Gunbalayna and Maningrida

Gunbalayna from the air with wetlands and Injalak Hill clearly visible.

We spent last week in Gunbalayna or Oenpelli which is on the eastern side of Jabiru country. It was wonderful. After the flatter country of the other Arnhem communities, it was terrific to see hills and landscape structures. The colours are just unbelievable. We will go and spend more time in the escarpments next time. We met the guys who do the tours of Injalak Hill ( below) to visit the cave paintings. It should be drier, so we can go. We did visit the art centre and picked up some pressies for people and us. It was fun seeing the art of the people we worked with - added to our respect of their talents.


This view from our accommodation was wonderful. Landscapes all around the famous Injalak Hill in the foreground. We also had very close wetlands, especially in the rain - watching the locals fish from plastic chairs to avoid crocs was a bit of fun! The afternoon walks were just so breathtaking and the bird life was very diverse. We saw so many species. Even Jabirus as we landed.



We had a food disaster - well almost. The shop at Ramingining closed on the Friday and we had run out of most of the Darwin Supplies we brought with us. Then on the trip over it rained and we turned back ( last blog). On arrival into Gunbalanya, it was too late to catch the shop and they were closed to Monday, so I had three left over cooked sausages, two potatoes, a carrot and some dried food and some curry for two days meals. So from now on, I'll make sure we have weekend food.

We also have learned to carry a tea towel, a chux, other cleaning bits and some detergent. We usually have to clean before we can either do the training or live in our digs. Gunbalanya accommodation was an exception, but the training room was awful till we cleaned it. The digs also had a washing machine which was a huge bonus. We have only seen one working washing machine since Darwin.

We loved the flight into Manigrida. The airstrip is rather close to the sea, but not as short as some we experienced in Torres Straits. The community is on the sea and has several lovely beaches. We went fishing and lost 4 lures. I built a album on my Facebook of the beach combing I did. It is rather hard to believe, so I had to get photographic evidence.


Manigrida is a buzzing community and they had two shops, one which had lots of fresh veges and soy milk. We even got another jar of curry. We could have bought a new boat but the BIA Budget does not stretch that far.


We loved the town. So many people doing great stuff. We had involvement from Art centre staff, male and female rangers and the Women's centre. There is more separateness of men and women here that we had not experienced before. I also learned that only women should play the digeridoo, which explains why I am so bad at it.


The Art Centre was breathtaking to walk into. There were incredibly large painted posts, bark and wooden crafts. We are contemplating our next acquistion. We won't make any money this trip if we keep spending. It is so hard to resist when it is so terrific.

We stayed in the Art Cottage which was attached to the Museum. It was amazing! It was so well organised and so beautifully compiled. We were very lucky to be given the keys for the weekend and had two visits. Next time, we will get Marcus, the very talented tour guide to tell us all the stories behind the artefacts and the museum. We also have to get better at this fishing thing.

We are on a diet of good steak now. paul fixed a computer for the manager of the Abattoir, and he was so grateful, he gave us a huge packet of meat. Loving it. if only we had salad to go with it.

Well we left Maningrida and flew to Galiwin'ku today on Elcho Island. More about that next time. Love to all!