You… yes, you You’re a bird flying high up in the sky, over the ocean hmmm not just any bird, you’re a yula, a muttonbird Look around You see yula everywhere! One thousand, two thousand, three, four, five thousand birds, so many yula. Seeing this makes you feel happy in your chest One family, one big family You fly this road in the sky we’ve flown here many times before you feel good, strong and held with your family around you We are yula, moonbirds you and me, The thin moon hides behind the many clouds But you know it’s there, you feel the moon pull at your heart Do you feel that pull? Us, flying together in the night You see a star in the milkyway, Go towards that starlight The moon, that starlight, will help us get to our islands The moon, the stars and the yula all around you, they call out They say go, go, go They say come, come, come The wind, that’s our friend The wind holds your body in the sky Close your eyes, feel your wings held by the wind You feel strong, the wind make you strong, together with the wind you go far Do you feel that strength? Look, listen, feel The starlight in the milky way is losing strength The winds are growing slack The night is close to finished, but don’t cry little yula, night will come again before too long, It’s always good when you’re with your family And as the sun rises, slowly, growing up into the sky Up, up, up the sun goes Turning the sea a deep strong blue, its sunlight dancing on the waves You dance around the waves, feeling happy to see the sun Close your eyes, feel your body grow warm when the sun embraces you Your beak is warm, your face is warm, your neck, the black feathers along your spine, your wings, your legs and your feet are all warm Feel your body grow warm, it feels good Bring your thoughts back to my voice, little yula Look there, do you see? Our islands, we’re nearly there! Many islands, in the sea, we call these islands tayaritja Tayaritja has embraced and held our family for a long, long time Look at that big island, at the big blue mountain! There’s islands near other islands, there’s islands far apart, islands growing forests full of trees Islands hugged by sandy shorelines, with big, large boulders, red boulders and black boulders, white boulders standing strong facing out to sea You see Truwana or Cape Barron Island, Lungtalanana or Clarke Island, Waytakupana/Preservation Island, Waylakumkana, that’s Swan Island, Lana/Georges rocks Far away, there, you see Lutruwita/Tasmania. It holds lumaranatana/Cape Portland Country, Layrapinthi/Musselroe Country, Lanarangina/the which is the mouth of Great Musselroe River, Larapuna/Eddystone Point, Wukalina/Mt William, Punalatina/Mt Cameron. Such strong country! Look at that, so many sea animals playing in the waves Whales, dolphins, seals, you even see albatross, gannets, cormorants and gulls diving into the waves, they are hunting for sea-bugs and little fish, that’s good food, you know? Look here, at this little island where the grass grows tall on the sandy hills We’re going to that island Listen to the island sing, look at the tussock grass and the sagg grass and the coastal wattle, look at them dance in the breeze. The island and the sandy hills, the grasses and the yula, all around you, they call to you They say come here, come here, come here You rest your wings, riding the wind down to the ground with closed eyes, you fall to the earth, wings flapping quickly With grass in your face, you stand, wobbly on your skinny legs You’re here Your feet and toes feel the wet, sandy earth below There’s so many yula here and the bird island trembles holding so many birds All the paired birds scratch out their burrows and the young yula dig down into the earth making new holes Yula working hard. They make their burrows nice and warm. They will lay their eggs in these holes You will dig your own burrow here, under this tussock grass you think. Yes. Here. You’ll go hunting for sea bugs in the ice-cold waters in the south, you’ll look for another yula to love, and make the huge journey around the world all over again But before you dig, before you hunt, before you love and before you fly again, you must rest Your body, your muscles, your bones have worked so hard to bring you here to this resting place You feel tired, your wings are cramped and your eyes are sore. But, you are here Give thanks to your body and to all the others who came with you Surrounded by your family here, you feel good, snuggled into the grasses and held by the islands sandy soil here, with your big family, you rest, you go to sleep, happy dreams to you