Arnhem Land

Arnhem Land covers around ninety-seven thousand square kilometres of the Top End east of Kakadu, held under Aboriginal freehold title since 1976 and home to Yolŋu and other groups whose languages, ceremony and art traditions are among the most continuous in the world. The country ranges from the stone escarpment to floodplains, rivers and a coast of islands, with rock art galleries in shelters used over tens of thousands of years. Injalak Hill at Gunbalanya, reached from Kakadu on a permit day trip, has some of the most accessible art, with an art centre below. Garma, a Yolŋu cultural festival, is held at Gulkula each August. Access is controlled and dependent on permits.

History

People have lived in the region for about 60,000 years, the Yolŋu culture of East Arnhem Land may be one of the oldest living cultures on Earth, and a stone axe found here, about 35,500 years old, was in 2010 the oldest known of its kind; rock art that may show violence between people has been tentatively dated to 10,000 years ago. In 1623 the Dutch captain Willem Joosten van Colster sailed into the Gulf of Carpentaria, and Cape Arnhem is named after his ship, the Arnhem. At least from the 18th century traders from Makassar in Sulawesi came every year to harvest and process trepang, trading cloth, tobacco, knives and rice with local people, the first recorded contact between Australia's inhabitants and their Asian neighbours, and their word balanda for white people is still used (Wikipedia, Arnhem Land).

Highlights

• The rock art - shelters painted over tens of thousands of years, including Injalak Hill.
• The art centres - bark painting, weaving and carving sold at community centres.
• The escarpment country - stone plateau, waterfalls and floodplains.
• The Garma festival - the Yolŋu cultural gathering held each August.

When to go

May to October; the wet season floods roads and the East Alligator crossing to Gunbalanya, cutting access entirely. Permits take time to obtain and are issued for specific routes and dates. Garma falls in August and books out.

Before you go

This is private Aboriginal land, not a park: permits are compulsory, often limited, and travelling without one is trespass. Most visitors go with licensed tour operators. Alcohol is restricted or prohibited. Photography rules vary by community and must be respected.

Nearby

Kakadu lies west across the East Alligator River; Nhulunbuy is on the eastern coast.

Key facts