Archive for January 18th, 2009

Somewhat inspired by the indigenous people of Australia, one of the most complex and ancient cultures in the world, we felt we needed to gain a deeper insight or understanding of their art, especially their paintings, so we set about trying to find one or more that we both understood and could relate to in some way.

We were taken aback with the prices in the galleries which were priced anywhere from $200 for a small up to several thousand for the large.  Of course these were for some of the more famous artists.  We were told by our tour guide to avoid the shops and wait till we got to Alice Springs where they are sold on street corners and in the parks and some are just as good a quality.

After a couple of hours of talking with the Abos (only kidding) we agreed on the following paintings and struck a deal with the artist’s wife.  It’s also nice to see where the money is going to. Hopefully these will look good on a wall somewhere with the rest of the handicraft we’ve collected along the way.

Subject: Four Women Collecting Bush Berries For Their Kids

Artist: Marissa McMillan

Tribe: Eastern Aranda

Place: Ltyentye Apurte

Subject: Two Kangroos Looking for Waterholes

Artist: Gabren White

Tribe: Walpiri

Place: Yuendumu

Some pictures of the artist’s family:

3hrs sleep and another 4am start so we can visit Watarrka National Park and walk Kings Canyan before heading back to Alice where we finished our six day tour. 

Neither Sam or I did the 3hr walk around the outer rim.  Sam’s ankle was sore from the previous days walking and, if the truth be known, we were just exhausted from the late nights and early mornings coupled with the sun and the dehydration took it toll. Sam stayed in the tour van and I walked the half hour along the bottom.

After the canyon it was off for lunch and you could take a camel or helicopter ride.  The camel ride was $15 for 15 mins and the helicopter $145 for 15 mins.  You will not see pictures of doing either!

It was great being back in Alice Springs at a decent hostel with a pool and kitchen facilities.  We had a late night farwell party with the group till the early hours, had a lie in and went shopping before we caught out flight to Cairns.