Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/111460
drivetime and any shelter they could find, they heard roofs being ripped off houses, and cars, corrugated iron and anything else in the storm's way being scraped along their streets. They emerged from the debris to find a completely decimated city and to learn of 71 lives lost. The cyclone left more than 41,000 of the 47,000 residents homeless and 30,000 had to be evacuated. On my way out, feeling quite solemn after experiencing the story of Cyclone Tracy, I come across a collection of playful videos by local Indigenous kids. It turns out they snuck into the gallery and used the recording equipment to create their own works of art while an art awards program was in progress. The kids were reprimanded for their behaviour but, in true Territorian style, the directors of the gallery thought the videos and shots were fantastic in capturing the naturally fun spirit of the kids, so they proudly displayed these spontaneous productions in the gallery. The youngsters' smiling faces, laughter, funny moves and comments create a light atmosphere for gallery visitors as they depart. Litchfield magic "It's a world where you can really feel the ancient magic of the place." Above: Wangi Falls, Litchfield National Park. 24 Before leaving Darwin, I have to check out the paradise just down the road. Over the years, I've heard many a comment that being in Litchfield National Park is like diving headfirst into another world. To me, it's a world where you can really feel the ancient magic of the place and imagine how it must have been thousands of years ago when Indigenous Australians came to this area of abundant water and forest for shelter, swimming, cooking and sacred rituals. Litchfield National Park is 130 kilometres south-west of Darwin and covers about 1,500 square kilometres. It's early November, the beginning of the wet season, which means no crowds – just a few people who nod or say hello as they pass and then continue their own exploration of the gorges, waterholes, waterfalls and walking tracks. I take in Wangi Falls, Florence Falls, Buley Rockhole and the Magnetic Termite Mounds, which are incredible structures that can reach two to three metres high – amazing when you consider they were built one grain of dirt at a time and are complete with hallways, birthing chambers and ventilation. Thousands of them stand in an open field, facing the same way so the sun heats only one side, leaving a cooler area for the termites to live in on the other. It's a remarkable, eerie sight – they're like giant soldiers that were turned to stone and have crumbled over hundreds of years. Swimming beneath gigantic cliffs, with the cool waterhole dark and deep around me and fresh water cascading down overhead, it's hard not to be lost in the moment, absorbed completely by nature. It's like a