Where footy meets culture

I’M LOOKING through the tiny, dusty window of the small plane carrying our group of four from one side of Bathurst Island to the other. A network of waterways framed by overgrown mangroves between eucalypt forest and dense rainforest forms patterns that resemble the intricate venation of a leaf. The plane’s engine roars and my heart races as we feel every bump and air pocket with a jolt. The island is just 2600sq.km and it’s only 50km east from our accommodation at Tiwi Island Retreat in the south-west to the main town of Wurrumiyanga, but I feel every bump along the way.

The pit of my stomach starts to churn in a swell of motion sickness and I try to combat it by focusing on the horizon. But the view from my window of the wild landscape below is far too fascinating to disrupt my gaze. I become fixated on the patterns and greenery that seem reminiscent of more far-away and exotic countries than any part of Australia I’ve seen.

WE’RE HEADING TO the annual grand final of the Tiwi Islands Football League, where home team the Walama Bulldogs is