8 ways to experience Indigenous culture in WA

In a vast and ancient landscape, First Nations culture and stories, which stretch back through millennia in an unbroken line, are generously shared with those who seek them out.

While the fact that Australia is home to the oldest living culture in the world is a relatively recent discovery for many beyond our shores, the stories and histories and knowledge of this continent’s First Nations peoples have been carried and felt and handed down through generations like sacred totems over 60,000 years.

The vast expanse of the WA landscape is home to a united nations of peoples, languages and narratives that are joined together within the outline of the state, as if in a giant patchwork. Conscious exploration and a desire to hear and encounter Indigenous culture firsthand from the people empowered to share it pays rich rewards, with a roster of tours and experiences to delve into, from bush-tucker expeditions to staying on Country with the custodians of the land you stand on and the sky you sleep under. All you have to do is seek it out.

Terry Hunter of Borrgoron Cultural Tours, Indigenous Tours in WA — Terry Hunter of Borrgoron Cultural Tours shares stories of his history and culture. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

1. Camping with Custodians

A unique WA initiative, Camping with Custodians allows travellers to stay in quality campgrounds operated by the communities of the land they are situated on. Such privileged access affords the opportunity to interact and learn from the Traditional Owners through everything from tours to cultural experiences, and gives an insight into the importance of Country to those who don’t just live on it, but who come from it. The fees paid for campsite accommodations stay within the community, while the program helps to generate not just income but also employment pathways.

Bungle Bungle Range, Indigenous Tours in WA — Visit the beautiful Bungle Bungle Range with a Custodian for Country. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

There are currently six sites within the Camping with Custodians roster.

Imintji Campground and Art Centre

Imintji Campground and Art Centre is located on the Gibb River Road in the Kimberley, at the foot of the Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges. The Imintji (Ngarinyin) people are gracious hosts, sharing Aboriginal history and culture and welcoming visitors into their colourful Art Centre to see artists from the community at work. The shaded wilderness camp also sits within easy striking distance of Bell Gorge, Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge.

Mimbi Caves Tours & Campground

Mimbi Caves Tours & Campground is operated by the Gooniyandi people of the Mimbi community, for whom the surrounding landscape and caves are of deep cultural and spiritual significance. While the secluded campground at the foot of the Emmanuel Ranges – known as Jarlarloo Riwi (jarlarloo meaning coolamon tree and riwi meaning camp) in the local Gooniyandi language – has modern amenities, hot showers and a barbecue shelter, a stay here is all about exploring the landscape with local guides, including hearing Dreaming stories deep within the cave system itself.

Aboriginal Art work during Camping with Custodians Stay, Indigenous Tours in WA — A Camping with Custodians stay at Imintji Campground and Art Centre includes the chance to see local artists at work. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

Peedamulla Station

In the Pilbara, the pastoral Peedamulla Station sits on 226,000 hectares of land some 75 kilometres outside of Onslow. Owned and operated by the Jundaru Aboriginal Corporation, the nature-based campsite includes hot showers, drinking water and gas barbecues.

Violet Valley Campground

Violet Valley Campground, off the Great Northern Highway near Purnululu National Park, offers 14 secluded campsites in a natural bush setting on the banks of the Bow River, the presence of which is helping the Gija people return to living and working on traditional country and re-establish connection with cultural and ceremonial sites.

Doon Doon Roadhouse

Doon Doon Roadhouse, owned by the nearby Woolah community, has both a caravan park and campground with powered and unpowered sites, as well as four air-conditioned cabins some 110 kilometres south of Kununurra.

The Djarindjin Campground

Owned and operated by the nearby Djarindjin community, the Djarindjin Campground, located on the newly sealed Cape Leveque Road on the stunning Dampier Peninsula, has 37 powered sites and 10 unpowered sites with hot showers, a large camp kitchen with gas barbecues, a sheltered dining area and communal fire pit.

Go culture, Indigenours Tours in WA — Explore various pockets of the city which showcases Indigenous culture and history. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

2. Go cultural

Tour the land of the Whadjuk people with a Noongar guide to get a transfixing insight into Perth’s Aboriginal history and significant cultural sites. The family business of Walter and Meg McGuire, who work alongside their eldest daughter Lucy, Go Cultural share the first story of the Whadjuk people, detailing the traditional way of life and the spiritual connection to the country, river and the animals that inhabit Noongar Boodja. Tours explore various pockets of the city including Karrgatup (Kings Park), Goomup (Elizabeth Quay) and Goologoolup (Yagan Square).

