thegovernment– a compulsoryacquisitiontoform
partofKakaduNationalPark.
Today,some200,000peoplevisitthemighty
escarpmentsofUbirrbetweenAprilandOctoberto
seethewind-smoothedrockspaintedwiththousands
ofexquisite“X-ray”figuresofbarra,turtlesand
wallaby.Lordrememberswhenit wasjustpartof
thebush.“Weweren’tmuchinterestedintherock
artbackthen,”heconfesses,pullinga guilty-boyface
(hepullsit a lot).“I sometimesusedtocomewith
myAboriginalgrandfather[bykinship].We’dgo
fishingtogether.I rememberthereusedtobea lot
ofspearpointsandarrowheadslyingaroundonthe
floor,butthentheminingcompaniescamelooking
foruraniuminthe1970sandtheyalldisappeared.”
Asthecomfortable4WDtraverses 300 kilometres
inandaroundKakadu,Lord’sculturalgear-changes
meanweseethecountryfroma rangeofperspectives:
blackandwhite,traditionalandcontemporary,
naturalandpastoral.
Outsidethepark,ona roughred-dirttrack,he
stopsbesidea femalebuffalo,lowersthewindowand
callsthroughhiscuppedhands,imitatingthecallof
a distressedcalf.Theanimallooksupandpointsits
wetnostrilsat us,sensingthethreatandflattening
itshornsagainstitsneck.
“I learnthowtobleeda buffalowhenI wasseven,
Harry,”hesays.“Thatwasmyjob.Mydadwould
knocka buffalooverwiththebullcatcher,thenI’d
jumpoutthetruckandbleedit.We’dhave an hour
to get it to the abattoir on the station.”
Heassessestheanimalasa meatproductforexport
toIndonesia:“Thatcowthere,she’saboutsevenor
eightcartonsofmeat.”
Withfriendsandextendedfamilyinremote
Aboriginalcommunities,Lordcannavigateroutesthat
mightotherwiseprovedifficult.It’soneofthereasons
topproperties,suchaswildernesslodgeBamurru
Plains,onthewesternedgeofKakadu,entrusthimto
taketheirguestsonprivatesafarisintoArnhemLand.
BritishpoliticianBorisJohnsonwasperfectly
at homeintheothernessoftheNorthernTerritory
andwastreatedtotheAboriginaldelicacyofmagpie
goose,cookedonthecampfireat Lord’sbushcamp
(apparently,Johnsonespeciallyrelishedtheheart).
ActorNicolasCagewashappiesthaulinghugecatfish
outofthefloodplainsofBamurru,despitehisguide
tellinghimAustraliancatfishtastenothinglikeAmerican
catfish,andthathe’dbebetteranglingforbarramundi.
“Hejustwantedtocatchcatfish!”laughsLord.
“Actually,NicolasCagewastheonlypersonI everhad
bittenonmytour.”Hepullshisguilty-boyfaceagain:
“He’dfounda snake,andbeforeI couldsay‘don’ttouch
it!’,it hadgrabbedhisfinger.I keptthinkingofthe
headline‘NicolasCagekilledonLord’ssafaris’.Good
waytobecomefamous– andthengobroke.”(Cage
wasfine,thoughhedidlearna lessonafterBamurru’s
chef obligingly cooked up one of his prized catfish.)➤Opposite,from
farleft:Kakadu
wetlandviews;
SabLord;crossing
theEastAlligator
River.PREVIOUS
PAGESLeft:
sunsetinthe
wetlands.
Right:GroveHill
HeritageHotel,
AdelaideRiver,
on Lord’s tour.GOURMET TRAVELLER 139