Near Laura, Queensland, 14 August 2022
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Click on any image to see it larger (If you are on a PC at least).

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(For the benefit of some Americans who may be reading this, this post has absolutely nothing to do with Laura Bush).

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Gnaingar.

On our way to another rock art site, this is the flowers of Gnaingar, or Eucalyptus Phœnicia, or Scarlet Gum, endemic to the far north of Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.

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A kangaroo, perhaps.

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Male figure.

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Female figure.

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Main figure a snake, probably dreamtime serpent.

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Fish, perhaps.

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A cave for special female ceremonies.

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Inside, dragonflies on the walls.

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At the next site, perhaps a family group.  Appears to be made by a negative process with removal of colour.

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Two females, one over a long figure perhaps snake, eel or lungfish.

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Here is the site overall.  You can see some of the figures shown above.

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We dropped down to a pool fed by a small waterfall.

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A tree trying to grow in a most surprising place.

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Contorted trunk and roots of a eucalypt beside the pool.

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On the move now.  Taken from a moving four wheel drive vehicle.  There has been some fire stick farming going on to manage the land.  This involves small scale slow cool burns that do not escape to destroy land and wildlife.

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Images on the move.

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Passing a large termite mound.  The black pole with a blue cap is on the vehicle.

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Back to the main rock art site.

I was looking for a different perspective this time.  Most of my shots on the previous day were taken with a very wide angle lens (Fujifilm 8-16mm) whereas most of these were taken with a moderate telephoto (Fujifilm 80mm macro).

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These figures may be very old, maybe 20,000 years.

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The upside-down person represents someone who has transgressed fundamental rules of the society and received serious punishment such as exile or death.

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Given how far north we are, this is probably a cassowary rather than an emu.

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Dingo at the front.

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A wider view with many figures.

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Back at the base now, probably after dinner.  The is a macro landscape with some combination of ground cover, bush and miniature tree.

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Rock Art.

In other words, Art created by the Rock.

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Balanda Rock Painting.

Perhaps reminiscent of the cargo cult of Papua New Guinea, this is designed to encourage the great gyroscopic whirring bird to drop from the sky.

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Night sky from near the tent, a ten second exposure from 5:30am. 

If you are on a PC or Mac, this image will appear very dark against the white page here.  You need to click on it for a larger version to see it properly.

There is also something moving in the sky with a somewhat discontinuous light, perhaps a satellite or a plane.

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