Discover Aboriginal Experiences spotlights Indigenous wellness ahead of World Mental Health Day

Walkabout Cultural Adventures, Cooya Beach, QLD © Tourism and Events Queensland

Wellness tourism is booming, contributing an estimated US$651 billion to economies around the world. And the experiences we’re seeking the most? Being amid nature. It makes sense. Hiking, breathing clean air, swimming, foraging, living off the land... it makes you feel good. We’ve known it for centuries, and science proves it – it boosts your mood, reduces feelings of stress or anger, helps you take time out and feel more relaxed, and improves your physical health and confidence. Indigenous communities across Australia have been connected to Country for more than 65,000 years. The planet is more than just land and sea – there's a genuine spiritual relationship. And Discover Aboriginal Experiences operators today pass these learnings on to guests via a wide range of offerings that will slow your pulse and make you feel at one with Mother Nature.

Nitmiluk Tours, Katherine, Northern Territory © Tourism Australia

This might be taking your shoes off and feeling the sand beneath your feet while strolling along Cooya Beach on a Walkabout Cultural Adventures tour in Tropical North Queensland, where you’ll also catch mud crabs for lunch. Being humbled by Jurassic sandstone cliffs cruising Nitmiluk Gorge in the Northern Territory with Nitmiluk Tours. Or, going off-grid at an exclusive camp with wukalina Walk in Tasmania, where there’s nothing between you and the dazzling southern night sky. Outside these life-changing experiences for guests, many DAE operators are implementing pioneering projects designed to empower Indigenous communities, particularly youth, offering training and mentorship programs to inspire, provide educational and employment opportunities, and promote positive thinking and leadership.

Clark Webb, Wajaana Yaam Gumbaynggirr Adventure Tours © Tourism Australia

“Addressing mental health issues among our communities is something that many Indigenous tourism operators around the country are determined to focus on via mentorship and training,” says Clark Webb, a proud Gumbaynggirr man and the owner of Wajaana Yaam Adventure Tours on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales. “We want to increase confidence in our communities. The mentoring relationships we offer are a safe space for our youth to explore new ideas and grow without fear of judgement.” Much of Wajaana Yaam’s profits are reinvested from tourism activities back into the community – over the last 14 years the organisation has set up three learning centres, as well as the Giingana Gumbaynggirr Freedom School, the first bilingual school in NSW of an Aboriginal Language. “It’s of the utmost importance that our children can attend a school that holds their Culture and the land in the highest regard. They’re mentored by teachers who empower them and their Culture, providing support to express themselves in a safe and nurturing space.”

Johani Mamid, Mabu Buru Tours, Broome, Western Australia © Tourism Australia

Clark is not alone in his endeavours. Other Discover Aboriginal Experiences members who provide support and mentoring to the Aboriginal communities they operate in include Mabu Buru Tours in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Through the not-for-profit Mabu Buru Foundation it funds workshops and training programs to facilitate cultural practices, knowledge transmission and skill development among cultural practitioners and emerging talents. “A big goal of ours is to protect knowledge and give our communities a real purpose and support,” says Johani Mamid, Mabu Buru’s founder.

Sand Dune Adventures, Port Stephens, NSW © Tourism Australia

In New South Wales, Sand Dune Adventures offers quad-bike tours around the Southern Hemisphere’s largest moving sand dunes. It also funds the Murrook Cultural Centre, whose purpose is to gather, sustain, protect and teach Aboriginal traditions to all people with an emphasis on Worimi culture. “We’ve trained dozens of local Aboriginal people in our business,” says Andrew Smith, Worimi Local Aboriginal Land Council Chief Executive Officer. “We get our elders and Traditional Owners and knowledge holders out on Country with some of our younger generation and start talking about respect… discovering a combined balance in the ecosystem between our traditional natural resource management values and scientific values. It has a big impact on the way young people see their future.”

Dwayne Bannon-Harrison, Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness, South Coast, New South Wales © Tourism Australia

Also in NSW, Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness has been working in the male Indigenous health space since 2010 via its Bring Back the Warrior initiative, consulting with Aboriginal men at local, state and national levels. The purpose, says founder Dwayne Barron-Harrison, is to “empower and educate First Nations men to pursue a journey to healing. Our approach seeks to regain and celebrate the traditional roles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men through a holistic model that seeks to address disparity using culture-based projects.”

In the Northern Territory, Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia has established the Anangu Communities Foundation, a charitable trust designed to fund projects to deliver positive outcomes in health, wellbeing and education through social and economic advancement. To date, the project has invested more than $3 million into positive-wellbeing projects within the Anangu community.

Tali Wiru dining experience, Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, Ayers Rock Resort, Northern Territory © Tourism Australia