However, for us 'Red-Earthers', the journey started long before the whirlwind morning of the airport. Prior to our departure, we participated in an ‘All Night Awake Relay’ as part of our fundraising efforts. Beginning at 7.00pm, three student teams competed to gain the most distance and money raised. 

In the end, despite little sleep, the whole group managed to run, walk and cycle 991km. Additionally, we were also able to raise $5,595, massively beating our target goal of $3,000. The relay also provided valuable insight into the friendships and connections we would form on this trip, and we had so much fun keeping up team spirit with games, food and music.

Having raised the money for our community projects in Cape York, we were now eager to pack our bags and meet bright and early at the airport. Although a little sleep-deprived, the group was in high spirits as we flew over the beaches of Queensland on approach into Cairns. Despite complications with our bus and a speedy change of plans, our enthusiasm and anticipation remained strong on arrival to the first Homeland, Binthi Warra.

Homeland to traditional owner Mel and her bubbly daughter Riley, Binthi Warra is a remote part of land nearby of Cooktown. Mel taught us how to use natural black dyes from the bush to colour materials, how to cook damper over an open fire, and how to use a traditional underground cooking method to create a magnificent roast feast. We even got to try turtle meat, something usually reserved for Christmas Day!

During our time at 'Binthi', we were exposed to ways of thinking that many of us hadn’t considered before. 

Uncle H, a local advocate for Indigenous rights, shared his thoughts on the Voice to Parliament Bill. He said with passion that it is not yet developed enough to create adequate change for Indigenous Australians and isn’t representative of the Indigenous community as a whole, a perspective many of us had not yet considered. He later shared stories of Aboriginal friends of his who had faced police brutality and later died in custody. 

Although the realisation was confronting, it began to dawn on us that the privileged life we lead back in Melbourne was not synonymous with the life of many we shared a country with.

The community project at 'Binthi' felt like a way to give back to Mel and the land we had mbeen living off. We scrubbed and varnished the traditional owner’s wooden house, installed solar batteries and cleaned and varnished the bathroom. It was hard work but we took periodic dips in a nearby gushing river and were ultimately grateful to be able to help out wherever we could!

Embarking onto the next homeland, we stopped off at Isabella Falls to enjoy the serenity of the sparkling waterfall, and at the Hope Vale Arts & Cultural Centre. Driving through Hope Vale and meeting the women of the Arts Centre, who were talented local artists, we once again were made aware of certain disparities which we had perhaps been ignorant towards back in Melbourne. On arrival, we met the generous Tim and Elaine, the traditional owners of our next homeland, Panamuunji. During the smoking ceremony, we were all able to take a minute as we were engulfed by eucalyptus smoke. 

We were in mutual agreeance that the serenity and beauty of Panamuunji was unlike anything we’d experienced before, with the stars shining so bright at night that they illuminated the way to our tents. 

Over the following days Elaine taught us how to weave baskets and how to speak words from the Guugu Yimithirr language. We learnt about the struggles of being a woman in Indigenous culture, something not often discussed when learning at school. Tim taught us many clever ways to live off the land, such as bush medicine and ‘bush pegs’ for hanging clothes. At night we would sit around the fire listening to Tim. He expressed concerns of the Indigenous culture and language suffering more and stated his ongoing and outright support of the Voice to Parliament.

We were able to reflect on our time in remote northern Queensland thus far. The lack of indoor facilities had been a large source of struggle for the group, but the question begged; how had we let ourselves become so accustomed to a life which so many in Australia do not have the privilege of living?

An additional highlight for many of us was playing touch football with Tim and Elaine’s grandsons, Lando and Jerry. Their enthusiasm and hilarious play-fighting reminded many of us of younger siblings back home! Panamuunji is without a doubt land that we will never forget learning how to live off, and we were sorrowful to say our goodbyes to the generous Tim and Elaine and go.

In contrast to the limited facilities and tough conditions we had been facing on the remote homelands, Port Douglas felt like a luxury. Our trip to the Great Barrier Reef served as a final celebration of the infinitely close bonds formed with each other over the 10 days. We had learnt how to survive without any devices, pack up campsites without leaving a trace on the environment left behind, and how to live off the land in a way cultivated through thousands of years of indigenous culture.

Red Earth is an experience we will carry with us through our adult lives, and we are inexplicably grateful for the opportunity to broaden our minds to remote Indigenous life.

Isabel, Emily, Jemima, Iliana and Imogen
Years 10 and 11