Matt Down Under
Ruby developer, founder of choc media, bushwalker, MacGyver fan and hobby photographer, German citizen and Australian Permanent Resident.
In 2008 I moved from Germany to Australia, the best decision of my life. On this blog you can find stories and photos about hiking in Tasmania and on the mainland, travelling, and life in Australia — my journey from Working Holiday to Permanent Residency.
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Jatbula Trail — Day 2
Route: Biddlecombe Cascades — Crystal Falls
It was so hot in the morning already that after breakfast I went for a swim before packing up and leaving.
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Jatbula Trail — Day 1
Route: Nitmiluk Visitor Centre — Biddlecombe Cascades
I arrived in Katherine one day before my departure on the Jatbula Trail, I wanted to camp at Katherine Gorge for one night just to get acclimatised to camping and outdoors again before starting the hike. Besides, the campground is a wonderful location with lots of wildlife, great facilities and many opportunities for short walks.
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The sign in the photo marked the end of the Jatbula Trail, a few hundred metres before the Edith Falls car park. When I walked past it at 1pm last Tuesday, I had to pause for a moment, take a photo and recap the experiences of the past few days. The message on the sign is exactly what I tried to articulate in my previous blog post. It says:
“You have walked the land and now end your journey with photographs and memories of your experiences along the Jatbula Trail.”
“During the wet season Jawoyn moved around this high, broken tableland between Katherine and Leliyn (Edith Falls) that you have just walked. There was an abundance of porcupine, wallabies and other small game. As you have just seen, there was also plenty of water.”
“Jawoyn people hope you leave with a greater appreciation of country and culture.”
I did indeed. And I couldn’t have got that appreciation and those experiences from a bus on the highway or an airplane in the sky. Walking is the best way to learn to appreciate country and culture. You get to see places that others, who don’t walk, will never get to see.
Back from the Jatbula Trail
Last Tuesday I returned from the Jatbula Trail. It was a fantastic walk — very exhausting, very hot, but I made it and it was a great experience. I saw Aboriginal rock art that must have been hundreds if not thousands of years old, I swam in waterholes every day, I saw flocks of 50 or more Red-tailed Black Cockatoos flying past me and didn’t meet a single person between the start and finish of the trail.
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Backpacker Australia vs. Real Australia
The last few weeks while I stayed in a backpacker hostel I noticed how much different my views of Australia are today, compared to my views in 2008 and compared to those of other backpackers today. When I say backpacker, I mean foreign Working Holiday makers and other short-term visitors.
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At Katherine Gorge
This morning I left Darwin and jumped on the early Greyhound bus to Katherine. Timing couldn’t have been better because for the first time since I returned to Darwin five weeks ago, it rained.
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Going hiking on the Jatbula Trail
I’m still in Darwin, working on my tan and I’m actually fairly busy with work for some exciting online projects at the moment, but I decided to take a break from the computer and go back to Katherine on Thursday, where I will walk the 58km Jatbula Trail in Nitmiluk National Park before they close it for the wet season starting October.
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The other day I saw a flock of 30-40 Little Corellas sitting in the trees in Fanny Bay, while I walked back along the beach from East Point Reserve to the city. It was very funny to watch them clowning around, although the people in the bar next to the trees probably weren’t too happy about their deafening screeching…
Life in Numbulwar
When I came to Numbulwar, I was hoping to get a better understanding of Aboriginal culture and lifestyle, and of the conditions of living for Aboriginal people in remote communities in Australia. Now, two months later, I still find it difficult to come to a conclusion — there were so many impressions, and so many different aspects and opinions that I have seen and heard. No doubt that Aborigines are heavily disadvantaged in Australia, but on the other hand I found it fascinating that I never heard anybody complaining.
Here is a list of things that I found remarkable over the last two months, to give an impression on what it’s like to live in Numbulwar.
