Inside Arnhem Land
The most accessible part of Arnhem Land is the Injalak Arts and Crafts Centre in Oenpelli (Gunbalanya), which you can reach from the road to Ubirr in the Kakadu National Park.
If you are on your own and in your own vehicle, you will need a permit from the Northern Land Council to visit the Injalak Arts and Crafts Centre. You will not be allowed to stop along the way, except in emergencies, nor in the town of Oenpelli itself.
A possibly more convenient way is to join a tour group, most often led by Aboriginal guides, which you can organise from Darwin or from Jabiru.
The Injalak Arts and Crafts Centre is the place to view (and buy) authentic Aboriginal objects and art, from didgeridoos, or dijeridus, to wood bark or paper paintings, intricate hand-woven baskets, and various other items of interest.
You can, in the centre, also view Aboriginal painters and artisans at work.
At the Injalak Arts and Crafts Centre you can sense you actually are on Aboriginal land and in the midst of an indigenous people?s life, activity and culture.
There are other organised tours from Darwin or Jabiru which can lead you to Aboriginal rock paintings and awesome natural attractions.
It may seem unfortunate in non-Aboriginal eyes that not all of Arnhem Land is made more accessible for a better understanding of Aboriginal life and culture.
But this is their land, and it is their right to only invite those they please and only to a few selected sites.
In the north you can visit, with the necessary permit, Sandy Creek and Wunyo Beach, fishermen?s haunts in a setting of pristine natural beauty, both able to be reached by four-wheel drive.
Danger lurks here as well in the form of saltwater crocodiles, familiarly known as salties, which attack even when unprovoked. And no, you cannot kill them, they are a species protected by law.
On the Gove Peninsula, in the east, you can fly without a permit to the town of Nhulumbuy. But if you travel overland from Katherine, a permit will be required.
Independent travel within the allowed areas of Arnhem Land almost always requires a permit from the Northern Land Council.
If you plan to do this and apply for a permit by mail, note that it may take as much as four weeks to get approval. Write to: Northern Land Council, PO Box 42921, Casuarina, NT 0811, Australia, or PO Box 18, Jabiru, NT 0886, Australia.
While you can fly to Nhulumbuy on the Gove Peninsula without a permit, you would need one if you wanted to explore the coast.
If time is a critical factor, your best bet is to go on organised guide-led tours and you can do this from Darwin or Jabiru.
Many of these tours combine Kakadu with the western fringes of Arnhem Land and include the Injalak Arts and Crafts Centre.
You can, of course, fly over Arnhem Land to view its scenic splendours but you will fail to be touched by the very spirit of the land which the Aboriginal Dreamtime has inspired.
If you are on your own and in your own vehicle, you will need a permit from the Northern Land Council to visit the Injalak Arts and Crafts Centre. You will not be allowed to stop along the way, except in emergencies, nor in the town of Oenpelli itself.
A possibly more convenient way is to join a tour group, most often led by Aboriginal guides, which you can organise from Darwin or from Jabiru.
Didgeridoos, paintings, baskets
The Injalak Arts and Crafts Centre is the place to view (and buy) authentic Aboriginal objects and art, from didgeridoos, or dijeridus, to wood bark or paper paintings, intricate hand-woven baskets, and various other items of interest.
You can, in the centre, also view Aboriginal painters and artisans at work.
At the Injalak Arts and Crafts Centre you can sense you actually are on Aboriginal land and in the midst of an indigenous people?s life, activity and culture.
Other organised tours
There are other organised tours from Darwin or Jabiru which can lead you to Aboriginal rock paintings and awesome natural attractions.
It may seem unfortunate in non-Aboriginal eyes that not all of Arnhem Land is made more accessible for a better understanding of Aboriginal life and culture.
But this is their land, and it is their right to only invite those they please and only to a few selected sites.
Where danger lurks
In the north you can visit, with the necessary permit, Sandy Creek and Wunyo Beach, fishermen?s haunts in a setting of pristine natural beauty, both able to be reached by four-wheel drive.
Danger lurks here as well in the form of saltwater crocodiles, familiarly known as salties, which attack even when unprovoked. And no, you cannot kill them, they are a species protected by law.
On the Gove Peninsula, in the east, you can fly without a permit to the town of Nhulumbuy. But if you travel overland from Katherine, a permit will be required.
Independent travel
Independent travel within the allowed areas of Arnhem Land almost always requires a permit from the Northern Land Council.
If you plan to do this and apply for a permit by mail, note that it may take as much as four weeks to get approval. Write to: Northern Land Council, PO Box 42921, Casuarina, NT 0811, Australia, or PO Box 18, Jabiru, NT 0886, Australia.
While you can fly to Nhulumbuy on the Gove Peninsula without a permit, you would need one if you wanted to explore the coast.
Or you can fly
If time is a critical factor, your best bet is to go on organised guide-led tours and you can do this from Darwin or Jabiru.
Many of these tours combine Kakadu with the western fringes of Arnhem Land and include the Injalak Arts and Crafts Centre.
You can, of course, fly over Arnhem Land to view its scenic splendours but you will fail to be touched by the very spirit of the land which the Aboriginal Dreamtime has inspired.
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