Go Culture’s Walter McGuire, WA Indigenous Tours — Tour the land of the Whadjuk people with Go Culture’s Walter McGuire, who provides insights into Perth’s proud Indigenous history. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

3. Koomal Dreaming

Wadandi custodian Josh “Koomal" Whiteland guides his guests on a very personal journey through the histories, experiences and culture of the Wadandi and Bibbulman people who have lived in the Busselton, Dunsborough and Margaret River areas of Australia’s South West for thousands of years. On his signature Twilight Didgeridoo Cave Tour , Koomal leads a short bushwalk to discover traditional medicine plants and share local knowledge about the region, before heading to Ngilgi Cave for a live didgeridoo performance within the cavernous surrounds deep below the surface of the Earth.

Ancient traditions during Koomal Dreaming, Indigenous Tours in WA — Explore ancient traditions with Koomal Dreaming. (Image: Frances Andrijich)

4. Southern Cross Coastal Walk

On the four-hour Southern Cross Cultural Walk, Bardi-Jawi man Bolo Angus shares insights into his ancestral homeland at Lullumb , where the bush meets the sea in the Kimberley region. With knowledge passed to him by his grandfather and a passion for keeping these traditions alive for future generations, Angus and his family impart cultural knowledge on ancient hunting techniques, share insights into identifying bush tucker and bush medicine and demonstrate how to find fresh water. A delicious cook-up of the bush tucker collected and caught during the tour crowns the experience.

Bolo Angus of Southern Cross Coastal Walks, WA Indigenous Tours — Experience a Cultural Tour with Bolo Angus of Southern Cross Coastal Walks. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

5. Ngurrangga Tours

Belonging to the Ngarluma/Yindjibarndi language group and Burungu skin group, Clinton Walker is a descendant of the Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi people, who are the Traditional Owners of the coastal and inland areas of the West Pilbara region. Having spent his life learning the traditional ways of his people, including speaking the Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi languages, Walker’s tours aim to educate visitors in the ways of his culture and history, encompassing bush foods and medicines, ancient rock art, traditional stories and songs, and raise the profile of the little-known Burrup Peninsula, home to up to one million Aboriginal rock carvings, some dating back 40,000 years.

Ngurrangga Tours, Indigenous Tours in WA — Take a walk on Country with Ngurrangga Tours. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

6. Borrgoron Cultural Tours

Operating out of Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm, Terry Hunter is a fourth-generation pearler and proud Bardi man, who generously shares his story while exploring tidal flats, foraging for oysters and demonstrating ancient coastal hunting techniques on his Coast to Creek tour . You can also book a personalised culture and history tour for a walking Q&A session that allows you to dive deeper into Hunter’s cultural knowledge, as well as the landscape you are walking on.

Pearl shells from Indigenous tour in WA — Observe the tradition of carving pearl shells. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

7. Wala Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures

These on-Country tours explore the ancient cultural stories and practices of the Shark Bay region’s First Nations peoples, the Nhanda and Malgana. In a place that they know as Gutharraguda, owner Darren “Capes" Capewell, a descendant of the Nhanda and Malgana people, offers escapes to Wirruwana (Dirk Hartog Island), Francois Peron and Steep Point, as well as kayaking and wildlife adventures and an evocative Didgeridoo Dreaming Night Tour.

Bec Sampi of Kingfisher Tours in Purnululu National Park, Indigenous Tours in WA — Join head guide Bec Sampi of Kingfisher Tours in Purnululu National Park.

8. ROC-certified Kingfisher Tours

EcoTourism Australia’s Respecting Our Culture (ROC) certification is at the forefront of encouraging the Australian tourism industry to adapt practices and operate businesses in a way that shows respect to and reinforces First Nations cultural heritage, as well as the living culture of First Nations communities. ROC-certified operators make a commitment to “protecting cultural authenticity and integrity, developing sound business practices, environmental protection and acknowledging Indigenous peoples’ spiritual connection to the land and water".You can see this ethos firsthand with ROC-certified Kingfisher Tours in the Kimberley, whose tours to spectacular locations such as the Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park are conducted by Custodian for Country guides like head guide Bec Sampi, who has also been assisted in establishing her business producing soaps using traditional bush medicine from the Purnululu area.

This remote corner of Australia is one of the world’s last frontiers. This is how to see it properly.

Vast, rugged and deeply spiritual, the Kimberley coast in Australia’s North West feels a world away from everyday Australia – and there are countless ways to explore it. But if you want to reach ancient rock art, hidden gorges and lonely waterfalls, it has to be by boat. Whether you’re aboard a nimble expedition vessel or a luxury yacht with all the trimmings, exploring by the water brings exclusive experiences, shows unique views and makes travel easier than any other mode. And that’s just the beginning of Australia’s North West cruises.

The True North Adventure Cruise in between sandstone cliffs. — Adventure starts where the road ends.

1. Discover Broome, and beyond

Explore your launchpad before you set sail: Broome. Here camels and their riders stride along the 22 kilometres of powdery Cable Beach at sunset. That’s just the start.

