We awoke to a nice clear sunny sky and Allthego felt the urgent need to head off on a walk. After breakfast of course!
As my readers will know this blog is a bit disjointed because it is generally written a few days after the events it describes. This is a necessity here in the Pilliga because there is no internet, it is social media ‘non existant’, as some might say. Sometimes, Allthego also gets the tenses wrong pretending to be still somewhere when we are 100km further on.

The point of this ramble is that we were aware that the weather might close in today with the threat of rain the next day. Rain in the Pilliga is not a great option if wanting to get out in a vehicle towing a van. So we have decided to cut short our stop and hopefully beat the rain out the next day.

So we need to do the Sculptures in the Scrub walk sooner than later, 3.6km loop return. The walk is in two parts, the first takes us along the ridge line looking down into Dandry Gorge and the second is a stroll through the gorge beside the creek before ascending back to where we started.

We did not find it a difficult walk. Along the ridge line section there are a number of sculpture installations connecting indigenous people with their ancestors.
First Lesson , a father with child on his shoulders is looking out over the gorge ‘showing him the world’. It is particularly evocative. A bit later, in the walk through the gorge we look up at this statue on the ridge line. Quite impressive.

There are five installations all up connecting us with the indigenous past, and present for that matter.

Two axe heads provide a contrast between the present and the past. The traditional stone axe head, at right in the photo above, stands beside a ‘modern’ late 19th century axe head. One links the past with the present, illustrating the indigenous experience with the traditional axe and the subsequent experience with the European axe as woodcutters.

There are other installations, the ever present Rainbow Serpent among them weaving its creative powers over the environment.

There are also 5 mosaic tiled figures, illustrating the indigenous connection with flora and fauna. Perhaps, showing the stages of life of a plant rising from the earth, opening like a flower and dying off. The wildflowers make an impressive garden for the statue.

The walk slowly descends into the Dandry Gorge, and then follows the creek for a while. Very cool environment down in the gorge. After a while the track disappears into the creek. Homealone and Allthego need to remove shoes and wade through the creek, not as cold as we thought it might be!

On the other side of the creek the track heads slowly up hill to the campground, more wildflowers and an echidna rooting around under a plant for something tasty.

Back at camp we have the afternoon in the dappled sunlight and a pizza for dinner beside the fire. Not an easy decision to move out in the morning and head for Narrabri!