The air is warm, the crescent beach is lined azure water and scattered with palm trees and a few dwellings. Timmy, the Traditional Owner of the land is smacking together his clapsticks and Uncle is playing the Didgeridoo as I watch the last light of the day sink below the islands dotting the horizon and begin to notice the heat from the fire as it licks my face.

We learn of skin names and of the Dhuwa and the Yirritja moieties and the yin and the yang of Yolngu culture. All the while, a saltwater crocodile named Nike lingers in the shore, he is a part of the family; everything is equal and balanced here in Bawaka homeland.

I laid down on my back and stared at the velvet sky of stars - observing and listening, into the dark night. I know that my time in East Arnhem Land with Lirrwi will stay with me for many years to come.

I was recently invited back to the Northern Territory for my 5th adventure in Central Australia. I will always jump at the opportunity to work here. There is SO much beauty left to see, to be inspired by and to explore.

The raw beauty of the Australian desert literally takes my breath away. It is, remarkably, one of the world’s most harsh and demanding natural landscapes. For 60,000 years Arrernte (the traditional owners of Mparntwe or Alice Springs) have survived here through a deep spiritual connection to land, an incredible level of skill and an encyclopaedic knowledge of the environment and it’s ecology.

My second trip to the red centre was one to remember. It’s nice discovering places you don’t know too much about. I try not to do too much beyond the basic research before visiting a place because I find there’s something exciting about getting to a new destination and letting it surprise you.