Ubirr
Rock is a very scenic place and is located in the East Alligator region of
Kakadu National Park. It consists of a group of
sandstone rock outcrops on the edge of the Nadab floodplain where there are several natural shelters that have a collection of Aboriginal
rock paintings, some of which are over 20,000 years old. The art depicts certain creation ancestors as
well as animals from the area such as
barramundi, catfish,
mullet, goannas, long-necked turtles, pig-nosed turtles,
rock ringtail possums, and wallabies.
There are three main galleries of art accessible to visitors. The main gallery is perhaps the most photographed, and contains many breathtakingly beautiful examples of "X-ray art". Also in the main gallery can be seen paintings of white men with their hands on hips, and, high up, Mimi spirits, who are so thin that they can slip in and out of cracks in
the rock.
At the Northern end of the main gallery can be seen a painting of a Thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, which has been extinct in the area for about 20,000 years, and attests to the antiquity of the paintings.