"The Tree
Circle Indaba"
After a rainy night, the day dawned clear and warm. 34 of us
(eventually) made our way to Miva, on the Mary river. There is a landmark old bridge
here, (complete with resident ghost) a lazy bend of the Mary River, a pleasant park, and a
very special ceremonial area.
(Click a pic for a larger Image)
Early Arrivals
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Morning Tea
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Morning tea was a leisurely affair (as always) with lots of banter and
light hearted laughter. Brett then formally welcomed everyone and related the story
of the bridge, and the story of Dhakkanguini. We then strolled off to the bridge, to
seek out ghosts, search the waters below for the elusive lungfish, or just to watch the
majestic Mary making her way through the landscape to her ultimate destination, the sea.
The old and the new?
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Spot the lungfish....
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Some (who shall remain nameless) made their way down to the water's edge
on the upstream side to collect the fruits of nature..... (pumkins floating down after the
rain),
while others just watched and waited, and waited and...... Some saw turtles and
small fish jumping. No one saw the ghost.
Soggy Pumpkins? |
The Majestic Mary |
We again gathered at the tables in the park for some quick sustenance
before heading off across the paddocks to the ceremonial area...
Off we go... |
Over the creek..... |
Not all made the trip as the grass was slippery (tall too..) and the
gullys steep. Those who did, came to a wonderful stand of 4 magnificent fig trees. These
ancient beauties stood at the 4 cardinals, North, South, East and West.
Brett explained the aboriginal significance of the area, and a little about the
ceremonies which were performed here. We all entered and sought out meditation places
among the butressed root systems, each seeking their own little piece of this heaven.
We then joined in a chant before leaving this magical place to head back to the
park to attend to matters of the stomach.
Getting ready to enter..
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The Trees
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As always, lunch was a happy time with laughter and discussions, and
even an impromptu game of cricket. We then settled into a chat session, with Brett
updating us on some recent developements with regards to NUMA, and some info on the South
Australian Rock Glyphs. There was some general discussion about crop circles and everyone
oooohed and ahhhhed at the pics in Rod's book (thanks Rod!)
Eventually, with hugs all round, we drifted off to return to the mundane world, but the
images of this special place will stay indelibly etched in our memories......
Back About Indaba
Future Indabas |
