5 globally sought-after travel experiences elevated by Aboriginal guides
Australia lays claim to a world-renowned suite of tourism experiences. But it’s not as well known that many of these bucket-list activities can be experienced with an Aboriginal guide.
Here, find five incredible Australian travel experiences that can be even more memorable with an Aboriginal guide leading the way – just a handful of the vibrant, contemporary and surprising Aboriginal travel experiences found in our backyard.
Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures, Shark Bay, WA © Tourism Australia
Gaze at a new map of the night’s skies
There are astronomy tours, and then there are Aboriginal astronomy tours. Turns out, there’s more than one map of the night sky, and learning to look at the universe’s dark patches for meaning, as well as the twinkling stars, is surprisingly revealing. Aboriginal peoples are believed to be the world’s first astronomers – another fact few have heard – and have long used the stars as navigation tools. Get a new astral view with Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures in Western Australia’s World Heritage-listed Shark Bay.
Sand Dune Adventures in New South Wales © Destination NSW
Go on an Aboriginal-guided quad bike adventure
Aboriginal life and cultures are rarely perceived as also being exhilarating and adventurous. Sand Dune Adventures turn this misconception on its head by putting guests on quad bikes and riding through the longest moving coastal sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere, just 2.5 hours north of Sydney/Warrane at Port Stephens. Aboriginal stories are shared while on exclusive Worimi land, inaccessible any other way. Deep connections are shared while gazing over the vast coastline, travelling through bush and sliding over sand.
Wukalina walk, Bay of Fires, TAS © Tourism Australia
See Tasmania’s Bay of Fires through Aboriginal eyes
Do you know why one of the most famous sites in Tasmania/lutruwita is called the Bay of Fires? Even many Australians don't know the answer. The Aboriginal connection is barely known, despite the countless postcard images of the glass-clear blue waters and sienna-hued rock tumbles. The name comes from the many fires lit by Aboriginal peoples along the coastline – the first and lasting impression of an explorer in 1773. Immerse yourself in the history, cultures and traditional lands of the palawa people, who call the area larapuna, and follow their forebears’ footsteps on the unforgettable wukalina walk.
Ngurrangga Tours, Roebourne, WA © Daniel Njegich
Explore the world’s largest concentration of petroglyphs
You might have heard that rock engravings pepper the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia’s vast, red Pilbara region. But did you know they were etched into some of the hardest stone on Earth some 20,000 to 50,000 years ago? The engravings are an extraordinary time capsule of the Earth’s evolution. Spend a day with Ngurrangga Tours and travel back to before the last ice age, seeing depictions of megafauna that’s long extinct, marine species that arrived after sea levels rose and turned the site into an island, and animal footprints that were used to teach youngsters how to hunt.
Burrawa Indigenous Climb Experience, Sydney, NSW © Tourism Australia
Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge with an Indigenous storyteller
Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge is at the top of the list for many visitors to the New South Wales capital. For a truly memorable experience, make the climb with an Indigenous storyteller guide on the Burrawa Aboriginal Climb Experience. As you take in sparkling views, your guide will share fascinating stories about the city’s rich Aboriginal heritage. Like where a three-metre-high midden (ancient pile of shells) once stood, revealing stories of intergenerational conservation. And how Cammeraygal woman Patyegarang became Australia’s first Aboriginal language teacher, instructing botanist and explorer William Dawes from a base at Tallawoladah (The Rocks). Taking you to the top of ‘The Coathanger’ (as the bridge is known to locals), the experience is the ultimate introduction to Sydney/Warrane.
