Matt Down Under

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.