The Cairns and Great Barrier Reef region is the only destination where you can experience Australia's two Indigenous cultures: the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
 
Indigenous custodians have nurtured the Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics World Heritage areas of the Cairns and Great Barrier Reef region for tens of thousands of years. Their stories form an oral history of how the reef and rainforest landscapes were created, how they have evolved and how they have given sustenance to the world's oldest living culture.
 
There is a wide variety of tours and experiences offered by Indigenous tour operators, with cultural insights given through performance and art, guided walkabouts, and hands-on activities such as hunting with a spear, boomerang throwing, painting and basket weaving.
 
Multifaceted cultural events bring Traditional Owners together for a display of dance, art, music and fashion, while cultural centres introduce the stories and traditions of Australia's first people.
 
There are campgrounds and accommodation owned by Indigenous people and Queensland National Parks provides signage explaining the cultural significance of the traditional land you are passing through. Tours include:
 
PORT DOUGLAS, THE DAINTREE RAINFOREST AND COOKTOWN
 
Adventure North Australia
Meet the custodians of the world's oldest rainforest and experience a ceremonial welcome before the Kuku Yalanji guide you through ancient Aboriginal coastal country. Have lunch at Mossman Gorge Cultural Centre.
www.adventurenorthaustralia.com

Flames Of The Forest
Discover the magic of the Dreamtime and dine on tropical regional produce beneath the rainforest canopy. Kuku Yalanji performers immerse you in storytelling, didgeridoo and song lines of the ancestors.
flamesoftheforest.com.au
 
Thala Beach Nature Reserve Resort
Meet Kuku Yalanji elders who share stories of culture, history and Aboriginal tradition at an eco stay on a private headland between Cairns and Port Douglas. Learn about bush tucker food from traditional hunter-gatherers.
thalabeach.com.au

Janbal Gallery
Learn traditional Aboriginal painting and see Brian “Binna” Swindley and his mother Shirley's works depicting Dreamtime stories, Kuku Yalanji life, the animals of the Great Barrier Reef and the rainforests of the World Heritage-listed Wet Tropics.
janbalgallery.com.au
 
Mossman Gorge Centre
A traditional smoking ceremony welcomes you to Kuku Yalanji country at Mossman Gorge Centre. Join a Traditional Owner on a Dreamtime walk to learn how their people sustained themselves in the world's oldest rainforest.
mossmangorge.com.au
 
Culture Connect
Join a guided tour or private charter to traditional country in the World Heritage Daintree rainforest and the tropical savannah country of Cape York. Experience festivals and events on the Indigenous cultural calendar from a unique perspective.
cultureconnect.com.au
 
Walkabout Adventures
Traditional Custodians show how their ancestral lands are the source of Dreamtime stories and songs in a tour for just 11 people. Learn about bush foods and medicines, Aboriginal history, culture and beliefs, and experience the connection between country and Indigenous peoples.
walkaboutadventures.com.au
 
Laura Dance Festival
Watch 20 different Indigenous communities come together for culture, song and dance at Laura. Home to a significant collection of rock art, the internationally recognised celebration of Aboriginal culture attracts thousands of visitors to the traditional Bora ground biannually, with the next in 2020.
anggnarra.org.au
 
CAIRNS AND KURANDA
 
Tjapukai Aboriginal Culture Park
Traditional Owners have created the world's longest running stage show depicting the rainforest culture of theDjabugay people, while modern technology and live performers deliver the Djabugay Creation story. Join interactive hunting and bush food demonstrations and a night-time fire ceremony. 
tjapukai.com.au
 
Down Under Tours
Experience Aboriginal culture with commentary in six languages. The trip includes Mossman Gorge Centre and their Dreamtime Walk, Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park's shows, and Rainforestation Nature Park where the Pamagirri Aboriginal Dancers explain Aboriginal culture.
downundertours.com
 
Rainforestation Nature Park Pamagirri Aboriginal Experience
Watch a ceremonial dance in the rainforest and see traditional hunting and gathering techniques before trying to throw a boomerang. Join the Dreamtime Walk along the Rainbow Serpent boardwalk and ride through the rainforest in an amphibious army duck.
rainforest.com.au

Reef Magic Cruises
Step back into the Great Barrier Reef's Dreamtime with Indigenous sea rangers on a day tour to two spectacular outer Great Barrier Reef sites, incorporating the world's oldest living culture and the legends that Traditional Owners have passed down over tens of thousands of years.
reefmagiccruises.com
 
Mandingalbay Ancient Indigenous Tours
Take a boat ride across Trinity Inlet to an environmental reserve at the base of Grey Peaks National Park. Enjoy dinner with authentic Indigenous dancing and entertainment followed by the unforgettable adventure of bush camping overnight on Indigenous lands.
mandingalbay.com.au
 
Cairns Indigenous Art Fair
More than 600 Indigenous visual and performing artists descend on Cairns from communities throughout mainland Queensland and the Torres Strait Islands to showcase their diverse cultures and artistic wealth at this prestigious annual event, which includes free family friendly activities.
ciaf.com.au
 
CAPE YORK / TORRES STRAIT ISLANDS
 
Winds of Zenadth
See the unique nature of Torres Strait Islander culture at the place where people throughout the islands gather to revitalise and preserve the language, art and ceremonies of Zenadth Kes. Winds of Zenadth is a bi-annual event, next held in 2020.
www.tsirc.qld.gov.au
 
CAPE YORK/ GULF OF CARPENTARIA
 
Jarramali Rock Art Tours
Visit ancient rock art galleries with a Traditional Owner and learn more about the Aboriginal connection to country. Enjoy the homestay feel of overnight camping in Cape York, Australia, on traditional country of the Kuku Yalanji people.
jarramalirockarttours.com.au

Yagurli Tours
Experience Dreamtime stories told under the brilliance of a pollution-free night sky on Australia's largest salt pans or see the crimson magic of an outback sunset on a river cruise, observing the unique wildlife of the Gulf Savannah country by dusk. 
www.yagurlitours.com.au
 
Indigenous Art Centres
Remote art centres can be found at Aboriginal communities throughout Cape York. You can see the renowned camp dog carvings of Aurukun's Wik and Kugu people, the ghost net weavings from Pormpuraaw, and the internationally acclaimed work of Lockhart River's Art Gang.
iaca.com.au
 
ENDS
 
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