Top 10 Inspiring Aboriginal Experiences

You haven’t been to Australia until you’ve gained an understanding of the Aboriginal way of life and explored its rich and varied culture.

Through tourism ventures, here are the 10 best ways to find out about our indigenous heritage, which will often take you to some of the most remote and beautiful parts of the country.

1. Journey to the far reaches of East Arnhem Land – Arnhem Land, NT

This incredible corner of Australia is full of adventure for those who like to push into the country’s remote outposts.

The Yolngu people of East Arnhem Land have a beautiful connection to their environment and are often happy to teach travellers about their ways. If you’re up for a bit of a rustic, croc-laced experience, you can join a tour that will take you into Aboriginal communities where you can stay and spend time with the Yolngu.

We have travelled with Venture North and found them to be fantastic, but there are also a few other operators in the area. You can also head to Banubanu Retreat on Bremer Island in the Arafura Sea, where you’ll find simple, tented accommodation and guided activities such as fishing and turtle watching. Banubanu has Mark Olive’s seal of approval with the indigenous chef saying that the retreat “has almost everything you want in an experience, from world-class fishing, accommodation, boating, and immersing yourself in Yolngu culture, to having an amazing meal and chilling out."

Why you should go: We are so lucky in Australia to be able to venture into remote lands where we can connect with the original custodians and learn from an ancient culture. It’s an experience with the power to change perceptions.

2. Watch your jaw drop at Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival

The striking animal forms, chants and motions of the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival are as relevant now as they have been for tens of thousands of years. It’s only every two years, but there’s a reason you should plan for the next one.

Held every two years in bushland near the township of Laura, 317 kilometres north of Cairns, the 2013 Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival sees 17 Indigenous groups dance 30-minute sets. It runs for three days in June and attracts 5000 visitors – half of whom are Indigenous, the other half non-Indigenous.

In the words of Jennifer Pinkerton, “sometimes life hands you an experience so beautiful and mercurial that my job, to press the things I see into words, becomes tricky. I reckon my Darwin doctor – who gave me a flu jab the day I returned home – said it best. “That festival is meant to be ‘the one’. A once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Why you should go: Put simply, this is one of the most culturally significant events in the country. It’s a foot-stomping, dust-raising melodic celebration of song, dance and stories shared by arguably the world’s oldest surviving culture

3. Meet the islanders – Tiwi Islands, NT

You will need a permit to visit this cluster of islands north of Darwin, where the indigenous people have been for around 7000 years.

The Tiwi people’s culture has been influenced by contact with Polynesia and thus differs to mainland communities, which is evident in their beautiful crafts, including batik, pottery and silk screening.

Since it was introduced, the Tiwis have also wholeheartedly embraced AFL and you will find it an integral part of the community.

With more than 900 participants out of a community of over just over 2500, the Tiwi Islands can claim the highest football participation rate of any community in Australia. If you want to experience a footy match with real passion, forget about the mainland games – head to a game with a real difference.

Why you should go to Tiwi Island : To travel almost as far north as you can in Australia and to share in a culture that has lived in isolation for thousands of years.

4. Experience our greatest natural wonder alongside the traditional owners

Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel is a unique, educational and commemorative Great Barrier Reef experience, incorporating the world’s oldest living culture and the stories Traditional Owners have passed down over tens of thousands of years.

Spend your day scuba diving and snorkelling as Indigenous rangers recount the Dreamtime stories of the Gimuy Walubara Yidinji, Gunggandji, Mandingalbay and Yirrganydji people to help you gain a deeper cultural understanding of this diverse ecosystem.

The sea country of these four Traditional Owner groups stretches from Port Douglas to the Frankland Islands and includes the two sites you visit.

Your day on the outer Great Barrier Reef has five hours of water activities split between two unique sites showcasing a variety of colourful corals and marine life. Snorkel and dive over stunning coral gardens where anemones, sea whips, clams and plate corals are home to clown fish, angel fish and bat fish.

Why you should go: To appreciate a world in the world’s largest coral reef system through one of the oldest-surviving people.

5. Party with a remote community – Katherine, NT

The 350-people strong community of Barunga swells to around 4000 souls every June long weekend, when The tiny community of Katherine plays host to sporting events, music, and traditional arts and culture.

