Sydney is home to countless Aboriginal storylines – many of them informing powerful experiences you can have today. Here’s how you can connect with Aboriginal culture in Sydney. 

Learn about the waterways 

Sydney Harbour has buzzed with life for thousands of years. For Traditional Custodians, its bays were hubs of hunting, fishing and camping, and they remain culturally significant today. Jump aboard the Mari Nawi (big canoe) with Tribal Warrior Cultural Cruise to learn about the Cadigal, Guringai, Wangal, Gammeraigal and Wallumedegal people and their connection to these waters. You’ll sail for two hours, learning the Aboriginal names and spiritual and cultural significance of Sydney landmarks before disembarking to Be-lang-le-wool (Clark Island). Here, you’ll learn about fishing practices before experiencing an immersive cultural performance of music and traditional dance. 
 
On Dreamtime Southern X’s The Rocks Aboriginal Dreaming Tour, you’ll be taken on a 90-minute walk exploring the storylines of Aboriginal heritage specific to this area. As your guide shows you a number of culturally important sites, learn about the Dreamtime as well as the local Aboriginal people’s deep spiritual connection to the adjoining waterways and foreshores, and how they used the land, water and seasonal foods. 

To take your learning to another level, ascend to new heights and hear the history of this land with the Burrawa Aboriginal Climb Experience on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Led by a First Nations storyteller, you’ll climb to the top of the iconic bridge while hearing Aboriginal stories and the importance of sites across the harbour. 
 

Connect with Country  

Out of the city, gain valuable insights into life on Country from Laurie Bimson of Guringai Aboriginal Tours, courtesy of the three-hour Basin Track Tour. Bimson leads visitors to culturally significant sites within the stunning bushland of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Discover sandstone engravings and stencil art, and learn how Aboriginal people enjoyed food, shelter, community and spirituality at the special place.

If you’d prefer a self-guided walking tour, head south to the Royal National Park to explore Jibbon headland. A 5km-return walk follows a well-marked bush track to Jibbon Beach, the traditional home of the Dharawal people. Jibbon headland features significant Aboriginal rock carvings and a midden – a collection of shells and bones that indicates a place of food gathering and consumption – dating back 3,000 years. 

Inviting you to immerse yourself in the spirit of Country, Natcha Cultural Tours offers experiences throughout NSW National Parks. Choose your location from the Royal National Park, La Perouse and Kamay Bay and you’ll follow a journey created by founder Eric Brown, a descendant of the Yuin, Bidgigal, Dharawal and Gundungarra people. Learn about language revival, land and bush foods, native medicines, traditional dance, and song, while grounding yourself on Country.

Go beyond the ordinary

An Aboriginal cultural performance is something that stays with you forever. You only have to witness a soul-stirring production by Bangarra to know this is true. A company of professional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders performers, Bangarra intertwines theatre, dance, music, poetry and design. Bangarra Dance Theatre sits at the end of Wharf 4/5 in Walsh Bay, with stunning views over the water and towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge so, if you’re lucky enough to catch a show, you’ll be wowed by both the performance and the location

Just outside of Sydney, take in the magnificent sights of the Blue Mountains via a Buunyal Tour at Scenic World. The only of its kind in the Blue Mountains, it’s an authentic Aboriginal experience on Gundungurra Country developed by Uncle David King, a Gundungurra Custodian. Learn about local lore, native animals and plants as you ride on the world’s steepest train, the Scenic Railway, into the valley where you’ll walk beneath the rainforest canopy with your guide. From here you’ll traverse the valley on the Scenic Cableway, then hear a Dreamtime story about the formation of the Jamison Valley on the Scenic Skyway.

See the past informing the present 

With so much heritage and history woven through Aboriginal artistic expression, there are myriad ways to connect in Sydney. Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operativeis a space dedicated to sharing Aboriginal stories through art, with many senior artists acting as mentors to emerging talent. As the longest running Aboriginal-owned-and-run arts organisation, this Leichardt gallery is rich with inspiration. Whether you’re keen to catch one of the exhibitions or browse the collection, Boomalli is well worth a visit. 

