Cultural travel

WELCOME TO COUNTRY

Australia’s First Nations offer opportunities to experience and connect with Aboriginal culture and tradition

WORDS PATRICIA MAUNDER

NITMILUK NATIONAL PARK NORTHERN TERRITORY

Already experienced Uluru? Consider another Territory wonder: Nitmiluk, or Katherine Gorge. The Katherine River has carved out a series of red-rock gorges in the Jawoyn people’s homeland, where you will also find waterfalls, pools, caves and dramatic escarpments. Get to know this country with Aboriginal guides from Nitmiluk Tours. Options include the cruisy NitNit Dreaming Two Gorge Tour, or more active kayak and swim tours. nitmiluktours.com.au

There has never been a better time to get acquainted with the world’s oldest continuous civilisation. Even before international travel was beyond our reach, Australians were increasingly seeking experiences with the many Indigenous cultures right here in our island home. Bearers of timeless wisdom who are profoundly connected to land and water, Australia’s First Nations off er slow travel experiences that may be just what we need in challenging times.

Uluru, Northern Territory

Cultural awakening

The tourism potential of Australia’s unique 60,000-year-old Aboriginal culture wasn’t well recognised until 1984, when the Northern Territory appointed an Aboriginal Tourism Development officer.

The situation was very different by 2018, when Tourism Australia launched Discover Aboriginal Experiences. This program showcases “a suite of extraordinary Aboriginal Australian tourism experiences,” Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison says. The collection of experiences can be found at australia.com/aboriginal.

Professor Marcia Langton’s book Welcome to Country: A Travel Guide to Indigenous Australia was also published in 2018 (the updated second edition is due in September). The following year a not-for-profit organisation, also called Welcome to Country, launched a website (welcometocountry.com) showcasing more of the 400-plus Indigenous businesses offering everything from cultural performances to glamping.

There was clear demand. According to Phillipa, 1.4 million, or 17 per cent of international visitors enjoyed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism experiences in 2019, “up 6 per cent year on year since 2010. For domestic travellers, the figure was one million, increasing 13 per cent a year since 2013”.

Land and language

Australia has an “amazing diversity” of Aboriginal nations, says Ernie Dingo, a Yamatji man and veteran host of TV travel shows such as Going Places with Ernie Dingo (catch up, including the recent fourth season, on SBS OnDemand). He compares this diversity to Europe, because for each of the 300 nations “the country is different, the language is different”.

Ernie says there is something special about hearing Aboriginal people using their own language to talk about their country, and not just because there isn’t always an equivalent English word or phrase. It conjures a “wonderful sense of ancient land”, he says. “It’s like astral travelling — close your eyes and they just paint this wonderful picture.”

“Learning more about the connection between our land and its people is something that I encourage all Australians to experience,” Phillipa says.

“Visiting Uluru — the spiritual heart of Australia — and learning about the culture and history of the Anangu people has been one of the most inspiring and rewarding experiences I’ve had in Australia.

“Hearing the stories and traditions of the region from the local people is what makes visiting Uluru so profound.”

As Ernie says: “We want to show our country the way we see it.”

Take it in

GOOD ATTITUDE, GOOD EXPERIENCES ✱ Take your cue from guides and Elders. Shaking hands and looking people in the eye are often inappropriate in Aboriginal cultures. ✱ Think carefully before asking questions about Aboriginal history that may be painful for your guide. ✱ Make the most of the experience with all your senses — including the sixth sense. ✱ Most importantly: listen. It’s respectful, you will learn more and be able to follow advice about sacred places and what’s strictly men’s or women’s business.

BAY OF FIRES CONSERVATION AREA TASMANIA

A spectacular place of clear blue water, sugarwhite sand and boulders splashed with bright orange lichen, Bay of Fires is also known as larapuna. The multi-day wukalina walk lets you soak up the scenery while learning about palawa culture, including through hands-on activities and meals featuring native ingredients. It’s fairly easy going, with plenty of time in a comfy, traditionally inspired camp. wukalinawalk.com.au

BUDJ BIM NATIONAL PARK

VICTORIA

A volcanic landscape with lava canals, caves and a crater lake, the area around Budj Bim (formerly Mt Eccles) also has one of the planet’s oldest, most extensive aquaculture systems. This, plus remnant stone dwellings, put it on UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 2019. Aboriginal guides from Budj Bim Tours reveal the system’s weirs, holding ponds and stone channels built by the Gunditjmara to harvest eels.

budjbimtours.net

ROYAL BOTANIC

GARDEN NSW

You don’t have to go bush for Indigenous experiences — even our biggest cities have tours revealing their pre-colonial past and ongoing Aboriginal culture. In Sydney, the Cadigal’s traditional land, join the Royal Botanic Garden’s Aboriginal cultural tour. Learn about the medicinal, cultural and culinary uses of native plants and taste them, too, or go next level with the bushfoods cocktails and canapes experience.

rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au

MIRIMA NATIONAL PARK WESTERN AUSTRALIA

One of several national parks in the vast Kimberley region, Mirima is renowned for distinctly layered sandstone formations with colours that change with natural light. This breathtaking landscape’s hidden marvel is rock art, which you can see on guided walks operated by Waringarri Aboriginal Arts. Concluding at this active artists’ centre, tours also reveal other aspects of Miriwoong culture including bush tucker.

waringarriarts.com.au

IKARA-FLINDERS RANGES NATIONAL PARK

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

A rugged, semi-arid land of mountains, gorges and big skies, Adnyamathanha country is epic — especially the massive natural amphitheatre called Wilpena Pound, where an Aboriginal-owned and operated resort is nestled. Many experiences are available to guests and visitors, including the sunset spectacular guided 4WD tour. With drinks and canapes in hand, gaze across this ancient landscape during the day’s blazing finale.

wilpenapound.com.au

DAINTREE NATIONAL PARK

QUEENSLAND

Kuku Yalanji country is the only place in the world where two natural UNESCO World Heritage sites meet: the Daintree Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef. Walkabout Cultural Adventures’ tours of this tropical paradise are led by Aboriginal guides, who offer insights into their people’s history and traditions. Learn about rainforest food and medicine, collect shellfish on the beach, and try hunting Kuku Yalanji style.

walkaboutadventures.com.au

CANBERRA

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Get a fresh perspective of the bush capital from atop Mt Majura, Mt Taylor or Black Mountain with Dhawura Tours. As well as grand views, each tour offers a different mix of Ngunawal culture, from scar tree to stone tools.

thunderstone.net.au