Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Larapinta Trek - Day 2 - Stanley Chasm

Beautiful Eucalyptus Tree














Stanley's Chasm was utterly amazing!!

















What views!





We were about to find out why there was a warning sign that said:  "Experienced hiker's only"!




















Check out this massive crack through the rock...



Time for dinner!  We drink wine, they cook the food!




Ummm!   Fish cooked in a pit with holendaise sauce!   Not bad for roughing it, ah?


Time to sit around the fire and drink wine...now, that's a vacation!



Tjukurpa - Aboriginal Dreamtime
Frill-necked Lizard
Walek, the frill-necked lizard, led the liard people of Nelgi Island (fify kilometres north of Cape York).   They had yet to discover fire and their cooking procedures, using sun heated stones, were subsequently long and laborious.   But Walek had a sister living in the far off islands of Papua New Guinea from where smoke was often seen to rise.   It was Walek who undertook the long and dangerous journey to his sister's village.  At first, she refused him and then gave him a cold coal, but he persisted and finally returned to a hero's welcome with the gift of file.

Because lizards are connected with thieves (stealing fire) and shape shifting, we might relate this to the little boy who came from nowhere and would never tell anyone about himself.  He was very lovable and was adopted by the tribe, but, soon all manner of things, except the Tjurunga and other sacred objects, began to go missing.   He was eventually caught and was about to have a thrashing administered when a falling spear injured him and he died.   His body was covered with bark but the next day it had disappeared.   In its place, there was only a lizard.

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