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.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

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)

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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.

With unhurried mornings, long, sun-filled afternoons, evenings shaped around sunset, this iconic beach offers an all-day experience (and it’s about to get even better).

As the sun slowly rises over the languid waves and fine sand of Broome’s Cable Beach, the morning colours shift from rich apricot to pale gold and frosty pearl. Remnants of life reveal themselves in the subtle shadows – crab claw marks, towel impressions, footprints. Life here is unhurried, but don’t be fooled. This town is continually shifting like the desert dunes that surround it.

And with a $75 million upgrade – offering easier and more inclusive access for people of all abilities – it’s getting even better.

Cable Beach upgrade foreshore redevelopment stage 1 — Discover the Cable Beach redevelopment.

The addition of comfortable and welcoming spaces has begun (and will continue). This means visitors will be able to spend longer enjoying this beautiful environment, while knowing that the upgrade will create a more environmentally protected setting that preserves the natural character visitors come for. Come sunset, soak it in all the better thanks to the already improved foreshore areas, made for lingering while the light changes. And for the kids, a new splash park and accessible dry playground will make it easy to while away the hours.

Think you know what a day at this beach is like? Think again.

Morning colours

car on cable beach at sunrise — Cable Beach comes alive after sunrise. (Credit: Tourism WA)

As the sun colours the sky, Cable Beach shows signs of life (and not just the aquatic kind). Locals and visitors alike float in the cool water as it laps the shore, landlubbers explore the coast on foot, runners pace and beachside yoga classes bring quiet movement to the day.

When the sky is blue and the sun is firmly in position, head down to the well-known Cable Beach House for a long, slow breakfast overlooking the ocean. Think fresh tropical fruit, eggs cooked your way and strong coffee in the warm morning breeze.

Afternoon adventures

camel train on cable beach in broome at sunset — Join a camel train at sunset. (Credit: C J Maddock)

When you’re ready to explore, carve a path along the Minyirr Park Trail – a gentle 1.5-2km track through coastal bushland with spectacular views of the dunes. Refuel at the nearby Spinifex Brewery for lunch with its low-key, outdoor beer garden. There’s even an outdoor playground if you’re travelling with young humans.

Walk off your lazy lunch by watching (or joining) one of the beach soccer or volleyball games, or even try Silent Beats Broome – a silent walking disco through the dunes. Or book a spot on the famous camel trains, watching the sun drop below the horizon along the way. They’re a constant reminder of the fascinating history, landscape and cultural mix in this part of the country.

Evening degustation

server at Cable Beach Club — Stop into the Cable Beach Club. (Credit: Tourism WA)

As the day closes, watch the world-famous Cable Beach sunset from the appropriately named Sunset Grill at Cable Beach Club. This open-air terraced dining spot overlooking the beach is the kind of place where the view takes centre stage.

While you sip on a lychee, lime & lemonade mocktail or a local beer, enjoy the bustle of life and nature outside as the day comes to an end.

For dinner, nab a table at the Bali Hai Cafe, where they offer pan-fried crispy barramundi, Abrolhos Island scallops and deep-sea snow crab. When you’re ready for bed, check in to Pinctada Hotel Broome – a lush, tropical resort with palm-dotted gardens and a large, lagoon-style pool to cool off in.

Beyond the beach

Beyond the wide, open beach and never-ending sky of Cable Beach, there are many more reasons to visit North West Australia. These are just a few.

Unmatched experiences

Shinju Matsuri Festival's popular Long Table Dinner on cable beach — Join Shinju Matsuri Festival’s popular Long Table Dinner. (Credit: Tourism WA)

Engage with the history of the land and its people on an Indigenous cultural tour exploring everything from the local wildlife to the tastes of bush tucker. To understand the importance of pearling to this town, take a tour of Chinatown, or head outside of town to the live pearl harvests at Willie Creek or Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm, one of Australia’s oldest pearl farms.

Learn why Japanese pearlers were central to Broome’s pearling success and visit the largest Japanese cemetery in Australia, where 900 Japanese pearlers were buried – a testament to the risks and rewards of this dangerous profession.

And book ahead every spring for when communal tables, freshly cooked local fare and festoon lighting fill the beach for the extremely popular Long Table Dinner on Cable Beach. It’s a highlight of the Shinju Matsuri Festival, along with the Floating Lanterns Matsuri, where you can personalise a lantern and gently release it into the sea to honour those you love.

Dining discoveries

Further your culinary adventure at the laid-back Sunday Sesh at Matso’s Broome Brewery. Chow down on smoked crocodile or Aussie barramundi while kicking back to a local DJ as the heat of the day fades.

For more tunes, the beautiful outdoor Bay Club at the Mangrove Hotel is a great choice for dinner with live music, DJs or an event that stretches on into the early hours. Still hungry? Pop by Johnny Sausage for Italian-influenced meals paired with impeccable wines.

Natural beauties

Gantheaume Point cabnle beach broome — Experience the striking colours of Gantheaume Point. (Credit: Tourism WA)

Avoid the crowds and head to Town Beach for a quieter vantage point to see the phenomenal Staircase to the Moon – a natural illusion where the rising full moon is reflected on the tidal flats, creating a shimmering ‘staircase’ stretching up to the sky.

Just south of Cable Beach are the deep red cliffs and dramatic ocean views of Gantheaume Point, where 130-million-year-old dinosaur footprints can be seen, revealed at low tide. Or head to Roebuck Bay to visit the internationally significant wetlands, where vast tidal flats are home to shorebirds and coastal fauna.

Between October and March, watch turtles nesting and hatchlings emerge from the sand. You’ll be holding your breath as they make their way down to the shoreline, ready to start their life in one of Australia’s most beautiful landscapes.

For more on Cable Beach and Australia’s North West, visit australiasnorthwest.com.

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.