Don’t miss out on these incredible Indigenous food experiences

The only First Nations-owned gallery and café in Brisbane’s CBD, Birrunga Gallery is a cultural hub that transforms from a café by day to a wine bar by night. Known for its modern Australian cuisine with a native twist, explore the latest exhibitions with a First Nations guide, then settle in for a feast of delights that might include crocodile bao buns, braised eggplant with saltbush jus, teriyaki-style barramundi or kangaroo loin.

The café is open for lunch on weekdays, and serves dinner on Thursdays and Fridays by booking only. 

Ochre Restaurant, Cairns

A fine dining take on Indigenous flavours can be found at the award-winning Ochre Restaurant in the northern hub of Cairns. Led by renowned Aussie chef, Craig Squire, Ochre specialises in sustainable regional Australian produce, and the menu is awash with local flavours - but with an adventurous twist. The seasonal menu is ever-changing, but diners can expect delights such as wattle seed damper with native dukkah, kangaroo satay, tempura Gulf bug, followed by dessert of wattle seed pavlova, topped with Davidson plum sorbet and macadamia biscotti.

If you're peckish, go for the antipasti platter which includes emu wonton, wild spiced kangaroo and smoked crocodile. A smorgasbord for the tastebuds. 

Kup Murri at Mungalla Station, Mungalla

Make your way to Townsville, where an hour’s drive north sits a cattle station and rural homestead home to the Mungulla Tours authentic kup murri experience.

Get to know the region’s local Nywaigi People - a culture that has thrived for 45,000 years - through stories and song while you enjoy a meal cooked traditional-style in a bayngga oven and served around the campfire.

Flames of the Forest, Port Douglas

Indulge in a feast held in the heart of the Daintree with Flames of the Forest, one of North Queensland's most popular Indigenous food experiences.

Under a canopy of ancient Wet Tropics rainforest and twinkling fairy lights, taste a seven-course banquet of local produce accompanied by a lauded performance of music and storytelling from the local Kuku Yalanji People.

Walkabout Cultural Adventures, Port Douglas

Wander Kuku Yalanji country with local guides on a tour with Walkabout Cultural Adventures, a 100% Aboriginal-owned and run business that meanders the iconic Daintree Rainforest and beaches of Cape Tribulation.

You’ll sample seasonal bush tucker while on your journey, learn about how to turn plants into bush medicine, and try your hand at traditional spear-fishing. 

Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tours, Port Douglas

Join one of the Kubirri Warra brothers for an Indigenous food experience on beautiful Cooya Beach, the traditional fishing grounds of the Kuku Yalanji people. You’ll be led through three diverse ecosystems - beach, mudflat and mangrove, learning how to spear, and forage for food and medicine.

Saltwater Eco Tours, Sunshine Coast

Set sail on a heritage-listed vessel with Saltwater Eco Tours and your maritime adventure will blend culture and cuisine. Travelling through the canals of Mooloolaba, guests gain insight into the history and culture of the Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi People – and the Bushtucker Cruise is a unique way to taste native ingredients along the way.

Over two hours, indulge in five courses of canapes that combine Indigenous flavours and local Sunshine Coast produce, such as native spiced prawn skewers and slow-cooked kangaroo tacos – with Aboriginal music and stories to set the scene for a magical lunch on the water. 

Nyanda Cultural Tours, Brisbane

Make your own rite of passage journey with one of Brisbane’s Traditional Owners thanks to Nyanda Cultural Tours. Guests are led on a ‘rite of passage journey’ in discovering how Aboriginal people used the natural environment to develop tools and other and items for everyday use, while immersed in the Nudgee waterholes boardwalk facility.

The tour includes a smoking ceremony, fire making, and a focus on understanding local bush foods (including a chance to have a taste) for a well-rounded Indigneous food experience.

Taribelang Bunda Cultural Tours, Bundaberg

Visiting Bundaberg? While the rum distillery, ginger beer and bountiful farm gates might already be on your radar, Taribelang offers an immersive half-day tour where guests will taste bush tucker during a picnic-style morning tea, learn about traditional artefacts like how the boomerang was used in everyday life, immerse in Dreaming, and listen to important teachings about caring for the land, before discovering other sites of significance that play an integral role in Taribelang history.

Adventure North Australia, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef

Take a unique cultural journey from coast to rainforest, and walk in the steps of the Kuku Yalanji people's ancestors with Adventure North Australia. The Daintree Dreaming Traditional Aboriginal Fishing tour is a unique way to connect to culture, exploring Mossman Gorge before learning traditional hunting techniques among the mangroves and mudflats of Cooya Beach with a Kubirri Warra clan member.

Tours cater to a maximum of 16 people, though guests have the option to book a private fishing experience, too. 

Desert Dreaming Centre, Outback Queensland

The power of one woman’s vision to share Indigenous culture has manifested at Barcaldine’s Desert Dreaming Centre – a unique space where owner and operator Cheryl Thompson offers authentic experiences from Aboriginal arts and crafts workshops to song and dance shows, and for those who love to learn through food – a cooking class using bush tucker to showcase the depth and uniqueness of Indigenous ingredients. 

Gudjuda’s Bush Tucker Tour, Townsville

A traditional smoking ceremony welcomes you to Country, before Elders walk you through bushland trails to impart knowledge of traditional bush foods and medicines found in the area. For over 60,000 years, Aboriginal communities have been using different fruits, tree leaves, branches, bark and bushes for medicine and food, while transforming other plants and trees into firesticks, spears, baskets and canoes. This knowledge is imparted to guests as a small group tour operated by Gudjuda Reference Group Aboriginal Corporation.