On our way back to Broome we had to take a detour as parts of the Kimberleys were destroyed during that year’s cyclone season. Sections of the Great Northern Highway and Fitzroy Crossing were impassable. At Fitzroy Crossing, the Fitzroy River Bridge, was significantly damaged, along with 500 metres of road, cutting access to Aboriginal communities east of the Fitzroy River as well as the East Kimberley and Northern Territory.
The 2023 tourist season in the Kimberleys was at risk due to these road closures. But road reconstruction seems to happen at high speeds in this part of the world and the Fitzroy River is vital to infrastructure in the region. So we were very fortunate to be able to go on our tour.
A quick photo stop on our return route was at the „China Wall“, a quartz wall that was left after the surrounding rock had eroded. Even though this wall looks man- made it is a natural phenomenon.
The next stop on our trip was one of the most interesting parts of our trip for us as foreigners but also our fellow Australian travelers seemed to be learning new things at Mimbi Caves. At the caves we were welcomed by a lovely indigenous woman to country with a smoking and water ceremony. Note the lack of the word „the“ in „welcomed to country“. To aboriginal people (or first nation people) country is much more than a piece of land.
„Country is the term often used by Aboriginal peoples to describe the lands, waterways and seas to which they are connected. The term contains complex ideas about law, place, custom, language, spiritual belief, cultural practice, material sustenance, family and identity.“ (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies)
You can only be welcomed to country by traditional owners but once you are initiated you can come to country anytime. Every time you return you are expected to acknowledge country. Acknowledging country when you enter the areas of aboriginal mobs is a sign of respect and failing to do so will bring bad luck on you according to their belief. For instance in Kalbari we swam in a pool that is special to it’s traditional owners. A sign there asked us to take a mouthful of water and spit it back into the pool as part of this ritual.
The initial welcome at Mimbi Caves included us walking through smoke from a camp fire and then to find a rock and rub it under our armpits so the rock would take on the scent of the people entering country. This rock is then thrown into a creek that runs through the caves. Now country knows who you are and you are from now on part of the land.
