Chapter 10 – A Vision Splendid

The Great South Land is an extraordinary continent. It is a place of such enchantment and ancient beauty it perpetually amazed and awed, succoured and sustained me during my two years of walkabout. In every sense, its lights, colours, rocks, plants, and animals were elements of alchemy that combined to inspire my fascination for, and connection with, so much of the country travelled through. And the Gulf country was no exception. Following the long, wide curve of the Gulf of Carpentaria to the west, it was a land of big skies, big rivers, and extremely big and lethal saltwater crocodiles: those ancient denizens from the distant age of the dinosaurs. It was a country of broad, sweeping vistas from the brown, dry plains stretching to the horizon under the azure-blue sky to the welcomed forests of paperbark trees and waterlilies lining its many rivers and billabongs. Unexpectedly, one of the most remarkable visions I experienced during my journey across the continent was seen here. Remarkably, it was not a place but rather a person. An Aboriginal gentleman who was the perfect example of who we can become when we learn to live in harmony with the teaching of the natural world. So mesmerising was his presence, so inspiring was his physique, and so integrated was his being, I will never forget him.