Nourlangie Safari Camp, Episode 15

Nourlangie Safari Camp, here is 9SLK
Is anybody listening? (My radio code)
From the Diaries of Flemming Jensen 1968-1969

Thursday 5th February 1969

By the way, yesterday it was the hundred year celebration of Darwin. The northern capital of Australia which since the war has grown into an important city where development seems to continue rapidly.  Past midday it stopped raining and within half an hour the Nissan and I were ready to go hunting.
I still have meat for the dogs for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, but anyway, I must shoot a buffalo one of these days.  I left the car at the airfield and then went hunting. After an hour’s search still no buffalo in sight. I decided to wait until tomorrow to get the buffalo and returned home.
Suddenly I caught sight of a wallaby not far away and it had not seen me. The bullet went right through him but he was not all dead when we came over to him.  The wallaby could easily be used as dog food but I thought that the pensioners had not received anything for a long time so I drove over to their camp.  They were very grateful ‘Thank you young fellow, it is good tucker.’ That was their words and then they were ready to have a party. I once asked Allan why we did not eat wallaby meat.
‘They do not taste good,’ was all he said. The natives are crazy about them. I would like to try it someday. I must ask Pat as she may know a good way to cook them.
I am glad that I finally shot a wallaby. I’ve been searching for one since I came, so it nearly became a complex that I simply could not shoot one.  Now I just want to catch a barramundi. I have to go on fishing when I get the time.  Allan is supposed to come tomorrow. I will wait and see.

Friday 6th February

Still one day on my own and Allan did not come. Everything is fine. After breakfast I started hunting as there is no more food for the dogs. After leaving the Nissan I found traces of a whole bunch of buffalos.  I followed the traces. They looked fresh but the herd could be far away. When they graze they can walk about eight to ten kilometres per hour.  I followed them for a long time but the only thing I got to see was the bum of the whole flock as they disappeared into the swamp.  Here it serves no purpose to shoot at them.  I now followed the edge of the swamp.  Here I spotted one that grazed around a dozen metres from edge of the lake itself.  If I only wounded it, it would probably seek refuge in the water and I will lose it.  I took aim. It stood paralysed, looked up but too late. Another shot and fell down. When I got up to it I gave it a head shot but it had not been necessary. A lung shot and a shot in the heart had ended its life. It went quite well and I felt good.
Now the work started to cut it up and carry the meat up to the car. This time I went twice so we got double the meat this time.  When I got home the meat was hung to cool before I put it in the freezer. I took two large pieces for our own refrigerator and the rest went to the dogs.  At night I fried two specially selected steaks. Bloody good! The heavy rain we had the last few days has caused the water in the billabong to be 20 metres closer to the camp.  When I came to Nourlangie, I could walk all the way.

Saturday, 7th February

This morning when I came down to the living room one of the dogs had left behind a dead swamp tiger on the door step. That made me very happy. More dead snakes the better!  After being left alone I have started to walk with a leash around my waist so I quickly can stop the blood circulation if I were to be bitten. Then there is the cutting of oneself where one is bitten and then only hope for the best. Later in the morning came the old people to have their rations but they were a day too early so they had to wait until tomorrow. They do not care about the time.
They hardly know how old they are and cannot remember when their children are born. For example Carla, Toby’s mother does not know how old Toby is.  Pat has found out that he must be late thirties but it is the closest she could come. Toby does not know when his hildren were born. He has three and the oldest is about the confirmation age.  Today I sewed another patch on my jeans. The last back pocket was used for the purpose.  Over the radio Pat said that Allan was delayed be cause of weather and he will come when flights are possible so nobody knows when. I still cannot send, only receive messages.  Really I have got no invitations during the day so it seems to me to keep a very quiet Saturday night all to myself!

Reproduced with permission: Kakadu National Park Cultural Heritage & Biodiversity Management Unit.