Attracting performers including the likes of Gurrumul and Paul Kelly, as well as lesser-known local artists, the line-up is always eagerly anticipated for this celebration of remote indigenous communities.

Why you should go: To feel the warm welcome of a remote indigenous community that’s otherwise closed to travellers.

6. Take a mini-break to the Dreamtime Brambuk – the National Park & Cultural Centre, Victoria

Nestled in the Grampians just three hours from Melbourne, sits this centre of learning where visitors can take a Bunjil Creation Tour to hear Dreamtime stories, explore significant rock art, and get a grounding in local indigenous lore at the fantastic Cultural Centre at Brambuk .

Why you should go: Being so accessible from Melbourne, it’s a great family trip to give the kids an insight into the rich tapestry of our indigenous heritage.

7. Awe-inspiring ancient figures – Kimberley Coast

Thought to be at least 17,000 years old, the Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw) figures makes ancient Egyptian art look as if it was painted last week.

The beautifully drawn, elongated figures featuring tassles, sashes, and movement have mysterious origins and have not yet been claimed by local indigenous people as the handiwork of their ancestors.

Theories abound as to who may have created these drawings, some argue a different group of Homo sapiens settled the coast and busily decorated rocks.

Similar to the Gwion Gwion are the Wandjina paintings, which, although very different is style, are equally intriguing.

There are an estimated 100,000 of these sites in the Kimberley.

Why you should go: To have your perception of human existence rewritten, and to understand the journey of the earliest settlers.

8. Walk in the footsteps of the Mungos – Mungo National Park, NSW

Mungo National Park is both archaeologically and spiritually significant.

To the three indigenous groups of the area, the Paakantji, Ngyiaampaa and Mutthi Mutthi, the ground-breaking discoveries of Mungo woman and Mungo man prove the endurance of their people and serve to teach us all valuable lessons.

The remains, which are some of the oldest found outside of Africa and dated at up to 42,000 years old, are no longer at the site but what you will see are 20,000-year-old footprints that are the largest set from the Ice Age in the world.

You’ll also learn about the survival of the people in a changing and challenging environment and gain a new appreciation for humankind’s resilience.

Why you should go: For the chance to visit a place of overwhelming scientific and cultural significance that pre-dates some of the oldest civilisations.

9. Be a part of the solution – Garma Festival of Traditional Cultures, Arnhem Land, NT

The Garma Festival remains one of the most significant indigenous events in the country, mixing world political and business leaders alongside regular punters.

Rather than aiming to simply entertain or generate tourism, the festival was established to improve indigenous lives and preserve the culture of the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land.

Over four days, you can enjoy the evening Bunggul Dance, musical performances and indigenous films.

This year’s event is significant as it marks the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act. Held in the remote community of Gulkula, flights are in and out of Gove.

This year, the festival runs from 29 July to 1 August.

Why you should go: To be a part of a collective who want to create a positive future and cherish a valuable past.

Video credit: Visit Victoria/Tourism Australia

The Grampians just might be the ultimate antidote for the metropolis, writes one returning Aussie ready to disconnect from the modern world and reconnect to the Great outdoors.

There are no kangaroos back in Chicago: they’re all here in the Grampians/Gariwerd . In the heart of the Grampians National Park’s main gateway town, Halls Gap, pods of eastern greys are eating grass beside my parked rental car beneath the stars. Next morning, when I see the backyard of my rented villa on the edge of town for the first time, there are kangaroos feeding beside a slow-moving creek, lined with river red gums.

Five hundred metres up the road, 50 or so of them are eating by the side of the road in a paddock. I pull over to watch and spot three emus. Yellow-tailed black cockatoos fly overhead towards the tall green mountains just beyond town.

‘Kee-ow, keee-oww’… their calls fuse with the maniacal cackle of a kookaburra (or 10). Gawd, how I’ve missed the sound of them. Far above, a wedge-tailed eagle watches, and there you go: the ‘great birds of Australia’ trifecta, all half a kay from the town limits.

