Wajaana Yaam Gumbaynggirr Adventure Tours, Coffs HarbourCREDIT: Destination NSW
Learn about Aboriginal culture on a paddling tour with a difference.
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The Traditional Custodians of the Coffs Coast, the Gumbaynggirr People were known by other Aboriginal nations as the ‘sharing people’, as they welcomed others to the bounty from their rivers, mountains and floodplains. Today you can hear their stories, see their art and taste some of their traditional delicacies with memorable experiences in this region of the New South Wales Mid North Coast, around five hours’ drive north of Sydney.
Wajaana Yaam Adventure Tours, Coffs Harbour
Go stand-up paddle boarding with descendants of some of the world’s first paddlers with Wajaana Yaam Adventure Tours. All guides are Gumbaynggirr People or Aboriginal people with strong ties to Gumbaynggirr Country and, on their 2.5-hour paddling tours held on three idyllic local creeks, they’ll share ancient stories about the landscape, and introduce you to its bush tucker along the way. On the full-day (five-hour) tour, a paddle is combined with the Giingan Gumbaynggirr Cultural Experience.
Giingan Gumbaynggirr Cultural Experience, Orara East State Forest
Learn about Gumbaynggirr culture through stories, song and dance during this award-winning cultural experience in Coffs Harbour led by the Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation. During the Giingan Gumbaynggirr Cultural Experience, you’ll watch the Wajaarr Ngaarlu dancers perform and take part in a smoking ceremony before enjoying some of Aunty Jenny’s damper, made from the seeds of the basket grass that can be found nearby. Then you’ll join an interpretative walk along the Gumgali Track to Korora Lookout in the nearby Orara East State Forest, enjoying Dreaming stories along the way. The experience is usually held once a month, or once a week in school holidays.
Giingan Gumbaynggirr Cultural Experience, Coffs Harbour CREDIT: Wayila Creative
Giingan Gumbaynggirr Cultural Experience, near Coffs Harbour.
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Giingan Gumbaynggirr Cultural Experience, Coffs Harbour CREDIT: Wayila Creative
Giingan Gumbaynggirr Cultural Experience, near Coffs Harbour.
Wadjar Regional Indigenous Gallery, Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Coffs Harbour. CREDIT: Wadjar Regional Indigenous Gallery, Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre
Wadjar Regional Indigenous Gallery at Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre, north of Coffs Harbour.
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Wadjar Regional Indigenous Gallery, Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Coffs Harbour. CREDIT: Wadjar Regional Indigenous Gallery, Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre
Wadjar Regional Indigenous Gallery at Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre, north of Coffs Harbour.
Nyanggan Gapi Café, Niigi Niigi (Sealy Lookout)
At Niigi Niigi (Sealy Lookout) in the Orara East State Forest, the not-for-profit Nyanggan Gapi Café is managed by the Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation; 100 per cent of its proceeds go to local programs, including school learning centres. Here you can try Indigenous flavours in a wattleseed brownie or lemon myrtle and mixed berry muffin, along with coffee made from locally roasted coffee beans by Blackwhite Espresso. If you can’t get up to Niigi Niigi, keep an eye out for Nyanggan Gapi Café’s mobile coffee van on Bray Street, Coffs Harbour, for a quick local coffee fix.
Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Corindi Beach
At Corindi Beach, 30 minutes north of Coffs Harbour, the Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre is home to the Wadjar Regional Indigenous Gallery, the Jalumbo Keeping Place, the Pipeclay Café, a function centre and accommodation. Here you can see paintings, ceramics, prints, photos and sculptures by regional Aboriginal artists. Learn about Gumbaynggirr culture through historical and contemporary photos, and view artefacts representing more than 4,000 years of Aboriginal life in the area. When it’s time to refuel, try a spicy kangaroo wrap with Warrigal greens and wild peach chutney in the Pipeclay Café.
Coffs Harbour Highlight Selects CREDIT: Destination NSW
Learn about Aboriginal culture explore and explore the picturesque region of Coffs.
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Coffs Harbour Highlight Selects CREDIT: Destination NSW
Learn about Aboriginal culture explore and explore the picturesque region of Coffs.
Sealy Lookout, Coffs Harbour CREDIT: Destination NSW
Couple taking photos at Sealy Lookout, Coffs Harbour.
