PROTECTING THE KIMBERLEY THROUGH INDIGENOUS MANAGEMENT: SMH TRAVELLER
If our ship were to sink this morning, leaving us stranded in this cove that's accessible only by boat or helicopter, our only hope for survival would surely be Naomi Peters.
Our young guide from the Arraluli clan spends seven months a year in the Kimberley's remote Freshwater Cove, sharing her intimate knowledge of country with passing travellers – most of them on shore excursions from cruise ships like ours - through her family's company Wijingarra Tours.
"We're trying to educate people on preserving what we have left," says Naomi, gesturing to the land her ancestors have stewarded for tens of thousands of years. Naomi's mother Isobel started the Arraluli Whale Sanctuary Project, to protect the humpbacks that breed in Freshwater Cove each year, inspiring Naomi to spend the majority of her time back on country.
Sharing oral stories passed down through the generations is an important element of Aboriginal culture, and a way of sharing lessons about caring for the Earth. Before we head off for a bush walk, Naomi shares a Dreamtime story about two birds fighting over some bush honey, whose subsequent bloodshed coloured the earth.
"We get told this story when we're young so we learn to share," says Naomi. "A lot of our Dreamtime stories are very simple, but with important knowledge - knowledge people are only just realising the importance of now."
According to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we'll need this historic wisdom from the land's first caretakers to adapt to what's coming. I reflect on that as Naomi smears ochre paste on our cheeks to welcome us to her clan's land, and as her brother Neil leads us on a hike through bushland dotted with cotton flowers, bottlebrush and wattle.
We soon reach Cyclone Cave, decorated with 4000-year-old rock art in the Wandjina style. Neil points out a stingray, the Arraluli clan's totem, and an impressive series of concentric circles telling the story of a boy who went fishing without his mother's permission and drowned.
"Some of these are sad stories, but they're always about learning," says Neil quietly. "You've got to learn to listen, don't rush in life, wait your turn."
Waiting our turn, it seems, is today's lesson. One of the main reasons travellers visit Freshwater Cove is to buy Aboriginal artwork from Naomi's uncle Gideon, but Gideon doesn't have any paintings ready for sale today. Anyone wishing to purchase will have to wait. Disappointing for some, but for me, the perfect excuse to spend more time with Naomi.
Leading me down to a rock ledge beside the shore, Naomi says she and her family work alongside scientists doing survey work, including whale counts and new species discovery here at Freshwater Cove. She points out a freshwater spring bubbling up from the rocks, and as I fill my bottle she explains why fewer and fewer young people are moving back onto country.
"They like the ease of modern life, they can't do without phone or internet, they're used to the hustle and bustle. But me, I'm a very quiet person, I like it here." Looking out across this peaceful inlet, bombarded by wild rays of mid-morning sun, I can understand why.
Back onboard our APT cruise ship, I find myself on deck chatting with our expedition leader Craig Ward, a passionate conservationist who has authored multiple books about biodiversity, about the steady decline of global environments.
"Australian Aboriginals are the longest persistent culture on earth," says Ward. "They've managed their environment for longer than any other group of human beings, and until a couple of hundred years ago they were doing just fine."
Indigenous communities protect 80 percent of the world's biodiversity, and Ward says we'll need their knowledge to protect the wild areas that remain. "With more of that knowledge, we'll have a good chance of holding onto a globe that's adequately healthy for all species," he says, "especially our own."
Nina Karnikowski travelled as a guest of APT.
This story first appeared online here and in print.