Exchanging city chaos for country calm

kangaroos near Halls Gap, Grampians National Park — The park is renowned for its significant diversity of native fauna species. (Image: Visit Victoria/Robert Blackburn)

I’ve come to the Grampians to disconnect, but the bush offers a connection of its own. This isn’t just any bush, mind you. The Grampians National Park is iconic for many reasons, mostly for its striking sandstone mountains – five ridges run north to south, with abrupt, orange slopes which tumble right into Halls Gap – and for the fact there’s 20,000 years of traditional rock art. Across these mountains there are more than 200 recorded sites to see, created by the Djab Wurrung, Jardwadjali and Gunditjmara peoples. It’s just like our outback… but three hours from Melbourne.

I’ve come here for a chance at renewal after the chaos of my life in America’s third-largest city, Chicago, where I live for now, at the whim of a relative’s cancer journey. Flying into Melbourne’s airport, it only takes an hour’s drive to feel far away from any concept of suburbia. When I arrive in Halls Gap two hours later, the restaurant I’m eating at clears out entirely by 7:45pm; Chicago already feels a lifetime ago.

The trails and treasures of the Grampians

sunrise at Grampians National Park /Gariwerd — Grampians National Park /Gariwerd covers almost 2000 square kilometres. (Image: Ben Savage)

Though the national park covers almost 2000 square kilometres, its best-known landmarks are remarkably easy to access. From my carpark here, among the cockatoos and kangaroos on the fringe of Halls Gap, it only takes 60 seconds’ driving time before I’m winding my way up a steep road through rainforest, deep into the mountains.

Then it’s five minutes more to a carpark that serves as a trailhead for a hike to one of the park’s best vantage points, The Pinnacles . I walk for an hour or so, reacquainting myself with the smells and the sounds of the Aussie bush, before I reach it: a sheer cliff’s edge lookout 500 metres up above Halls Gap.

walking through a cave, Hollow Mountain — Overlooking the vast Grampians landscape from Hollow Mountain. (Image: Robert Blackburn)

There are hikes and there are lookouts and waterfalls all across this part of the park near town. Some are a short stroll from a carpark; others involve long, arduous hikes through forest. The longest is the Grampians Peaks Trail , Victoria’s newest and longest iconic walk, which runs 160 kilometres – the entire length of Grampians National Park.

Local activities operator Absolute Outdoors shows me glimpses of the trail. The company’s owner, Adrian Manikas, says it’s the best walk he’s done in Australia. He says he’s worked in national parks across the world, but this was the one he wanted to bring his children up in.

“There’s something about the Grampians,” he says, as he leads me up a path to where there’s wooden platforms for tents, beside a hut looking straight out across western Victoria from a kilometre up in the sky (these are part of the guided hiking options for the trail). “There are things out here that you won’t see anywhere else in Australia.” Last summer, 80 per cent of the park was damaged by bushfire, but Manikas shows me its regrowth, and tells me of the manic effort put in by volunteers from town – with firefighters from all over Australia – to help save Halls Gap.

wildflowers in Grampians National Park — Spot wildflowers. (Image: Visit Victoria)

We drive back down to Halls Gap at dusk to abseil down a mountain under the stars, a few minutes’ walk off the main road into town. We have headlamps, but a full moon is enough to light my way down. It takes blind faith to walk backwards down a mountain into a black void, though the upside is I can’t see the extent of my descent.

Grampians National Park at sunset. (Image: Wine Australian)

The stargazing is ruined by the moon, of course, but you should see how its glow lights up the orange of the sandstone, like in a theme park. When I’m done, I stand on a rocky plateau drinking hot chocolate and listening to the Aussie animals who prefer nighttime. I can see the streets of Halls Gap off in the distance on this Friday night. The restaurants may stay open until 8pm tonight.

What else is on offer in The Grampians?

a boat travelling along the Wimmera River inDimboola — Travelling along the Wimmera River in Dimboola. (Image: Chris McConville)

You’ll find all sorts of adventures out here – from rock climbing to canoeing to hiking – but there’s more to the Grampians than a couple of thousand square kilometres of trees and mountains. Halls Gap may be known to most people, but what of Pomonal, and Dimboola, and Horsham? Here in the shadow of those big sandstone mountains there are towns and communities most of us don’t know to visit.

