Australia’s best Aboriginal tours and experiences for kids

Looking for the best Aboriginal tours and experiences for kids? Australia is home to the oldest continuous culture on Earth, and educational tours and experiences are to be found all around Australia.

Indigenous tourism in Australia is entering a new era with exciting storytelling experiences, light shows and immersive tours. While visiting the sacred sites of the traditional custodians of the country – whether at Uluru or the Great Barrier Reef – is an essential way to learn about Australia’s Indigenous heritage, it’s also important to teach kids (and remind ourselves) how to be respectful while there.

Victoria’s Indigenous tours

Budj Bim Cultural Landscape

Southwestern Victoria

Immerse yourself in nature while exploring the wetlands and lava flows of Gunditjmara Country. Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list for ‘outstanding universal value’, Gunditjmara Country is the home of the Gunditjmara people, who created one of the world’s oldest and largest aquaculture systems. Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism is a First Nations-owned and operated experience offering visitors a personally guided cultural experience of the area. See wetlands, lava flows and ancient aquaculture systems that were constructed at least 6,600 ago and the remains of over 300 Aboriginal stone houses.

Join a two-hour tour of Tae Rak (Lake Condah) ($89 adults), which takes in the Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre and the surrounding wetlands, or a longer tour ($159) includes a visit to the Kurtonitj Indigenous Protected Area, with ancient fish traps and remnants of Aboriginal stone houses. Explore significant sites and discover the region’s heritage along raised boardwalks designed to highlight and preserve the precious natural environment.

NT’s Indigenous tours and experiences

As the heart of the Red Centre, Uluru is an obvious destination to step back in time with the Anangu. It doesn’t matter how many times you visit, you’ll feel an overwhelming sense of spirituality the moment you arrive. You can visit the Gallery of Central Australia, then sign up for a Maruku Arts dot-painting workshop with an Anangu elder – little ones will love learning about ancient symbols as well as traditional tools for hunting and gathering. Further afield, jump aboard with SEIT Outback Australia for day trips to traditional Aboriginal homelands.

Wintjiri Wiru

Ayers Rock Resort

All eyes are on Uluru as the Anangu share a creation story with an impressive drone, light and laser show. Wintjiri Wiru is a nightly cultural storytelling experience at Ayers Rock Resort for children five and above. Wintjiri Wiru uses more than 1000 drones to bring to life a chapter of the ancestral Mala story from Kaltukatjara (Docker River) to Uluru. From a sustainably built timber platform, tourists watch the desert and the sky light up with dancing drones and projections of the Mala, the rufous hare-wallaby. There’s a haunting soundtrack of Anangu storytelling and Inma (songs) that have been passed down from generation to generation. Wintjiri Wiru is a magical experience enjoyed during a three-hour Sunset Dinner ($385 adults, $125 children) with native Australian canapes and cocktails or as a 1.5-hour Twilight or After Dark show ($190 adults, $95 children) featuring Australian wine, with a cheese and dessert hamper. There are also food options available for children. Ayers Rock Resort has a range of accommodation to suit all families wanting to experience Wintjiri Wiru.

Read: Why Wintjiri Wiru is an unforgettable family experience in the spiritual heart of Australia

Hunt a (fake) kangaroo at Top Didj

Katherine

If you’re after an adventure where you can chuck spears at a fake kangaroo target and paint your own Indigenous-inspired artwork, Top Didj is totes the place for you. It’s just as good if you’re a culture seeker, too, because along with tunes from a pro didgeridoo player, you’ll get to hear cool stories about tribal life.

Uluru Bush Tucker Journeys

Uluru

Witchetty grubs and honey ants might not be at the top of your grocery list, but bush foods like these were what Indigenous Australians ate before European settlement. Taste tradition on this educational and tantalisingly tasty tour, where you’ll nibble on native ingredients, including a grub. Yummo! Uluru Bush Tucker Journeys is one of the free guest activities on offer for guests staying at Ayers Rock Resort.

