Daly River - 20 July 2009

I am lying in my tent under a 100 year old mango tree listening to Australian and American fighter jets roar overhead at probably 500 knots. I had counted 8 jets before I was distracted, and the noise blended into the background like traffic noise in the big smoke. Now there is another jet passing over-head. It is much quieter though. It must be a passenger jet. The military jets fairly roar, and in the dead still air you can hear them for minutes, and see their flashing lights and headlights lighting up the sky. The mango trees were planted by Jesuit missionaries on the south bank of the Daly river, Northern Territory, when they established a mission here in 1886 or there abouts. At the time there was no white settlement on this side of the Daly, and the missionaries believed that was for the best as they were out to save the native people from the excesses of white civilization ... There goes another jet ... Heading south this time rather than north. And much lower. It is quite loud.


Camping under 100 year old Mango Trees.







The George Washington (the aircraft carrier replacing the Kitty Hawk in the Asia Pacific) … another jet … is sitting off shore in Darwin for three weeks, too large to enter the harbour. It was in Perth before here, with it's 5000 sailors, and the 17th largest air force in the world. They and the RAAF boys are having simulated battles south of Katherine … another jet returning from the battle field … The Washington is a nuclear powered ship, that requires re-fuelling only every 18 years but takes three years to re-fuel according to the old lady in the caravan park last night. The mere existence of such a large ship with such a large air force poses many questions about our desire for peace, security, and prosperity for every citizen on this planet, and the way we expect to achieve, or attempt to achieve that. But lets discuss that another time. It also raises the nuclear issue once again. Clearly it is beneficial having to re-fuel only once every 18 years, and nuclear is probably reasonably safe these days if built to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards. But what of the waste. How long will it take for the waste to reach background levels of radiation, and can we humans with our extremely short term view of things really commit to isolating a large volume of waste from the environment for that amount of time?




RAAF fighter jets on the runway in Darwin, ready to go play ball with the Americans.



In fact just a few days ago at Ubirr, an internationally recognized rock art site in Kakadu national park, I was looking at a painting (probably thousands of years old) depicting the effect of long exposure to elevated levels of nuclear radiation. The sandstone escarpments of Kakadu/Arnhem land are in certain paces high in uranium as well as other heavy metals. There are areas along this escarpment recognised as sickness country by the local aboriginal people. Not surprisingly maps of high uranium content rocks, and sickness country match fairly well. In fact, there are two or three uranium mining leases in Kakadu, the biggest being the Ranger uranium mine. Kakadu is unique in more ways than just having uranium leases. It contains the reasonably sized town of Jabiru, which is a tourist and mining service centre, and is home to a ridiculous looking, and dated, yet quite pricy apparently, hotel in the shape of a crocodile. Kakadu is also home to 1,000 head of farmed buffalo. The farm is, I believe run by local, Binning people.

A person affected by sickness country.




But back to Mango trees. Yes, I am in the Top end. I drove from Perth to Darwin to meet up with family travelling up here, and have been to Kakadu and the Tiwi islands. I am now travelling by myself back towards Kununurra, where I plan to work for a month or so, either prior to, or after having travelled around the Kimberley. I am at the Daly River Mango Farm Tourist Park, with three caravans, and the owners. It is unseasonably quite because a bunch of the long termers have left after having a very good run with the barra fishing. They have caught all they are allowed to possess (or that they can fit in their freezers), and are not able to eat it all quick enough to keep fishing, so they are on their way home. The property is home to 2,000 production mango trees plus 20 or 30 from 100 years ago. The production trees are flowering or have just finished at the moment. Mangos arrive late October to late November.

I am right on the bank of the Daly river, a fantastic place, apart from the mosquitoes. Hence I am taking shelter in my tent.



The Daly River crossing. When I say 'the' I mean 'the only'. There is an old rock crossing 70 kms upstream, the next crossing is the highway bridge in Katherine, over what is then the Katherine River.


There will be more to follow on other adventures, including the Tiwi islands.


Carpe Diem