It was a wet day, so Bob and myself decided to do a walk on West Head in Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park to continue our quest looking for Aboriginal engravings. Many of these engravings are very faint – and easier to see when the rock platforms are wet.
On the day we visited five art sites.
Site 1
A large open rocky area with tessellated sections. Many engravings.
Here are some kangaroo engravings –
And two emus –
Here is a diety – Duramulan –
Duramulan is wearing a headdress, visible in the top right of the photo.
Tessellated sections –
This engraving in thought to be a platypus –
Shields –
The two parallel lines are perhaps a “sandstone dyke” – but the transverse lines have been added, perhaps to make a rainbow serpent.
Fish –
Another shield –
A human figure-
Another human figure –
And another –
Pecked engraving –
A fish engraving –
Site 2
There was a large whale engraving. The head and been either redrawn or there were overlapping whales –
The other end of the whale showing the tail –
We looked for a long time trying to find an engraving of a human figure. It was very faint, but obvious when we eventually spotted it –
It was harder to discern this engraving of a copulating couple –
Site 3
We headed along a track leading to a high point. On the way we stopped for lunch on a rock platform. It was the right location for an engraving of a bird. We looked and looked but had no luck. Then we had lunch. As soon as we finished, I spotted the bird engraving about 2 metres away from where we had been sitting –
Anda view from our high point –
Site 4
Getting out of Bob’s car – we spotted a distant Sea Eagle –
We had been to this site on a previous trip and had failed to locate an echidna engraving. I had since found it on another visit with Valerie. I showed Bob where it was.
Mundoes (footprint engravings) –
It was much easier to see the mundoes and other engravings on the wet rock, but you had to look at the right angle.
Fish engravings –
More of the many mundoes at this site –
Fish engraving –
This engraving is thought to be a Wobbegong –
Site 5
This is a major site, but we failed to find the main outcrops. It was raining and quite steep and scrubby. All we managed to find was this Kangaroo engraving –
This had been a very interesting trip. We need to return.