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
West Head Lookout, Ku-ring-gai Chase National ParkCREDIT: Destination NSW
Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is home to a number of culturally significant sites.
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Follow in the footsteps of the world’s oldest living culture to learn all about ancient Aboriginal traditions, history, art and native food on walking tours across Sydney.
Walking on sacred ground
On Dreamtime Southern X’s The Rocks Aboriginal Dreaming Tour, you’ll be taken on a 90-minute walk that reveals Aboriginal heritage within Sydney Harbour. You’ll learn about the local Aboriginal people’s deep spiritual connection to the adjoining waterways and foreshores, how they used the land and water and sustained themselves on seasonal foods. As well as explaining how this ancient wisdom continues to reveal itself in The Rocks today, your guide will introduce you to the Dreamtime, show you how plants and smoke are used in Aboriginal ceremonies and take you to a number of culturally important sites.
Going beneath the surface
Sydney’s newest commercial precinct, Barangaroo, may be abuzz with office workers and diners, but it’s also a spiritual and cultural site of great significance for Sydney’s Aboriginal people. The precinct was named for an 18th-century Cammeraygal Aboriginal woman who was one of the key figures in the first dealings with European settlers. Today you can join an Aboriginal Cultural Tour to discover how Traditional Owners from the Eora nation flourished on the harbour’s once-pristine shores. Tours are led by a team of Aboriginal educators and take in the abundant flora of the six-hectare headland of Barangaroo Reserve — it’s home to some 75,000 Australian native trees and shrubs.
Gardens of knowledge
Enjoy an authentic Aboriginal experience in the heart of the city on a 90-minute Aboriginal Culture Tour of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Led by Aboriginal guides, you will be introduced to traditional cultural uses of native flora in the beautiful harbourside gardens. Learn about the history of the Traditional Owners of the area, the Gadigal people, and discover how they harvested local seasonal foods, crafted beautiful, practical artefacts and cared for Country for tens of thousands of years.
Caring for Country
Gain valuable insights into life on Country from a Traditional Owner, Guringai man Laurie Bimson of Guringai Aboriginal Tours, courtesy of the three-hour Basin Track Aboriginal Site Tour. Beginning with a traditional Welcome to Country, visitors are led to culturally significant sites within the stunning bushland of UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, 25km north of the city centre. Discover sandstone engravings and stencil art, and learn how Aboriginal people enjoyed food, shelter, community and spirituality in this special place. Laurie has been operating tours since 2009 and is an adviser to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Follow ancient footsteps
If you’re after a self-guided walking tour that combines Aboriginal culture and art with beautiful beaches, head south to the Royal National Park to explore Jibbon headland. This 5km-return walk starts at the ferry wharf in Bundeena and follows a well-marked bush track to Jibbon Beach. The traditional home of the Dharawal people, Jibbon headland features significant Aboriginal rock carvings depicting animals and Dreaming spirits. Behind the beach, among the sand dunes, you’ll find Aboriginal middens — a collection of shells and bones that indicate places of food gathering and consumption — dating back 3,000 years.
The Dharawal people created and maintained a campsite here through the careful use of fire and plant management, creating and maintaining a habitat that attracted animals they wanted to hunt and ensured fruits and berries grew in the area. Today it’s a beautiful outdoor museum.
Dreamtime Southern X Tours, Sydney CREDIT: Destination NSW
Aboriginal tour guide Margret Campbell of Dreamtime Southern X in The Rocks, Sydney.
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Dreamtime Southern X Tours, Sydney CREDIT: Destination NSW
Aboriginal tour guide Margret Campbell of Dreamtime Southern X in The Rocks, Sydney.
Aboriginal Cultural Tours, Barangaroo Reserve CREDIT: Destination NSW
Women learning about Aboriginal culture on a tour with Aboriginal Cultural Tours, Barangaroo Reserve.
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Aboriginal Cultural Tours, Barangaroo Reserve CREDIT: Destination NSW
Women learning about Aboriginal culture on a tour with Aboriginal Cultural Tours, Barangaroo Reserve.