Photojournalist David Savage travels Australia on the OZ Experience…
On The Bus…
Just after sunrise we departed the quaint old town of Quorn to make our way to Parachilna. Our journey took us deep through the heart of the Flinders Ranges. This is ancient Aboriginal land, which plays a significant part in the ‘Dreamtime’ culture. Befitting of the journey our driver, Tom, had now hung up a ‘Healing-Crystal’ around the rear view mirror, sending coloured light bouncing around the bus.
Our first stop was the Kanyaka Homestead… (not so Aboriginal). The Homestead is now in ruins and is preserved as a testament to the early settlers who first tried to cut out a living by farming in the area. For this small community it didn’t work out, many died trying though, a story that is told through a small graveyard nearby.
Next up we took a short hike to the Yourambulla Caves, the site of ancient Aboriginal rock paintings. The paintings are considerably well defined and looking around from one site high up in a rock face, it is easy to understand why man has been inspired by this land for so many thousands of years.
The Ranges are the beginnings of what the Aboriginal people call the ‘Rainbow Serpents’, one of the most important Dreamtime stories in their culture. We soon came to Wilpena Pound, a place that has it’s own Dreamtime legend, involving a giant Kingfisher and Tribal gathering. Tom switched from our fearless driver to our fearless leader as we embarked on a two-hour return trek to the summit of Wilpena Pound. On the way we heard an alternative theory on the creation of Ayers Rock. Thousands of years ago when the Earth was new, a huge red rock fell from the sky. It hit the Earth creating Wilpena Pound, bounced and landed further north becoming known to us as Uluru, (Ayers Rock). I don’t really buy that one.
The climb to the summit was reasonably challenging, several times as we thought we had reached the top, there was more… and more. The terrain is reasonably tricky in places but the view from the top is well worth the blood, sweat and tears. We took time to take in this massive crater-like formation, gather our breath and appreciate those who had remembered to carry water with them. The scenery is stunning and its one of those places that just makes you want to explore further.
Parachilna
The Prairie Hotel at Parachilna is the heart of the community, the community numbers to a total of seven… that’s seven, one more than six, one less than eight. So as you can imagine, three in the Hotel bar is a crowd. When the two OZ Buses drove into town in close succession, the place was FULL! Parachilna is a regular overnight stop on the OZ Experience route and it is also one of the best examples of country hospitality in Australia.
Parachilna is set next to a railway line, which roughly runs north to south. To the east lie the Flinders Ranges, to the west lies open semi-arid desert. The Prairie Hotel, is a plush establishment and is well renowned for excellent accommodation and food. The hotel has even appeared in Vogue Magazine. For Backpackers the Hotel has a modern purpose built accommodation block, complete with kitchen and swimming pool. Dinner is served in the hotel’s restaurant, they put on a special ‘Feral’ barbie for OZ Experience, which consists of Kangaroo, Emu, Camel and Steak. It’s all pretty nice meat actually, although I’m sure if you’re a Veggie, the whole thing may sound like multiple carnage, which is fair enough.
Staying On…
My plans were to keep on with the OZ Bus right through to Melbourne, but when I got to Parachilna plans changed. Back in Airlie Beach, weeks earlier, I had heard from OZ Bus driver ‘Two Dogs’ about a place in South Australia called Iga Warta, an Aboriginal community which has set up a project allowing Backpackers to live with them and learn about their culture. Since leaving Alice Springs I had again been hearing more about Iga Warta. The project has been running since February 1999 and having travelled most of the OZ Experience route I had heard of nothing like this anywhere else.
On that basis I arranged to change my OZ Experience ticket and catch the following bus out of Parachilna, giving me three days to spend at Iga Warta. It was probably the best decision I have made in Australia. In those three days I learnt more about the Aboriginal culture than I had in ten months. My whole definition of this country suddenly changed. Iga Warta gave me a window view of Australia’s 135,000 years of heritage before white man arrived only 200 years ago.
Iga Warta lies about two hours away from Parachilna. When I arrived there, I was taken to the site of rock paintings dating from 35,000 years ago. Our guide was the eldest of the three brothers who set up the project, Cliff. His tribe, the Adnumurta People (Rock People), have been in the Flinders Ranges for thousands of years. Before the tour started Cliff explained to us that he was going to introduce us to his culture in exactly the same way his father had introduced it to him when he was a boy. That’s the same way all his people had been educated, generation after generation.
The next few days followed the same pattern. Step by step we learnt about their nomadic life-style, their bond with the Earth, how they used conservation and the stories of the Dreamtime. This experience completed my whole trip to Australia, I have experienced everything it has to offer and Iga Warta was by far the most enlightening part.