Aboriginal People of Australia

Just about to cross the Murray River over the mossy rocks. Marcie and Grace, (in red tops), tucked all our shoes in their pants to make the crossing.
Aborigines
The three stout Aboriginal women stood in the dusty dirt drive, their deeply-featured faces squinting in the late-day sun. They put themselves in a straight line "“ I spied them adjusting each other like children lining up in school "“ waiting for us to go down the line and say our good-byes. Marcie, the gracious one, held out gifts "“ coffee mugs and tote bags with their community's Jumbun logo "“ as we dispersed. A sweet and glorious day it was with the carefully tutored Australian Aborigines. We got to know one another over the course of this day, so when Marcie handed me the token gifts, we hugged tightly and lingered. No cursory hug, this. We pulled close.
"I'm going to miss you!" I said in her ear.
Eco-Tourism
"The bridge isn't built yet, so we'll walk across the river here," Marcie told us and we obediently removed our shoes and socks. Then holding hands we went in a shaky single-file sideways line, stepping delicately on slippery moss-covered rocks as the shallow water of the Murray chilled our feet and ankles. The Aborigine ladies were so worried we'd fall that they would have carried us across if they could. As it was, they insisted upon carrying our shoes. They tucked shoes into the waistbands of their pants, looking so ridiculous we had a hard time balancing from our laughter.
Once across the river, we set out on an adventure into the past. The story unfolded as we hiked through the bucolic rainforest surroundings.
Aboriginal History
The Australian Aborigines are the oldest group on Earth with a cultural history, going back 65,000 years. Dreamtimes is a term which refers to a time when ancient ancestors flew across the heavens, creating life in all its forms on the land. Dreaming Stories convey the past to future generations and can be performed in dance, paintings, song, or storytelling. Our imaginations were set aflame by a tale involving a V-shaped rock formation near Murray Falls. An ancient archer used the V-shaped rocks as his viewfinder to shoot a kangaroo, which then turned the animal into a constellation. Hearing the whimsical story while Murray Falls provided music and mist in the background cemented this day in my memory forever.
Sweet Indigenous People
Aboriginal People of Australia
Josie Schneider is an international house sitter and freelance writer. She blogs about house sitting, travel, good food and wine at: http://www.housesittingtravel.com Her trip to Australia in 2008 sparked a travel bug that hasn't stopped since meeting the Aboriginal people of Australia.