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Sealy Lookout, Coffs Harbour CREDIT: Destination NSW
Couple taking photos at Sealy Lookout, Coffs Harbour.
MORE INSPIRATIONAL STORIES
Cape Byron Lighthouse, Byron BayCREDIT: Destination NSW
See Cape Byron and beyond on an Aboriginal-led tourism experience.
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From the rocky outcrops dotting the coastline to the network of rivers flowing through the valleys, just about every corner of the New South Wales far North Coast has special significance to the people of the Bundjalung Nation. Learn more about the region’s fascinating Aboriginal history, culture and more on these experiences led by Aboriginal guides.
Catch your own lunch on the Tweed River
Join Bundjalung Nation descendant, artist and cultural educator Luther ‘The Black Cockatoo’ Cora, and a professional crabber on Tweed Eco Cruise’s four-hour Pot to Plate Adventure, held on Wednesdays. Learn about The Tweed region’s evocative past as Luther leads you into the Tweed River’s mud crab headquarters, just south of Tweed Heads, where you’ll learn how to hunt for your lunch with traditional spears. Afterwards, you’ll feast on the morning’s catch while Luther shares stories from the Yugambeh people, who hail from the state’s far northeastern tip.
Visit an Aboriginal cultural museum
The Minjungbal Aboriginal Cultural Centre is part of the Tweed Heads Historic Site, which has rich Aboriginal cultural heritage, both past and living. Located on the edge of the Ukerebagh Nature Reserve in Tweed Heads, the centre is run by the local Aboriginal community and is a top spot to learn about life in Bundjalung Country through exhibits, videos and art. Join Aboriginal guides on tours around the museum and into the reserve.
Tweed Eco Cruises, Tweed Heads CREDIT: Tweed Eco Cruises
Bundjalung Nation descendant Luther "The Black Cockatoo" Cora, cooking a mud crab for guests on the Pot to Plate Adventure Tour with Tweed Eco Cruises.
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Tweed Eco Cruises, Tweed Heads CREDIT: Tweed Eco Cruises
Bundjalung Nation descendant Luther "The Black Cockatoo" Cora, cooking a mud crab for guests on the Pot to Plate Adventure Tour with Tweed Eco Cruises.
Take a cultural walk on the coast
The popular beach holiday destination of Byron Bay is the home of the Arakwal people. Explore Byron Bay’s Guided Aboriginal Tours will help you experience the bay in a whole new way.
On a walking tour of Cape Byron or Broken Head (15 minutes’ drive to the south) with passionate Arakwal woman Delta Kay, you’ll learn about the region’s Aboriginal history and hear evocative Dreaming stories connected to local landmarks. You’ll also learn about bush foods and medicinal plants along the way and leave with a deeper connection to this iconic landscape.
Search for bush tucker in the hinterland
Delta Kay also leads tasty bush tucker tours in three Byron hinterland locations. Her two-hour Bush Tucker Walk runs in partnership with local eco-tourism operator Vision Walks Eco-Tours, and takes in the towns of Mullumbimby and Federal on alternate Saturdays. On every walk, Delta shares her deep knowledge of the region’s edible natural bounty followed by a bush tea and local snack.
She also leads a Bush Tucker Walk near the hinterland town of Bangalow on Thursday evenings with Explore Byron Bay; the tour reveals the fascinating ways that the Bundjalung People have lived in harmony with the land and sea for thousands of years, and also includes a bush tucker snack.
Broken Head Beach, Byron Bay CREDIT: Destination NSW
Broken Head Beach, Broken Head.
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Broken Head Beach, Byron Bay CREDIT: Destination NSW
Broken Head Beach, Broken Head.
Delta Kay leads tasty bush tucker tours, Vision Walks Eco-Tours CREDIT: Wendy Bithell, Vision Walks Eco-Tours
On a Bush Tucker Walk with Vision Walks Eco-Tours in the Byron Bay hinterland.
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Delta Kay leads tasty bush tucker tours, Vision Walks Eco-Tours CREDIT: Wendy Bithell, Vision Walks Eco-Tours
On a Bush Tucker Walk with Vision Walks Eco-Tours in the Byron Bay hinterland.