Parrtjima – A Festival in Light

Alice Springs, NT

Watch the West MacDonnell Ranges glow a rainbow of colours during the Northern Territory’s popular Parrtjima festival. The free 10-night festival at Alice Springs Desert Park celebrates art and culture in exciting and contemporary ways, with mesmerising light and sound installations and music. The festival is also a great opportunity to learn more about Indigenous culture via talks, food demonstrations and children’s activities. Previous years have included workshops and a film program at Araluen Arts Centre. The festival is usually held in April. Stay at Discovery Parks – Alice Springs, where you’ll find a new waterslide and free Sunday pancake breakfast.

Experience epic diversity at Alice Springs Desert Park

Alice Springs, NT

A treasure trove of learning and fun awaits at Alice Springs Desert Park, with experiences filled with impossibly cute Aussie critters like dingoes and native birds of prey. Closely connected to the local Arrernte people, kids can learn about the region’s epic diversity of nature and culture. It will bamboozle you with awesomeness.

Look to the stars on an Outback Sky Journey

Uluru, NT

Light pollution makes it hard to really see the stars in big cities. But in the outback, the stars shine brightly. The Outback Sky Journeys program (also at Ayers Rock Resort) has major ‘whoa’ factor, as it allows families to gaze at a bazillion stars twinkling away while they learn how Indigenous Australians use them to navigate.

QLD’s Indigenous tours

Guided Dreamtime walks at Mossman Gorge

Tropical North Queensland

When visiting Mossman Gorge make sure you do a Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk, conducted by the local Indigenous people. Ngadiku (Nar-di-gul) means stories and legends from a long time ago in local Kuku Yalanji language. The tour begins with a traditional smoking ceremony to cleanse and ward off bad spirits. Next, your guide will lead you on a meandering stroll through the rainforest, observing traditional huts or humpies along the way. Your experienced interpretive Indigenous guide demonstrates traditional plant use, identifies bush food sources, and provides a narrative of the rainforest and their special relationship with this unique environment. Discover traditions like making bush soaps and ochre painting. At the end of the tour, enjoy traditional bush tea and damper – the perfect treat after your journey.

Enjoy storytelling with a splash at Jellurgal Cultural Centre

Gold Coast, QLD

At Jellurgal Cultural Centre, you can burn off some energy on a beachfront storytelling walk to reconnect with the land, followed by amazing cultural performances including ceremonial dancing and smoking ceremonies as well as didgeridoo performances. Pack your swimmers and afterwards you can take a dip in awesome Tallebudgera Creek.

Deadly After Dark with Mandingalbay Authentic Indigenous Tours

Cairns

Combine nature, history, and culture on a sunset cruise like no other with Mandingalbay Authentic Indigenous Tours‘ ‘Deadly After Dark’ tour on Friday nights. Led by Mandingalbay Yidinji rangers, this two-hour experience takes you through ancient mangroves to a yulu (stingray) shelter. Guests will enjoy storytelling as they indulge in delectable canapés and refreshments crafted from locally sourced native ingredients.

Reef Magic

Great Barrier Reef

If you’ve ever taken your kids on an island adventure, chances are they’ve experienced a glass-bottom boat tour. It’s special watching turtles, sharks and fish glide past the boat’s see-through hull. And a great way to introduce little people to the ocean without getting them wet. But, let’s be honest, once you’ve been on a few of these tours, they begin to feel a bit “same same”. Leading Great Barrier Reef cruise operator Reef Magic has come up with something different. Travel to the new Reef Magic Pontoon on Moore Reef and sign up for an Indigenous-themed glass-bottom boat tour.

Not only will the Indigenous guides point out corals their ancestors traditionally used for a natural sunscreen, they’ll also show you the wooden weapons they used for spearing fish and explain past and present hunting practices. The tour is a fantastic way to introduce Indigenous tourism and marine biology to kids in a bite-sized, fun format.