And who knew that the Grampians is home to Victoria’s most underrated wine region ? My disconnection this morning comes not in a forest, but in the tasting rooms and winery restaurants of the district. Like Pomonal Estate, barely 10 minutes’ drive east of Halls Gap, where UK-born chef Dean Sibthorp prepares a locally caught barramundi with lentil, pumpkin and finger lime in a restaurant beside the vines at the base of the Grampians. Husband-and-wife team Pep and Adam Atchison tell me stories as they pour their prize wines (shiraz is the hero in these parts).

dining at Pomonal Estate — Dine in a restaurant beside vines at Pomonal Estate. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Three minutes’ drive back down the road, long-time mates Hadyn Black and Darcy Naunton run an eclectic cellar door out of a corrugated iron shed, near downtown Pomonal. The Christmas before last, half the houses in Pomonal burnt down in a bushfire, but these locals are a resilient lot.

The fires also didn’t stop the construction of the first art centre in Australia dedicated to environmental art in a nature-based precinct a little further down the road (that’s Wama – the National Centre for Environmental Arts), which opened in July. And some of the world’s oldest and rarest grape vines have survived 160 years at Best’s Wines, outside the heritage town of Great Western. There’s plantings here from the year 1868, and there’s wines stored in century-old barrels within 150-year-old tunnels beneath the tasting room. On the other side of town, Seppelt Wines’ roots go back to 1865. They’re both only a 30-minute drive from Halls Gap.

Salingers of Great Western — Great Western is a charming heritage town. (Image: Griffin Simm)

There’s more to explore yet; I drive through tiny historic towns that barely make the map. Still part of the Grampians, they’re as pretty as the mountains behind them: full of late 19th-century/early 20th-century post offices, government offices and bank buildings, converted now to all manner of bric-a-brac stores and cafes.

The Imaginarium is one, in quirky Dimboola, where I sleep in the manager’s residence of an old National Australia Bank after a gourmet dinner at the local golf club, run by noted chef and teacher, Cat Clarke – a pioneer of modern Indigenous Australian cooking. Just south, I spend an entire afternoon at a winery, Norton Estate Wines, set on rolling calico-coloured hills that make me think of Tuscany, chit-chatting with owners Chris and Sam Spence.

Being here takes me back two decades, when I lived here for a time. It had all seemed as foreign as if I’d driven to another planet back then (from Sydney/Warrane), but there seemed something inherently and immediately good about this place, like I’d lived here before.

And it’s the Australian small-town familiarity of the Grampians that offers me connection back to my own country. Even in the better-known Halls Gap, Liz from Kerrie’s Creations knows I like my lattes with soy milk and one sugar. And while I never do get the name of the lady at the local Ampol station, I sure know a lot about her life.

Kookaburras on a tree — Kookaburras are one of some 230 bird species. (Image: Darren Donlen)

You can be a local here in a day; how good is that? In Chicago, I don’t even know who my neighbour is. Though each day at dusk – when the kangaroos gather outside my villa, and the kookaburras and the black cockatoos shout out loud before settling in to sleep – I prefer the quieter connection I get out there in the bush, beneath these orange mountains.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

Sleep beside the wildlife on the edge of Halls Gap at Serenity .

Playing there

abseiling down Hollow Mountain — Hollow Mountain is a popular abseiling site.

Go abseiling under the stars or join a guided hike with Absolute Outdoors . Visit Wama , Australia’s first environmental art centre. Check out Dimboola’s eccentric Imaginarium .

Eating there

steak, naan bread and beer at Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap — Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap serves a great steak on naan bread.

Eat world-class cuisine at Pomonal Estate . Dine and stay at much-revered icon Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld. The ‘steak on naan’ at Halls Gap brewhouse Paper Scissors Rock , can’t be beat.

Dunkeld Arboretum in Grampians National Park — The serene Dunkeld Arboretum.

For Halls Gap’s best breakfasts head to Livefast Cafe . Sip local wines at Great Western’s historic wineries, Best’s Wines , Seppelt Wines and Norton Estate Wines .

two glasses of beer at Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap — Sink a cold one at Paper Scissors Rock.

Top 9 Inspiring Aboriginal Experiences