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.