WALKING THIS LAND
It is a wonderful feeling to be out in the bush with your shelter on your back and share the experience with friends. This song was written after a three day bushwalk with such a group. We walked the Cooloola Trail from near Rainbow Beach down through the Cooloola National Park to the Noosa River. Every day we walk this land we are following the footsteps of generations of indigenous peoples.
Casuarinas sing in the gentle breeze
Yellow blossoms sway at ease
Droplets cling from dew-lined leaves
We are walking this land
Hakeas line tannin creeks
Branches arch above sky-stretched streams
Ripples move ‘cross naked reeds
We are walking this land
Melaleucas and bloodwoods show
Kauri pines and messmates throw
An ancient path for all to grow
We are walking this land
Distant views of sun-bleached sand
Framed ‘cross burnt-out banksia land
Scribbly gums, pandanus palms
We are walking this land
Images of tribes long past
Evoke the dreams that could not last
A millennium of ancient dance
Used to walk this land
Chorus
We share a hope, we share a dream
Aspirations and thoughts unseen
We walk along, minds wandering
We are walking this land
My thoughts go backwards on a strong incline
As childhood days take up my mind
A freedom sometimes hard to find
We are walking this land
Coloured sands from north to south
Rain-drenched soil and blackened clouds
We spin a yarn around nightime camp
We are walking this land
Chorus
We are walking this land
We are walking this land
We are walking this land