At Gantheaume Point, red pindan cliffs plunge into the turquoise sea, whose low tide uncovers fossilised dinosaur footprints. Broome’s pearling history runs deep. Japanese, Chinese, Malay and Aboriginal divers once worked these waters, and their legacy lives on in boutiques where South Sea pearls still shine.

If the moon’s right, you may catch the Staircase to the Moon over Roebuck Bay. Or simply kick back with a cold beverage and a film under the stars at Sun Pictures , screening since 1916.

Ride a camel along Cable Beach as the sun sinks into the Indian Ocean, casting golden light across the sand and sea. — Ride a camel along Cable Beach. (Image: Nick Dunn)

2. Unmatched access to The Kimberley

Once you’re onboard, expect a backstage pass to some of the most isolated places on Earth. No roads. No ports. No phone reception.

At Horizontal Falls/ Garaanngaddim, 10-metre tides surge through twin gorges like a natural waterpark ride that’ll make your palms sweat. Then there’s Montgomery Reef/ Yowjab: a giant living platform of coral and seagrass, where the sea pulls back to reveal waterfalls, sea turtles and ospreys.

Up north, King George Falls/ Oomari rage 80 metres down red cliffs. Zodiac boats often nudge in closer so you can feel the spray on your sun-warmed cheeks. You might even fly in to reach Mitchell Falls/ Punamii-unpuu, a four-tiered cascade where you can swim in freshwater pools above the drop.

Come spring, some itineraries veer west to Rowley Shoals: an atoll chain of white sand and reef walls. Then it’s up the winding Prince Regent River to King Cascade/ Maamboolbadda, tumbling over rock terraces, and into a Zodiac to view the Gwion Gwion rock art, whose slender, ochre-painted figures are older than the pyramids.

A cruise drifts beneath King George Falls, where sheer sandstone cliffs frame the thunderous plunge into turquoise waters. — Get closer to the Kimberley than ever before.

3. Taste the Kimberley with onboard hospitality

You might spend your days clambering over slippery rocks or charging past waterfalls. But when you’re back on the water, it’s a different story. Meals are chef-prepared and regionally inspired: grilled barramundi, pearl meat sashimi, mango tarts, and bush tomato chutney. One night it’s barefoot beach barbecues with your shipmates; the next, alfresco dining on the ship.

Small expedition ships each have their own personality, but many carry just 12 to 36 guests, making being out on the water a whole other experience. You might sink into a spa on the foredeck or sip coffee in a lounge while watching crocodiles cruise by. It’s choose-your-own-relaxation, Kimberley style.

4. Expert-led excursions through the Kimberley

These voyages are led by people who know the Kimberley like the back of their sunburnt hand. Attenborough-esque naturalists might gently tap your shoulder to point out rare birds or tell the story beneath a slab of rock. Historians can explain exactly how that rusted World War II relic came to rest here.

If your ship has a helipad, you might chopper straight to a waterfall-fed swimming hole. If not, you’ll still be hopping ashore for that wet landing at a secret creek.

Then come the evenings: songlines shared by Traditional Owners under the stars, or astronomy sessions that link what’s overhead with what’s underfoot and what’s within.

A small group glides through Kimberley’s rugged coastline by boat, passing ancient cliffs. — Explore with naturalists and historians by your side.

5. Relax in luxurious lodgings

Just because you’re off-grid doesn’t mean you have to rough it. These Kimberley vessels are small in size, but mighty in luxury. True North’s ships come with their own helicopters and a no-sea-days policy, so you’re always in the thick of it. Try the luxurious offerings from Ocean Dream Charters for exploration in style. Kimberley Quest offers a fast boat for easy, off-ship adventures. On the larger end of the scale, Coral Expeditions has open-deck bars and curated wine cellars. And then there’s Ponant’s luxury yachts – sleek and incredibly stylish French sailing yachts.

A helicopter soars above the sea, with a sleek cruise ship gliding in the distance. — See the Kimberley from sky to shore.

6. The adventure continues with pre- and post-cruise experiences

You’ve already come this far – so, why not go further? Broome makes it easy to ease in before you board, or wind down when your voyage ends, and there is no reason to stop there.

Head an hour and a half south to Eco Beach to stay off-grid and off the clock. Join a Yawuru guide for a mangrove walk or ocean forage. Dive even deeper into Broome’s pearling past at Willie Creek or Cygnet Bay, where divers and craftspeople still pull the seawater-slicked gems from the deep.

If you’re still craving adventure, it’s time to go further. Soar over the Buccaneer Archipelago, or detour inland with a 4WD trip along the Gibb River Road. Book a scenic flight over the Bungle Bungles. Or – because you never know when you’ll be back – do all three.

aerial of people walking on eco beach in the kimberley western australia — Stay off grid at Eco Beach. (Image: Tourism WA)

Find out more about your trip to Australia’s North West at australiasnorthwest.com .