Each Friday afternoon, about 16 kilometres outside Broome, Western Australia, Mabu Buru Tours’ Wakaj experience culminates with a moving performance of Karajarri songs and dances, with the sounds of clapping boomerangs and stomping feet echoing through the bloodwood trees as the sun sets. Wakaj means the “coming together of family” and guests are encouraged to participate – your First Nations hosts will apply ochre and teach you their creative traditions. You’ll also have the opportunity to taste freshly baked wattleseed damper with sweet bush honey made from nearby melaleuca and grevillea trees. 

Other experiences led by Mabu Buru include searching for 130-million-year-old dinosaur tracks on Cable Beach or wading through the shallow waters of the Kimberley Coast’s vast mangrove flats where guides demonstrate how to fish for barramundi or catch mud crab and cook it on the coals. A portion of the profits for each tour goes to the Mabu Buru Foundation, which supports the survival of lore and culture in the West Kimberley region.

For millennia, the Gumbaynggirr people have expertly navigated the waterways of Coffs Harbour on the NSW Mid North Coast. You can replicate this practice with Wajaana Yaam Adventure Tours, gliding through the serene creeks on a stand-up paddleboard during a 2.5-hour tour. Knowledgeable local guides enrich the journey with Gumbaynggirr stories, language and the flavours of local bush tucker. Tours run between 7am and 4.30pm, with launch times and locations tailored to the tides.

Natural beauty and rich cultural history meet at Nitmiluk Gorge near Katherine, in the Northern Territory’s Top End. On the 2.5-hour Ancient Garlarr River Safari with Nitmiluk Tours, visitors learn about traditional Jawoyn cultural activities including basket weaving, rock art and spear throwing, before cruising down an ancient river past striking walls of orange rock that tower 70 metres overhead. Depending on river levels, you may also get the chance to have a dip in one of the nearby rock pools.

See a different side of the Gold Coast on a Jellurgal Walkabout tour with First Nations guides. As you traverse the moderate 1.2-kilometre track along the scenic Burleigh Headland, you’ll visit culturally significant sites on the revered “Dreaming Mountain”. Here, your hosts will share captivating Dreaming stories and offer insights into the rich heritage and traditions of the Yugambeh people, from fishing and hunting to sustainable land management.

The two-hour tour also includes visits to the Jellurgal Aboriginal Cultural Centre – where guests can view informative exhibits and watch an engaging video presentation – and Tallebudgera Creek for a refreshing post-tour dip.

You don’t need to travel far to have an out-of-this-world experience. Start planning your next unforgettable Australian getaway here.

Rising dramatically from a lake inside a volcanic crater, the forest-clad peaks of Tower Hill near Victoria’s iconic Great Ocean Road have always held great significance to the Dhauwurd Wurrung people. It became the state’s first national park in 1892 and has since been revegetated – the natural environment returning to its original condition as a State Game Reserve.

Now, with Worn Gundidj @ Tower Hill, you can stand inside the sleeping volcano alongside a Traditional Owner. See the region’s entire history play out, from the explosive forces that formed the crater around 30,000 years ago to the present day; learn about traditional uses for the native plants; and get up close with Australian fauna such as koalas, roos, echidnas, emus and sugar gliders.

Australia’s dusty Red Centre can look like a harsh and unforgiving place but seen through traditional eyes, it transforms into a land of plenty. Between Alice Springs and Uluṟu, in the shadow of Watarrka National Park’s spectacular gorges and ridges, Karrke Aboriginal Cultural Experience and Tours shares the knowledge that turns the surrounding desert into a native supermarket brimming with flavours, medicine and essential hardware.

Hunt out and eat bush tucker on the Aboriginal Cultural Tour then discover the lifesaving properties of common plants that can be used as bush cures. Once you’ve mastered the tools of survival, get an insight into Luritja and Pertame (Southern Arrernte) culture as guides explain the secrets of dot painting and show how mulga wood is shaped into spears, boomerangs and clap sticks.

Once taller than the Himalayas, South Australia’s Flinders Ranges are now home to 500-million-year-old fossils and a dramatic natural amphitheatre where the walls turn blood-red at sunset. These geological marvels are brought to life through the rich spirituality of the Adnyamathanha Traditional Owners.

One of the most important sites is the cathedral-like Sacred Canyon, which can only be visited with an Adnyamathanha guide on the Sacred Canyon - Yura Mulka - Cultural Walk, starting out from Wilpena Pound Resort. From your accommodation at the outback retreat, you’ll make the pilgrimage south past gnarled gums and into a narrow gorge to discover a place of quiet contemplation, where the sheer sandstone walls are decorated with ancient petroglyphs of animal tracks, waterholes and camp sites that can be deciphered by your guide.

You don’t need a scuba tank to go deep beneath the blue surface of the iconic Great Barrier Reef. To see its breathtaking colours, marine life and coral in a whole new way, head out with Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel and connect with unbroken oral histories that record the formation of the coral reef 6000 to 8000 years ago. 

Feel the wind in your hair as you cruise to the outer reef and learn about the complex relationship between man and the natural environment from Indigenous sea rangers representing the Gimuy Walubara Yidinji, Gunggandji, Mandingalbay Yidinji and Yirrganydji Traditional Custodian groups. As you snorkel through a dazzling underwater world inhabited by brightly coloured fish, rays and turtles, you’ll meet some of the totems and characters from Dreamtime stories.

You haven’t truly experienced Australia until you’ve been immersed in the traditions and stories of its Land Owners. Your next adventure starts here.