QUINKAN COUNTRY
About 48km north-west of
Lakeland on the road to Laura in
Quinkan country, Cape York, is
the Split Rock Aboriginal Art Site
with a walking track that leads
to three galleries. These can
be done on your own, but even
better is a tour from the Quinkan
& Regional Cultural Centre in
Laura that offers a wealth of
fascinating information and
interpretation. This can be done
as a day trip from Lakeland or
even Cooktown.
Cooktown also has rock
art; this is best seen with the
traditional elder, Willie Gordon,
who offers the outstanding
Guurrbi Tours complete with
the stories behind the rock art
of the Nugal-warra people in
the Wangaar-Wuri region.
Split Rock art site in Laura, FNQ.
Quinkan Country rock art.
Ewaninga Rock
Carvings Recreation Reserve.
NORTHERN TERRITORY ROCK ART
In Alice Springs, a 4WD trip along Old
South Road takes in a very bumpy 35km to
the Ewaninga Rock Carvings Conservation
Reserve. The origin and meaning of the
petroglyphs is either unknown or sacred-
secret, and the site is in the custody of the
Arrernte people.
Also in the Centre, Uluru offers rock art in
addition to that stunning scenery. The ranger-
guided Mala walk is most worthwhile, and a
self-guided walk around the entire rock offers
40
gorv.com.au
a number of Anangu art sites with excellent
interpretive signs.
The Northern Territory can lay claim to much
of Australia’s most magnificent rock art, and
Kakadu offers easy access to a tiny few of the
galaxy of sites.
Ubirr Rock is amazing, as is the Anbangbang
Gallery in Nourlangie, which has artwork that
was repainted by Aboriginal elder Nayambolmi
during the 1960s.