Catch a crab with Walkabout Cultural Adventures

Port Douglas, QLD

Get grubby on a hike through the World Heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest on a Walkabout Cultural Adventure tour with one of its traditional custodians. You will see the best of the mighty forest, learn about the Kuku Yalanji people, see cool cultural sites, collect bush tucker, and learn how to hunt and catch a crab.

Pamagirri Aboriginal Experience

Rainforestation Nature Park, Kuranda, QLD

The Pamagirri Aboriginal Experience invites you to discover authentic Indigenous Australian culture. During the tour, you can watch a traditional dance performance in the Rainforest Amphitheatre and join the Dreamtime Walk to learn about hunting with spears and boomerangs and how to play the didgeridoo. There is also the possibility to enhance your Indigenous experience further with the Pamagirri Rainforest Walkabout, an intimate and interactive look into Indigenous cultures that takes you into the Rainforest with your very own Pamagirri Aboriginal Guide.

SA’s Indigenous tours

Hop on a Spirit of the Coorong cruise

Coorong, SA

Don’t miss the opportunity to discover the day-to-day life of Coorong’s Indigenous people on a full- or half-day Spirit of the Coorong cruise. Coorong is a small South Australian town a little over two hours away from Adelaide that had the largest population of Indigenous Australians in the country at the time of white settlement. Cruise downstream from the end of the Murray River to the Murray Mouth passing by magical wetlands and fishing villages, and witness the filming location of the Storm Boy films.

NSW’s Indigenous tours

Burrawa – Aboriginal Climb Experience on the Harbour Bridge

Sydney

Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge has become more than a bucket-list adventure. Now, you can learn more about the city’s Indigenous history and culture as you scale the iconic coat hanger. On the Burrawa (meaning “above”) Climb (from $364), you’ll be led by a First Nations guide who’ll share stories about landmarks such as Bennelong and Barangaroo. The BridgeClimb tour runs for three hours, during which time you’ll scale 1,332 steps to the summit for 360-degree views of one of the world’s most famous destinations. The tour cost includes a donation to Tribal Warrior, an Aboriginal-led not-for-profit that runs mentoring programs for youth, broken families and inmates.

Go on an Aboriginal Blue Mountains Walkabout

Faulconbridge, NSW

I reckon we can learn stacks from the traditional custodians of our land. There’s no better way than on an Aboriginal Blue Mountains Walkabout eco-trek with Aboriginal guides that takes you past ancient rock art and adorable local wildlife, while you learn about the local Darug people.

Forage in the gardens for an Aboriginal Heritage Tour

Sydney, NSW

Forage your way through the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney on a fact-packed tour with an Aboriginal guide, who’ll share the history and stories of the Cadigal people – the traditional owners of the Sydney city area. You’ll also sample native bush foods and learn about amazing plant uses. Just my kind of tour.

Brewarrina’s fish traps

Brewarrina, NSW

Brewarrina’s National Heritage-listed fish traps (Baiame’s Ngunnhu) are truly mind-boggling. The complex network of stones in the Barwon River are arranged to form ponds and channels to catch fish as they travel upstream.

Your guide from the Brewarrina Aboriginal Cultural Museum will lead you around the fish traps, explaining how this ingenious system was devised more than 40,000 years ago. It’s one of the oldest human-made structures on the planet, and eight different tribes were involved in its creation.

Western Australia’s Indigenous tours

Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures

Denham, Coral Coast

Join Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures invites families to immerse in nature and indigenous culture to discover the ancient traditions of local Aboriginal people. Learn how they have survived for thousands of years in this unique saltwater playground. Visit the world-class Francois Peron National Park, Hamelin Pool Stromatolites and the magnificent Dirk Hartog Island, the largest island in Western Australia. They are a local company and are proud that they have local knowledge and an in-depth understanding of the Shark Bay region. All tours are conducted with a hands-on approach and are non-strenuous making them ideal for all ages and fitness levels.

Tours include walking, 4WDing, didgeridoo dreaming, kayaking and SUP tours, overnight safaris and youth camps.

This article originally appeared in Holidays with Kids magazine. To subscribe to the latest issue, click here.

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