AM’s bush yarn was not all about hunting weapons. He related how Australia has the worst extinction rates on the planet and stated that it is widely accepted that there will be no koalas left in 40 years as well as mentioning so many other animals close to becoming extinct. One visitor asked whether the water was filtered and AM explained that several inches of dry grass are placed in a bowl, water is added and then the grasses are pressed down, like a coffee plunger he said, so that the water at the top is safe to drink.

That was the end of what I thought was AM's engrossing talk about Aborigianl weapons. Not sure if I had known what his chat was going to be in advance I would be all 'fired up' about it but I found out lots of new things and that's part of what our trips are all about. I hope my blog title didn't lead you astray and make you think Bush Yarns would be a more peaceful post - my apologies if it did.

 After his talk was over, I rejoined Steven who was still watching the painters. Sitting in front of them, cross legged on the ground from the moment we got there, was Rob, a Russsian Jew who had emigrated to Melbourne years ago. Rob had mentioned to Steven that today was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which sadly we had both forgotten about. Prior to his sitting down to watch the painters begin, he told Steven he had mentioned to Sarah, the young associate, how it was the Jewish New Year. She in turn told Sisi (sp?), the younger painter about it who then began creating a piece with some of the elements included. Rob however had committed to buy the painting before it was even started.

There are signs everywhere requesting that no photos be taken of the Aboriginal women painting in front of visitors all over Ayer’s Resort and at Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park, including of course, of Sisi and her aunt. While they took a short break, I asked Sarah, the woman at the Marketplace, if I could take a photo of just Rob and ‘his’ painting, and she said normally that is not done. She asked Sisi though who kindly agreed. What a story Rob will have to tell about his purchase of this painting. Rob: If you’re reading this, I hope I got this right.

 We scurried back to the Outback Pioneer Lodge for a final grilled cheese sandwich (hopefully no more of those for a few days!), collect our bags and then wait and wait for the bus to take us to the last plane leaving Ayer’s Rock today. The enormous bus came but there was no room for our luggage but we quickly got a smaller shuttle to the tiny airport. For some reason, all shuttles arrive at the airport a full 90 minutes before all planes fly out, so more sitting and waiting was required there!

Us with Bianca - guess I need to hide my money belt a little more convincingly next time!

This sign was in several different languages - never come across that before in any other country.

Not too much down time for me at any airport though. First thing Steven does for me when we get to any airport is search for plugs so he can drag out the computer and all the assorted cords and adapter to plug it in so I can charge the computer and spend the time on a post instead of just ‘wasting my time’ at the airport. Did I ever tell you how much I love this guy?

There I was all connected and writing one post or another and, of course, here I am chatty Cathy, (a big surprise I am sure!) yakking with 2 Australian women most of the time instead of ‘working on the post.’ The three of us had a fun time – Steven was far enough away to be able to read in peace and quiet. Loved it when they talked about cruising on the Great Barrier Reef and Vickie (below) said, if we went boomnetting (more on that later) to make sure I didn’t wear my bikini (as if!) as I’d quickly lose my top!

Arriving in Cairns on Australia's East Coast pretty far north.

Our flight from Uluru to Cairns was delayed by almost an hour which meant we had to wait a fair piece for the shuttle but luckily when the driver came, he managed to drop us off at the hostel, Caravella 149, just seconds before the hostel manager was locking up for the night. Could have been hairy as we had no wifi access and had no code for late checkin but all's well that ends well.

Our rather spartan room!

See you next on the Great Barrier Reef!