I love to go on walking tours when touring a country because that’s when you can go at your own pace, stop and see whatever you want along the way. You get to know that country in a more intimate way. On the 2nd day in Darwin, we were brought on the Batji Walking Tour, hosted by the founder of the tour himself – Mr Robert Mills. Robert is a senior Larrakia man who uses his tour to educate visitors about the Aboriginal history and significance of the area. The tour is the best way to experience Darwin through the eyes of it's Traditional Aboriginal Owners. And of course, there were lots of pretty sights to take in during the tour.
This is Mr Robert. He is a very cool man who walks around barefooted (Aboriginals live as close to nature as possible). He had shoulder length curly part grey hair that he tied into a ponytail.
As we passed by various historical sites and heritage spots, he would explain to us about their significance.
The weather was hot and humid, but it was nice to explore the city in this manner.
Robert told the guys to stand to one side as he led the ladies to this portion of the land area, and told us that the land we were stepping on was women’s land. In the aboriginal culture, they divide land into men’s land, women’s land and children’s land, so that everyone has a piece of land that belonged to them and no one was considered homeless.
Behold the beautiful blue skies, blue seas and green grass. In perfect harmony.
I have every right to step on this land because it belongs to me.
We passed by a Deckchair cinema which I thought was way cool. It was basically an open air big space and people would just bring in their own chairs and they got to watch their movies under the stars. The cinema’s only opened during the dry seasons between April to November. I wish we had these in Singapore!
Along the way, we spotted many tributes paid to the Northern Territories population.
It was very interesting to hear Robert share stories of his family, his tribe and clan. He also told us taboos that aboriginals avoid or old wives’ tales they believed in.
I thought it’d be nice to show you a video clip of Robert speaking. It’s not everyday you get to hear an aboriginal. =)
As Robert led us on the trail towards the beach, he told us that he was going to carry out a Traditional Larrakia Welcome Ceremony for us that day. He doesn’t do it on every tour, so it was rather special. =)
This was hubby going through the ceremony. Robert scooped up water from the sea and passed them to hubby, while chanting some unknown aboriginal language of blessings.
Robert patiently did the ceremony for everyone who wanted to go through it, and then he wet his entire self with the sea water! The aboriginals really love to connect with the nature.
We bade our farewells to Robert at the end of the tour. It was a nice introduction to the Land of Darwin. =)
As we proceeded to walk to the city centre to check out some shops, we passed by Tourism Northern Territories, which sponsored our stay in Darwin! The lady in stripes was our host from Darwin. =)
We were brought to two shops to check out the signature local products of Darwin – Crocodile-skin products & pearls!
It was the first time I actually thought pearls were beautiful. It’s no wonder though, this whole set from the world renowned Parsparley costs more than AUD$5,000. =) Nope, I didn’t leave the shop with the set, but I did enjoy the entire experience of trying on pearl accessories while sipping on champagne. =)
