Over the course of twelve days, we walked the rugged hills, craggy gullies and rocky plains of this wonderful country to determine the presence of cultural heritage material, to document and safeguard it for future generations.
The survey area was large – over 11 square kilometres – and the distances seemed daunting at first. Each transect was over two kilometres long, and that was just one-way! And it wasn’t flat either, the transects took us up and down inclines and declines, through creek lines big and small, and always with large chunks of quartz underfoot.
By the end of our first day we already had casualties – blisters, scrapes and bruises from the boots, the scrub and the mis-steps, but these only built character! Our intrepid team carried on step after step, transect after transect and day after day until the job was done.
The artefacts were recorded, the sites were mapped, the features were noted, and the knowledge was preserved – all in a days’ work (well, several at least!).
By the end of the survey, everyone involved felt a sense of accomplishment. The amount of kilometres walked (over 150!), combined with the knowledge that Country was being looked after, made us all feel that that first day of trepidation was another world away, and that together we had weathered the storm (literally it turned out!) and come out renewed on the other side.
The sense of comradery was palpable between everyone, consultants, archaeologists and proponents, and we finished the survey saying goodbye to new friends that seemed like like old mates.
Another great survey!
