first footprints<\/a> relates here) we know that some of the art dates back to before the last ice age. pictures of the tasmanian tiger, which has been extinct for almost hundred years in tasmania but for much longer on the mainland, have been found here.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zo-zo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/oz_trip_62-1-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
it has been estimated that there are more than a million carvings on the burrup peninsula. sadly it has also been thought that as much as 25% of it may have been destroyed to make way for industrial development.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zo-zo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/oz_trip_62-1-3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
our pollies in canberra like to remind us that our economy must continue to grow. this is what they must have meant. it’s ok, just a few scribbles from the time before – as tony abbott (who also bestowed a knighthood on prince philip) reminds us – civilisation arrived at these shores to the benefit of everyone. good to know.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zo-zo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/oz_trip_62-1-4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
one of the carvings is thought to be the first portrait of a human face – we sadly didn’t find it. the field is massive, and as always with ancient artefacts it is often easy to overlook them.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zo-zo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/oz_trip_62-1-5.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
i spotted some in these photos that i didn’t see walking through the gorge.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zo-zo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/oz_trip_62-1-6.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
karratha is a mining town, the evidence is everywhere. it’s also the first place since geraldton that we’ve seen (and had to stop at) a traffic light. luckily we remembered what to do.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zo-zo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/oz_trip_62-1-7.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
karratha also hosts this amazing collection of some of the oldest human art on the planet.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zo-zo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/oz_trip_62-1-9.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
like all rock art it is threatened by the elements, especially industrial exhausts in the area. then there is always the threat of some idiots thinking it is a good idea to destroy it; sadly we have seen evidence of that as well around the country. but this is something else, more elaborate, a window into our past as a species.<\/p>\n
i really hope this will be preserved for future generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
the burrup peninsula. famous for two things: mining operations and aboriginal rock art. this tiny planet sums it up: the hills of red rocks with art among the oldest on the planet on one side, a gas plant on the other. to us this may look like nothing more than a field of rubble, and… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[18,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-blog","category-the-long-way-round"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/oz_trip_62-1-8.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7MvER-36t","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11933"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11951,"href":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11933\/revisions\/11951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zo-zo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/oz_trip_62-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zo-zo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/oz_trip_62-1-10.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zo-zo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/oz_trip_62-1-8.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zo-zo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/oz_trip_62-1-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n