Deborah Mailman and Cathy Freeman in Going Bush: Wandjina

Deborah Mailman set out in 2006 with one of Australia’s best-known Olympians, gold medallist Cathy Freeman, to meet remote Aboriginal communities from Broome to Arnhem Land and discover what life is like for the people who live there and to hear stories of their ancestors.

Their trip was documented by Lonely Planet TV in the four-part series Going Bush.

In this excerpt from their trip to Bunuba Country near The Kimberley in episode 1, they meet their tour guide and traditional owner Dylan Andrews, who performs a welcoming ceremony before guiding them to some ancient caves. Here he tells them the story of Wandjina, one of the powerful Creation Spirits from the Dreamtime, as depicted in the 4000-year-old ancient rock paintings on the walls of the caves.