Walkabout

Finally, our first trip out of the city. We decided to jump on the train and head to the Blue Mountains for an aboriginal walkabout. A walkabout is a rite of passage during which male aborigines would undergo a journey during adolescence and live in the wilderness for as long as six months. We took about six hours, but our guide was able to trace the paths, or 'songlines', that his ancestors took.We learned about dreamtime (stories about creation of sacred places, land, people, animals and plants, law and custom), bush tucker (finding food off the land), and were able to see some of the Blue Mountains up close and personal. Below are some pictures of the carvings in a sacred place, our guide sharing dreamtime stories, the Three Sisters, and the billabong we could cool off in.