Mt Borradaile, Kakadu National Park, NT: According to Dreamtime myth, Mimi spirits were the first ancestors to paint on rock. They passed their knowledge on to some Aboriginal people while others learned by copying Mimi art. Sometimes ancestral spritsentered rock walls as paintings turning them into sacred dreaming places. With the arrival of Europeans and the changing lifestyle of Aboriginal people the tradition of rock art has been largely succeeded by painting on bark paper and canvas. Kakadu's most recent rock art was painted in 1986 and the last flurry of activity before that was Najombolmi's work during the 1960s. Today you can explore this vast cultural treasure trove with a local Aboriginal guide. In amongst Kakadu's lush rainforest lies an epic history of human occupation.
Nour lanhie, Kakadu National Park, NT: Not far from this gallery you' ll find paintings of the Namarrgarn Sisters cunning spirits who live in the stars and can make people sick with a string. In another site in the area you' ll see a painting of the Rainbow Serpent that is more than 23,000 years old. This quietly powerful boss lady is known as Garrangarrelito to the local Gagud tribe.
At Nourlangie Rock an outlying formation of the Arnhem Land Escarpment you can see the crevices cut by Dreamtime ancestors who still controls the violent lightning storms that happen every wet season. Nearby is Nanguluwu where acclaimed artist Najombolmi painted a Mimi Dreamtime spirit figure throwing a spear during the 1960s. You' ll also see paintings depicting the arrival of Europeans including one of a two masted sailing ship with anchor chain and dinghy trailing behind.
In amongst the wetlands wildlife and rugged gorges World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park holds one of the highest concentrated areas of rock art in the world. As many as 5,000 Aboriginal sites have been found here including rock art shelters stone tools grindstones and ceremonial ochre. This detailed dramatic record of life in Kakadu stretches back more than 50.000 years from the first evidence of human occupation to the arrival of Europeans.