For collections spanning from art to everyday life, book one of the Australian Museum’s Waranara tours. This 45-minute tour led by a First Nations guide will highlight the Aboriginal knowledge systems and sustainable practices that have been passed down from generation to generation. Informed by the museum’s collection of objects and artefacts, this tour will help you grow your knowledge base of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

For a more hands-on experience, you can take a guided walk in Parramatta with Koori Kinnections. Not only will you hear about the rich history of the area that is home to the Dharug people, you’ll be able to take part in a cultural activity, such as weaving with traditional resources. Stroll through Parramatta Park and along the river as you hear about connection to Country and the use of the area’s resources in art, culture and daily life.

To see the work of Aboriginal artists and makers, Blak Markets at Tallawoladah Lawn in The Rocks is your go-to. Browse 20 plus Aboriginal stalls offering authentic artworks, jewellery and homewares, with all profits going towards enriching First Nations Communities. Check social media for future market dates. Created by Aboriginal organisation  First Hand Solutions, the markets connect you with contemporary artists so you can find a special piece or meaningful gift. 

Sample native ingredients

From the zesty popping pearls of native finger lime to the powerful aroma of bush honey, the tantalising flavours of Australian ingredients are hard to pass up. In Sydney, you’ll find many ways to taste them for yourself. Housed underneath Australia's most iconic building, the Sydney Opera House, Midden by Mark Olive is a restaurant that celebrates native ingredients. Here you can experience fine dining with a view, sampling dishes like wild thyme hummus or kangaroo prosciutto, all envisaged by Bunjalung man and ambassador chef, Mark Olive.

Splendour Tailored Tours also lets you pair knowledge with flavours, on its five-hour Indigenous Culture tour. Guests embark on a two-hour walk with an Aboriginal guide, enjoy morning tea with native ingredients as well as a two-course lunch. An additional hour canbrown be added to include a walk through Yiribana Gallery, where a collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artworks are on display in Naala Badu, the North Building of the Art Gallery of NSW. Yiribana is free to enter every day of the week, regardless of whether you are on a tour or not.

While you’re there, grab a snack or drink from Naala Badu’s kiosk featuring sustainably sourced native ingredients, created in collaboration with Ngemba Weilwan woman and Indigiearth founder Sharon Winsor. Sit outside amongst the sculptures and enjoy bites like coconut crumble with Davidson plum or spiced tuna salad with roasted wattleseed butter. 

If you’re interested in bringing new flavours to your own cooking, you can take part in a First Nations cooking class at Sydney Seafood School. Not only will you learn about sourcing native ingredients and pairing them with seafood, but you’ll get to make (and eat) cracking dishes like prawn and warrigal greens dumplings. Held in collaboration with Luke Bourke and the National Indigenous Culinary Institute, the class offers a contemporary exploration of Australian ingredients.
 

Learn about native flora

To get even closer to the source of native flavours, take a deep dive into the plants that have been an integral part of life in the Eora Nation for millennia. Join a Barangaroo Aboriginal Cultural Tour to take in the more than 75,000 native trees and shrubs that flourish in the reserve. Led by a team of Aboriginal educators, these experiences traverse the six-hectare headlands and are made for green thumbs and anyone keen to connect with this place of spiritual and cultural significance.

North of the city, Australia By Nature offers a Salty Air & Aboriginal Bush Tucker tour. The seven-hour journey takes you through Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park to Barrenjoey Lighthouse in Palm Beach, before you stop for a picnic lunch at Whale Beach. You’ll then take a one-hour bush walk in the bushland surrounding Narrabeen Lagoon, where a First Nations guide from Bush to Bowl (an Aboriginal-owned social enterprise) will point out native plants and their uses as food, medicine and tools. 

Further your knowledge on these traditional uses of Australia’s flora with an Aboriginal Bush Tucker Tour at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. A one-hour wander through the Cadi Jam Ora garden, with your First Nations guide will highlight how these ingredients that have been relied upon for thousands of years are now being adapted to modern plates and palates. You’ll get the chance to sample them too.