Above: photograph by Michaela Skovranova
Words by Marlikka Perdrisat, photographs by Michaela Skovranova
"The water is as clear as air.
"I can see the grains of sand kicked up by tiny, translucent fish foraging at the bottom.
"Chattering finches shoot out of the long blades of twisted pandanus palm leaves.
"Giant paperbarks and river gums, laden with flocks of screaming corellas, dip their long fingers into the living water.
"I hear the chit-chit-chit of a willy-wagtail dancing at the top of a soft sandy bank behind me. He tries to lure me up through a dark crack in the rusted rock wall surrounding the ancient gorge.
"Tall spear grass sways and whispers in the breeze, blurring the gold horizon. It is cured, ready to crackle and curl into gentle flames, and sweet-smelling, white smoke.
"Here, everything lives in conversation. This is a world built on relationships. Awaiting more.
"I am never alone here.
"When I return to a place as old as time I feel a deep connection. The adventure begins when I allow my senses to re-engage with this deep bond.
"I feel like a child again, comforted by flickering flames and the murmur of adult voices carrying me into the night. I sit quietly, listening with my eyes, and seeing with my ears.
"Every rock has a story. Every tree has a family. Every animal has their responsibilities.
"The coals are still warm. The moon watches, as he sluggishly returns to his perch in the sky. The sun returns for warmth. Specks of dew light up, tiny stars trapped in silky spider webs."
Marlikka Perdrisat, December 2024.
Wilderness Journal thanks our long-time friends and contributors Marlikka and Michaela for collaborating with us on this story of the Martuwarra.
See Marlikka's story and video from Journal #004 and Michaela's story of the Gamay Rangers from Journal #013
For a deep dive into the world of the Martuwarra, please explore this extraordinary resource that the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council has put together. Hear from the community in their own voices about life on Martuwarra and immerse yourself in the Culture, Country and Truth of the West Kimberley.
Living Water: River, Land and Sea Country and Indigenous People of the West Kimberley shares insight into the outstanding cultural and natural values that make Martuwarra and surrounding Land, River, and Sea Country world-class heritage.
Interactive, engaging and informative, it allows you to explore the Martuwarra and surrounding Country.
By utilising the River as a connective thread, the project intricately weaves together all the recognised National Heritage values of the West Kimberley. It is curated around three themes–Culture, Country, and Truth.
Here is some material found in our archives that represents just some of the work in the Kimberley over the years.
"The Wilderness Society has a long history of working towards better protection for the Kimberley. This spectacular, globally-significant cultural landscape definitely gets under your skin and if you’ve had a chance to visit, it holds a special place in your heart as well.
"Looking back on what our campaigns have helped to achieve, it’s a long legacy. Not only did we halt the largest industrial hub from being built along the Kimberley coast at Walmadany / James Price Point on a culturally significant burial ground, with locals leading the charge. But we also secured a legacy of marine protection in the Great Kimberley Marine Park (a series of 7 interconnected marine parks)—stretching across iconic reefs, islands and stunning coastlines from the tip of the Dampier Peninsula, right up to the NT border.
"We also worked alongside Traditional Custodians to help stop a coal mine just kilometres from the banks of the Martuwarra, and have helped to hold back gas-fracking corporations alongside Environs Kimberley and Lock the Gate, for well over a decade. Today the fight to keep fracking out of the Kimberley continues and we are proud to be the inaugural partner of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council's River Keepers Program."
— Jenita Enevoldsen, Wilderness Society, Senior Campaigner.
We recognise First Nations as the custodians of land and water across the continent of Australia and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We acknowledge sovereignty was never ceded.
