mungo national park

Haunting Beauty, Sculptures shaped by the shifting sands of time…

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Mungo National Park
Mungo National Park
Mungo National Park
Mungo National Park
Mungo National Park
Mungo National Park

Australia is a parched and dry continent surrounded by ocean and is notable for many things. Unique wildlife abounds, rainforest canopies reach out to coral reefs in our northern parts, deep blue skies touching red sand dunes in our deserts lands.

It is also a country that has had the footprint of time etched into its landscape over the Millennia by a proud people, Australia’s first Nation People and in more recent times by European settlement.

Heading north after a very pleasant stay at the Homebush Hotel in Penarie we continue our journey through the western parts of New South Wales to the World Heritage Willandra Lakes Region and our destination, Mungo National Park.

For many, this is a special place in our landscape, both physically and spiritually and is home to the oldest human remains in Australia.  Buried in the land are artefacts and evidence of a continuous record of aboriginal occupation for over 50,000 years.

On our travels we usually take a kayak to assist us in exploring our waterways, whether it be our spectacular coastline, an inland river or lake, or even a billabong or waterhole nestled in the landscape.  However, there is no water in this area of note, in fact Lake Mungo hasn’t had water flowing into it for thousand’s of years.

Consequently, the red dust accumulated from days of outback travel remains encrusted on the kayak…!

The park, which is run and managed by Aboriginal Rangers, only reopened in the days leading up to our visit. With the potential for the Covid-19 virus to weave its tentacles into our indigenous communities many national parks in the area have been closed over the past few weeks.

Our campsite at Mungo Lodge, a private facility situated just outside of the National Park, is a wonderful base to explore the area from. A highlight is the magnificent ‘Mungo Lunette’ that stands out on the horizon.

There is a large woolshed on display and a loop drive through the park where you can marvel at the tenacity of the Cob and Co Coach drivers’ who guided their horses and rigs over the soft sand dunes as they made their way to these remote settlements.

 It would have been no mean feat…

We have endeavoured to capture some of the beauty of this region in our photographs, taken at the Lunette on sunset, and there is much that can be written about Mungo and the Willandra Lakes Region.

However, we feel it is a story better told through the eyes of the people who have left their footprints in this sandy landscape over the Millennia – since their ‘Dreamtime’.

Be sure to visit to learn more…!

Photos: Janet & Baz


About us…

We love the colours of the Australian Outback, the ochre red earth touching a deep blue sky on a faraway horizon; and the fabulous coastline of our sunburnt country, where a golden sandy beach is washed over by a turquoise blue sea; and the characters you meet in a quiet country pub, where it is nothing flash, but you are enriched by the encounter…

A few years ago we decided it was time to graduate from work and re-enter the classroom of life, where an education is guaranteed and all that is needed is an open mind.

Thanks for joining us in the adventure…!

Cheers, Baz & Janet

A Place of Haunting Beauty – In Outback Australia…

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Mungo National Park

In the far west of New South Wales, some one thousand kilometres from Sydney, lies Lake Mungo and the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area…

 

Now before you go strapping the kayak to the top of your vehicle or hitching the “tinnie” to the back of your four-wheel drive it is worth knowing that Lake Mungo has been dry for some 15,000 years.

 

But don’t be put off by that fact, this is a fabulous place to spend a few days exploring what is a very special place to three Aboriginal tribal groups, the Paakantji / Barkindji, Ngyiampaa and Mutthi people.

These people have walked this land for close to 50,000 years.

Yes, 50,000 years…!

To put some context to that, they only started building the pyramids about 5,000 years ago, and Christian’s celebrated the arrival of Jesus Christ just over 2,000 years ago.

And in more contemporary history of Australia, Captain Cook landed at Botany Bay less than 250 years ago.

Life would have been substantially different when the waters were teaming with fish and the land abundant with food sources. And remarkably, evidence of this era has been enshrined in the “Mungo Lunette” and uncovered by the moving sand dunes in this windswept land.

A Lunette is a crescent-shaped sand dune similar in outline to the first quarter of the Moon. The Mungo Lunette is also known as the “Walls of China”.

I visited the region recently with the hope of photographing the “Super Red Blue Moon” that rose in the skies on 31 January, the prospect of capturing a photograph of a remarkable event over the Walls of China proving irresistible to me.

The Walls of China is where the remains of “Mungo Lady” an aboriginal women of some 18 years of age was discovered in the late 1960s. Her discovery and subsequent removal from her “spiritual home” by archaeologists’ was not without controversy, especially for the aboriginal people from this region.

Mungo Woman was eventually returned home to rest in country by her people and similarly, Mungo Man, whose remains were removed from his resting place has also made the journey home to country.

Scientists’ estimated that Mungo Man walked this land over 40,000 years ago.

It was against this cultural backdrop that I stood alone at the Mungo Lunette, a number of camera’s at hand to capture this remarkable lunar event.

But it wasn’t too be as cloud cover “eclipsed” my view of the moon as it rose over this ancient land.

Looking to the west, the sky was ablaze as a fiery sun cast its final rays into a darkening night sky…

I closed my eyes and let my mind drift and wondered if the spirits of those who had walked this land were sitting around the glow of this eternal fire, breathing life to this place of Haunting Beauty…

Photo’s: Baz – The Landy, Mungo National Park, Outback Australia

Lunar Trifecta – Possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity…

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Moreton Bay

I’m sure many are aware of a rare lunar phenomenon that is set to occur next week.

It is being billed as a “once-in-a-lifetime” lunar trifecta and Australian’s have one of the best vantage points around the globe to view what is being described as a “super red blue moon” as three lunar conditions converge.

Apparently, a super moon occurs when the moon reaches its closest point to earth and appears much larger than normal (some 30% they say). The red part happens during a lunar eclipse, and the blue moon is when there are two full moons in a month.

Some experts suggest that it is unlikely to see all three events converge again this century, although I have seen conflicting reports on this with suggestions there will be another one in 2028 – but given it last occurred in 1866 I’ll try and observe this one and leave it to the experts to argue over the timing of the next one.

I was pondering where to view it from away from the glare of city lights and decided on heading to the World Heritage listed Mungo National Park, south east of Broken Hill.

It has been at least two decades since I last visited the area so I am looking forward to it, although with daytime temperatures getting up to around the 45C mark I doubt I will linger there for too long afterwards. But it is a spectacular area, so I’ll play that one by ear and see how the weather is…

The phenomena is due to start on 31 January around 10:30pm (AEDT) and end just after 2:00AM (AEDT) on 1 February…

Photo: Baz – The Landy, Moreton Bay, Queensland