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38 maltatoday SUNDAY 1 APRIL 2018 Travel Some birds are big and showy, others tiny and shy. You would be forgiven for rooting for the easy ones but a proper naturalist gives every form of life its due importance, because they are all valuable parts of the big ecological picture. One of our less visible birds is the willow warbler (M: vjolin safrani), a small greenish bird you may see flitting incessantly among foliage in your garden trees looking for small insects. Willow warblers nest in Europe and winter in tropical Africa, stopping here for a rest and a snack. Yes, these minuscule birds actually cross the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert – twice a year. Imagine that pea-sized heart beating fast enough to keep the wing muscles supplied as the bird struggles against a gale while crossing a 400km stretch of sea. Takes your breath away, doesn't it! These birds' feats of endurance are nothing short of epic. Happy Easter everyone. Congratulations to the 60 participants of our 4 BeeAware courses who were presented with their certificate during an award ceremony held at The Fortress Builders Fortifications Interpretation Centre. Courses were made possible with funding from the Fond għall-Għaqdiet Volontarji, the MSDEC Environmental Fund and the EU commission. These courses were organised as part of the School of Sustainability Project which allows FoE Malta to implement informal educational activities to develop mind- sets based on the principles of sustainability and trigger action for environmental protection and social justice. 603. WILLOW WARBLER Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 506: Find out more: www.foemalta.org/beecause BeeAware! Text Victor Falzon Photo Aron Tanti Exploring aboriginal land in Arnhem Land, northern Australia MARC CASOLANI LITERALLY known as 'God's country' to most bush folk, this is definitely the most magical land that I have seen after two years of exploring in Australia. I've gone through each and every state and I've only got one left to roam – western Australia – so I've covered a fair amount of ground. Probably one of the harder places to get to in Australia; but oh my, even the effort it takes you to get to the jew- els of Arnhem Land, is a beautiful pain in the backside. Once you reach most of the highly recom- mended sites in Arnhem Land, keeping your jaw from hitting the ground will be as hard as it gets. It's hard to imagine so many different types of beautiful geological fea- tures within such close proximity to one another. I guess this is what makes this last remaining Aborigi- nal-ruled territory so special. Located in the northernmost region in the Northern Territory of Australia, Arnhem Land is the last frontier when it comes to the few remaining strong roots of the Aboriginal people. Their land here spans around 97,000Km² and is mainly connected through un- paved roads or 4WD tracks. The only tarmacked roads are near key towns or within certain com- munities. Crazily enough with the vast land that surrounds this fertile land only around 17,000 people inhabit it. 5% of them would be white Australians who mine the land that is leased out to the min- ing companies from the Aborigi- nal elders. Driving through this land gives you a sense of well-being. Now I've said this before for only a hand- ful of places but this will probably be the first time I have said it for a place I think is rather hostile to live in if you do not connect to it. By that I mean that you need to become accustomed to the nature around you and tune into the fruit that this land bares. Most of us are blind to all this, myself included but if you get a lucky break and live with the locals here, you might just get a chance to see what I mean. Amongst all this beauty of na- ture that you see around you, from the lush green bush to the fresh streams and rivers that flow from a coast that is glowing red and white, there is danger at every cor- ner with poisonous plants, snakes, crocodiles in the rivers and jelly- fish in the sea. Buffalos that were introduced to this land 100 years ago and have now thrived in their surroundings pose a danger to the one that is unawares. If you get past the wild animals, the weather is another force to be reckoned with. Lightning can strike in the wet season at any time and cause a massive bush fire, or it can rain so much that you will be stuck between two creeks for hours, worse even, days. Or as I learnt, just one hour of torrential rain can turn an unpaved road into a slush park. Getting bogged is not a pleasant thing out here and help is always hours away. This land can turn from un- pleasant, to breathtaking and back to unpleasant with just a half an hour's notice at the most. As long as you explore these areas in the dry season, you should hardly have any trouble except maybe getting lost. It's hard to keep track of all the 4WD tracks that take you to places which are unique and magi- cal but most of all, with very few other people around, if any at all. Areas such as East Kakadu, Nhun- lunbuy, Cape Arnhem, Rainbow Cliff, Gunlom Falls, Willgi Station, Garig Gunak Barlu, Beswick and Birany Billabong are just a few to give you a good idea of what beau- ty Arnhem beholds. Nhunlunbuy would probably be Arnhem Land's capital town. It has one of the biggest communities where both Australians and Abo- riginal people live together and it probably has the only decent land- ing strip in all the land. This and the fact that an old Alu- minium mining company has op- erated off the land for many years has made this quite a hot spot and a good base for those travel- ling around Australia. The coastal scenery from Cape Arnhem all the way to Garig Gunak Barlu is probably some of the best coast that Australia has to offer, and fun- nily enough I would say that some parts of it really remind me of Mal- ta's rocky coast and beautiful blue waters. The only difference is that most of the rock here is red clay and sandstone rock mixed with sediments of granite. Do remember that to get access into Arnhem Land you require a permit, which you can get hold of from any of the Aboriginal com- munity offices in Darwin or Kath- erine. This permit is given out after all the Aboriginal elders in all the main communities within Arnhem Land have given their ap- proval of your being on their an- cestral land. Once this is granted you will have between 10 days to two months to explore their land. Make sure to always check into an Aboriginal community and get a bit familiar before you get back on your way. You never know, you might get lucky and an elder might take it upon himself to show you around and let you in a bit on their knowledge. Getting there Emirates offer regular flights between Malta and Darwin with a stopover in Dubai and Sydney. Flights departing from Malta on 19 April and returning on 4 May were priced at €1,430 including tax, at the time of going to print. Total flying time is approximately 40 hours. From Darwin you will be able to rent a car and drive into Arnhem Land.