For thousands of years, starting in the Stone Age, people have left traces of themselves behind in caves. Pottery shards, ancient tools and paintings on cave walls have given us a picture of life in primitive society.

Some of the most amazing rock art pictures on the Australian continent are found deep in Quinkan country. Quinkan is the spirit from the Dreamtime living in the rocks around Jowelbinna, north Queensland. Quinkan is actually two beings. There is the wisp-like Quinkan, usually drawn with vertical lines coming out of his head. He's the good Quinkan and lives in small cracks in the rocks. The mischevious Quinkan, is big, fat and scary! This Quinkan does all kinds of mischief and bad things!

Wishing to explore a link to this colourful past, some of our expedition team members climbed the hill behind camp one evening.

Their objective was to search the rocky outcroppings for signs of Aboriginal art work. As we walked up the trail through the woods I was reminded of other people who walked this same way. There was 40,000 years of culture here in Cape York, the peninsula where the original people entered Australia from across the Torres Straits! (Can you find our location on the map?)

In a small cave we found a number of paintings, and of course Quinkan was there. I sat and looked at the faded, red-ochre figures and watched the sunset over the forest. It was amazing to feel the spirits of the place, recognizing their images in the rocky outcroppings. I thanked Quinkan, both sides of him, for getting us along our way and teaching us how to deal with both the good and bad during our Cape York cycling adventure.