DasArts // Weblog / Block 25 Navigators Australia / 28.08 - 03.09 /

It is our last day in Cape York. We travel through the coastal rain forest back to “civilisation.” Mobile phones start to work again and we will have to say goodbye to our dedicated guides. Being back in Cairns is a shock. The weather has changed in to rain and the town is full of tourists. A quick visit to the Duyfken replica in the port of Cairns cannot prevent us form feeling sad to that the journey is over.

Another 4 hours by plane brings us to Melbourne where we arrive in the middle of the night. Everybody has 2 days off to get a good rest, a long shower, wash their clothes and all other luggage (everything became covered by the dust in Cape York. On Wednesday we will continue the program with presenting our life-maps to each other.

Again a long day in the Land cruiser or Oka. Lunch is taken halfway were everybody chooses her or his own place to eat the sandwiches and take the opportunities of the acoustics of a tube bridge.

After lunch Mark decided to do some 4w driving at the river. Getting stuck in deep mud we had great fun and some sweat to get it out of the mud.

Losing so much time by rescuing the Land cruiser had his advantage to. Because there was no time left to cook dinner we ate out at the Lakeland Roadhouse. We do now understand how Western saloons function. The roadhouse is a 21st century version of it. Proper food, Beer and wine, Playing Pool, watching stupid TV programs, the Jukebox and wild dancing; The people from Lakeland will talk about it for years.

Today we started our journey back to Cairns. This means that we have to travel south most of the day before setting up camp at Archer River Roadhouse. Everybody was happy to go for a swim again. It was the first opportunity to swim since 9 days. All the water at the beautiful beaches and rivers of Bouchat and Mapoon were no go area because they are invested by estuarine crocodiles. You don’t see them, but they are there, swimming is like playing Russian roulette.

In the evening also the first beer and wine was enjoyed. Both in Bouchat as in Mapoon do alcohol restrictions apply. This means that is forbidden to carry or drink alcohol.

Dear Navigators in Australia, dear weblog readers,

Thank you for your updates and pictures! We, DasArts in Amsterdam, would like to keep you informed and show you what is happening in the rainy north.

Today, Friday 1 September, is the official start of the 25th DasArts Semester. The ‘buzz’ of a thematic block within our walls is truly missed by the ‘stay-at-homes’. Luckily though, we can follow your footsteps on the blog and … we have fantastic participants working every day on their Final Project in our studios at the Mauritskade. You, in Australia, are missing something too!

We have a daily glimpse of the progress and working-process of Michael Sahr Ngaujah, rehearsing in Studio Toubab II. He is in the final stages of editing his performance entitled: ‘Conversations With Ice’. The performance deals with the war in Sierra Leone, conflict diamonds, conflict spirits, and the Bling-Bling movement of Hip-Hop. He works together with a group of artists and musicians. One of them is ex-participants and DasArts graduate Alison Isadora, violinist and composer. On the photo you can see the scale model for the performance (design: Marlies Schröder) and an image of the rehearsal.

Another participant who works in our building is Jeanette Groenendaal. Together with her spouse and artistic partner Zoot Derks she is editing her film ‘24/7′ in the Small Studio. The film is about Arend, Leon and Ton, three Dutch gentlemen that relate to the illegal drug cocaine, from different perspectives and on a daily basis. Although editing is a concentrated, silent and disciplined job, ZootenGenant (as they call themselves) form an inspiring and frantic, hilarious and fortissimo daily presence. They spoil us regularly with freshly pressed juices in their ‘Juice Inn’. You can find G-nets comments steadily on the weblog.

Juul, Harco and Mark; we spoke on the phone today, good to hear your voices! And yes, we manage very well… One advantage of the ‘relative silence’ in the building is that we have time to clean up, clear out, re-arrange, file and archive. On the photo below you can witness of the tidy new cabinet for equipment, that Rein and Arie constructed in the facility/production office. And be aware: it is not even finished yet!

Today, as you can see, Lieve took care of the keys and Wouter managed the electronic equipment. Yes, you are missed!

All the best
Wouter

Although everybody had slept well, in the morning the activities of the animals during the night is quite visible. Goannas, frogs, spiders, snakes, and nocturnal mammals visit the camp in search for food.

The mayor brought his boat so we could go to catch crab or fish. The second attempt in the late afternoon was success full. Four fish, from which to of them were small shark, was the result. Especially the shark tasted very good.

In the evening the second half of the group went to Turtle Beach to watch the Green Fatback Turtle come ashore and lay her eggs in her self made egg chamber on the beach.

After an emotional goodbye to Thankoupi, we headed of to Mapoon in order to install a new camp. The Camp is situated in the dunes at the mouth of the river.

In the afternoon there was time to chat and learn bush medicine from local people or to go for a walk in the bush. In the evening the first half of the group went to the eco tourism project at Turtle Beach.

Today is a day with a completely filled agenda since it is the last day that we are staying at Bouchat. Because of this fact Thankoupi organizes a bonfire tonight. We will provide finger food for al local guests that are expected. We do not exactly know how many will come. Harco and Andreas walked to the mud plains of Mangrove Island for crabbing and in search for shells.

Other people prepared Jam and baked bread with the help of Thankoupi. In the mean while Mark succeeded to find an Internet connection and update the weblog. Local people went spear fishing in order to catch stingray.

In the afternoon a group of 10 participants went on board a small boat on order to re-in-act the landing of the Duyfken on Duyfken Point. Where a other group could not succeed in going of the boat in order to walk to the land, this group walked through the shallow water to the beach and was welcomed by all other participants and a lot of local people.

Not much later the bonfire was lighted and after an impressive speech by Thankoupi the dances started.

We went to Aurukun with the whole group to give workshops, get workshops and listen to stories of Silas and Arthur. Silas sat down with us under a wild mango tree and told us his story of the fights of his ‘grandfather’ with the Dutch sailors of the Duyfken. I was sitting next to him and already had a chat before he started in which he excused himself a few times. He explained us how his grandfather and other members of the Indigenous community killed 9 Dutchmen during the month that they tried to get on land in order to search for fresh water. They ate them all (more apologies).

The fight began because the sailors took two women to the Duyfken. Silas gave some more details on the killing but kept on apologizing himself for his ancestors. He was definitely holding back. Afterwards I spoke with him longer in private. He told me he did not want to offend the visiting Dutch people and that he was ashamed for his grandfather. But they should not have taken the women. We stressed that they are not aggressive by nature, but they had no choice. I told him not to be sorry and that his grandfather should have killed all people on board of the Duyfken. That way he could have lived in peace with his land much longer. Nevertheless He asked me to apologize on his account for his grandfather’s mistakes to my grandfathers, back in the Netherlands.

Harco

PS: Today was my birthday: 2 birthday cakes (with candles!) and lots of songs in many languages.