Aboriginal Australia - Desert Tracks

Desert Tracks

Desert Tracks is an educational eco-tour teaching Aboriginal law, culture and lifestyle. The location - Angatja in Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal land.

The tour is led by Nganyinytja and Ilyatjari and as Nganyinytja says:

A performance at Angatja

"Palya. Ngalya pitjala, nyawa ngayuku ngura. Welcome. Come and visit my country! If people wish to come and learn our way, they can come on a trip to my homeland, Angatja."

Dicki Minymtirri
performing
traditional INMA

At Angatja we have a college to teach people about the Anangu (Pitjantjatjara word for Aboriginal people) way of living. This is our country and we have wanted to teach other people about our ways for many years.
Our friends will bring you from Alice Springs and organise all your swags and camping gear.
They will translate what we say from Pitjantjatjara into English.
They have lived and worked with us for many years and know our language and customs very well.

On this trip you will have the opportunity to:

listen to stories from the Tjukurpa (the Dreaming);
go hunting; collect, prepare, cook and
eat bush foods;
listen to and participate in traditional
dance and song.

About Desert Tracks
Desert Tracks is an eco-travel business owned by an Aboriginal council and staffed with a mix of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Nganyinytja is the elder custodian of Angatja, her father's and grandfather's country.

Traditional owners dancing
INMA at Uluru.

In 1988 Nganyinytja and her family invited some non- Aboriginal friends to form a joint tour business with them. The business, Desert with Tracks, was formed with ganyinytja and family providing the destination, itinerary and traditional teaching.

Nganyinytja has been awarded an Order of Australia medal for her profound contribution to cross-cultural understanding.

Now lots of people, black and white, are wanting to learn about the old law, from our grandfathers and grandmothers.

We are happy to share our way and pleased that they are taking back this new knowledge to their homes--and teaching others. We need to keep the cultures strong and keep Anangu and Australian law working together. `People need to understand that Aboriginal Law/Tjukurpa is in the land. We live on the land and are keeping it alive, looking after it as our grandmothers and grandfathers did, following the law.

Tour group visiting the
Ngintaka cave.

Aboriginal elders control the board of management and the business manager is Diana James who runs the office, arranges bookings, travel itineraries, finances, vehicles and equipment.

Desert Tracks is a seasonal business. It closes from December to February which is a ceremonial time for the Angatja people.

The cost
Desert Tracks charges $2200 for a seven day tour that
takes in Uluru National Park and the Angatja Bush College. The company offers a discount for groups.

'Eco-tourism has been good for my family and my place Angatja', Nganyinytja says. `It has brought many people from all over the world to share our culture with us. I am pleased that it is growing and some other homeland families want to have tourism.

Business and culture
Far from spoiling our culture the business plays an important role in the survival of our law and culture. It provides employment for our families, our operators receive training in cross-cultural tour management and in the all important educational aspects of your stay.

What you can expect
The warm and friendly people of Angatja will look after all aspects of your 7 day stay at Angatja. They will ensure you feel at home, help you to settle in, plan their daily itineraries and show them culture that is open to men, women and children.

Below is a typical itinery.

ANGATJA BUSH COLLEGE 1999
7 Days ex Alice Springs

Day 1	6am Depart Alice Springs to Cave Hill. Morning tea en route, Mt Ebenezer. Arrive Pitjantjatjara Lands homeland, Cave Hill at lunch time. Boil billy and set up camp. Meet the traditional custodians, our hosts, and visit the Seven Sister’s Cave, hear the Tjukurpa - Creation/ Law story depicted in the amazing rock art, one of the few extensively painted caves in Central Australia.
Day 2	6am Sunrise from Cave Hill, a horizon that includes Uluru to Mt Connor and the Musgrave Ranges. Breakfast, break camp. Journey along Seven Sister’s trail to Amata. Visit Tjurma Homeland Centre and craftroom. Lunch at Umutju, a rockhole en route to Angatja. Drive to Atal, make camp. Greet our hosts and exchange welcomes.
Day 3	Daily life in the camp at Angatja. Listen to the elders tell the history of the region and explain traditional Pitjantjatjara life style. Walks to the local rockhole, foraging for bush tucker and climbing the range behind the camp provides an excellent view of the desert horizon. Artefacts -skilled craftsmen carve traditional artefacts from mulga and gum tree. Evenings around the fire.
Day 4	Hunting and gathering. We travel in a 100km radius around the camp in search of bush tucker and large game. Digging for honey ants or Witchetty grubs is hard but rewarding work. We learn how to find water in the desert. Return to camp to rest and sample these desert delicacies.
Day 5	Ngintaka Trail we are privileged to be taken along part of a major Dreaming Creation Being Songline, the Giant Perentie Lizard. We follow his trail through the country, stopping at sites of significance. The Creation story is told, the song is sung and we learn to read the land. A unique insight into the sacred significance of Land.
Day 6	5am Sunrise, break camp. Farewell hosts and travel back to Uluru. Lunch & refresh . Olgas short walk, sunset on the Olgas ( or Uluru). BBQ dinner. Camp in campground.
Day 7	5am Sunrise on Uluru, breakfast, base walk into a gorge at Uluru. 11am return drive to Alice Springs, 7pm drop off at hotels.

Tour Dates 1999

August

September

7-13th

21-27th

4-10th

Places are available on all tours except
the specials
Sacred Lands Tours $3360 12 days
Angatja Bush College Tours $2200 7 days
Art Tours and Cave Hill tours on request
(minimum group of six)

Booking and general information about Desert Tracks can be obtained by contacting John Whiting.