It takes 14 days to do the entire Larapinta trek. The trip I signed up was a 7 day/6 night trip focusing on the highlights of the hike.
I was quite fortunant that we had a small group of hikers - 8 including myself, all women! and we had 4 guides! all women except for one, bless his heart! Can you imagine going camping and hiking with 11 women for 7 days and being the only man?
My fellow hikers
our guides
A little bit of history....
In the heart of Australia's red center lie rows of ancient, scultped, mountain chains. These are the MacDonnell Ranges and the Larapinta Trail winds its way along the western end. The trail is named after the aboriginal name for the Finke River. The Finke River is one of the world's oldest rivers having followed the same course for 350 million years. It crosses the tribal lands of the Arrente people who have lived in this area for thousands of years. The permanent water in the MacDonnel Ranges supported a large aboriginal population and they have a significant stake in teh management of the Larapinta Trail.
Despite the harsh conditions of this arid land, the West MacDonnell Ranges are home to more than 600 species of plants ranging from elegant, white ghost gums to ancient cycads and delicate ferns. Wildflowers abount after a good rain and there is a variety of wildlife, although we did not see any. We were very fortuante that the area had had more rain that year (in 5 months) then they typically have in an entire year! Our guides said they had never seen it so green.
The original inhabitants were the aborigines who lived a nomadic life style in the MacDonnell Ranges for thousands of years. The aborigines did not keep a written record, but, instead had an oral tradition called the white people call "Dreamtime" or Tjukurpa (pronounced like "chook-orr-pa'), which explained the origin of the landscape and defined the laws they followed. The aboriginals do not think that this term should be used, as 'Dreaming' or 'Dreamtime' is imaginary or fleeting. This is their traditional law, guiding them still today, so, it is definately not flighting or imaginary to them. They prefer to use the work 'Pitjantjatjara' word 'Tjukurpa' or the Yankunytjatjara word 'Wapar' (pronounced like 'wop-arr'), which contains the deeper, more complex meaning then "Dreamtime'. So, even though it is commonly called "Dreamtime", I will refer to it correctly as 'Tjukuritja'. (that's going to be fun to type!)
Tjukurpa refers to the past, the present and the future at the same time. It refers to the time when ancestral beings crated the world as we know it. Tjukurpa also refers to Anangu religion, law, relationships and moral systems.
Tjukurpa is not written down but taught and memorised. This knowledge is carefully passed on to the young people. Some ares of Tjukurpa are only passed on to people who have inherited the right to that knowledge. So, we will only get to hear a small part of this, but, here it is...
The world was once a featureless place. None of the places we know existed until Anangu ancestors, in the form of people, plants and animals, travelled widely across the land. These beings were usually animals of huge size with human characteristics. In a process of living and travelling they formed te world as we know it today, creating trees, rocks, caves, boulders, cracks, waterholds. These features are the physical evidence that these stories really did take place, they are the Tjukuritja.
This land is still inhabited by the ancestors. Their jouneys and activites are recorded at sites linked by iwara (paths or tracks). Near Alice Springs, the store relates the journey of three procession caterpillers leaving behind long, rocky ridges.
No comments:
Post a Comment