Explore Queensland’s tropical rainforest with these Indigenous experiences

Home to the world’s oldest and continuing living culture, there’s no better way to explore Queensland’s Wet Tropics rainforest than through the eyes of our Traditional Owners. Sharing their knowledge via storytelling, song, dance, art and expeditions, join a tour run by a First Nations guide and you’ll start to see the world differently on your next escape up north. 

Fortunately, the Cairns & Great Barrier Reef region is full of goose bump-inducing experiences that you’ll be yarning to your mates about for years to come. Not sure where to start? We’ve rounded up our top picks below. 

Walkabout Cultural Adventures

Immerse yourself in a place where the reef meets the rainforest with Walkabout Cultural Adventures. You’ll be guided by Juan Walker, a passionate local who has been sharing his deep connection to the land with visitors for nearly two decades. On the Ngana Julaymba Dungay tour, you’ll journey through Mossman Gorge and across the Daintree River to the coastline. It’s here, in Juan’s home, office and playground, that you’ll explore the Kuku Yalanji people's environment, learning about different foods and medicines utilised from nature, as well as snacking one some tasty bush tucker. You’ll round out the experience with a lesson on ancient hunting techniques. Your toes will sink into the sand of the mangroves while you hop from one foot to the other while attempting to spear mud crabs for your dinner.

Mandingalbay Authentic Indigenous Tours

Walk on the ancient lands that lay between the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park with the region’s direct descendents - the Mandingalbay Yidinji people on Mandingalbay Authentic Indigenous Tours. Skirting the coastline and boasting open woodland, mangroves and wetlands, this diverse area of rugged, raw beauty is one that needs to be seen to be believed. The Hands On Country Eco Tour, which is 100% Aboriginal owned and operated, will see you gliding across the Trinity Inlet, deep into the belly of the Great Barrier Reef with forest-clad mountains rising up around you. You’ll join a sacred smoking ceremony and welcome to country, before trekking the Mayi Bugan Rainforest Trail with an Indigenous guide, foraging for native foods and bush medicine whilst learning about ancient Aboriginal traditions and customs.

Pamagirri Rainforest Walkabout 

Stretch your legs with the Pamagirri Rainforest Walkabout at Rainforestation - a sprawling 100 acres of World Heritage Rainforest located just five minutes drive from Kuranda Village. Immerse yourself on a cultural expedition with the Pamagirri Corroboree - a traditional dance performance depicting aspects of Indigenous culture including animals, food gathering and hunting. The haunting sounds of the didgeridoo and clapsticks, reverberating in nature’s amphitheatre is something you won’t soon forget. After a guided Dreamtime tour - on a walkway modelled on the Rainbow Serpent - learn long-passed-down teachings as you try your hand at boomerang throwing. The euphoria you’ll feel at successfully learning to throw one, hearing it whiz through the sky, is second to none.

Mossman Gorge Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk

The boulder-strewn Mossman Gorge is the perfect place to experience First Nations culture, with their Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk being our top pick. Ngadiku, which means stories and legends from a long time ago in local Kuku Yalanji language, will begin with a smoking ceremony, where you’ll bathe yourself in the curls of fire smoke to cleanse and ward off bad spirits. You’ll then meander through gentle, winding tracks, along with your Indigenous guide, who will regale you with yarns about the Kuku Yalanji’s deep and enduring relationship with the area’s native flora and fauna. After witnessing the magic of a vibrant ochre demonstration, you’ll round out the experience with a traditional bush tea and damper. 

Culture Connect Aboriginal Experiences

Intimate, eye-opening, mind-expanding tours are what Culture Connect Aboriginal Experiences are all about. Check out their two-day Daintree Aboriginal Art and Survival tour where you’ll get the chance to see this ancient rainforest through the eyes of the world’s oldest culture. Get your feet wet as you wander the mudflats and shallow waters of Cooya Beach, spear in hand, searching for a juicy mud crab (a true taste of tradition in these parts). Sit paintbrush to paintbrush with an Aboriginal elder as you create your own masterpiece, and fall asleep under the stars - the sounds of the rainforest lulling you to sleep.

Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tours

Owned and operated by brothers Linc and Brandon Walker, Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tours is one of the best indigenous experiences in Queensland. On their Coastal Beach and Mangrove Walk, you’ll traverse Cooya Beach (Kuyu Kuyu) just 15 minutes north of Port Douglas home to three diverse ecosystems – beach, mangroves and coastal reef. Follow in the footsteps of the elders as you wade through the mudflats, mangroves and tidal pools - the ancient fishing grounds of the Kuku Yalanji people. With sand between your toes and salt on your lips, you’ll learn how to throw a spear and hunt, whilst stalking and observing the region’s incredible wildlife. But the best bit? Meeting the Walker family post tour to learn more about their deep connection to the lands, sharing yarns and preparing a family meal. 

The duo also run Adventure North, which offers small and private expeditions in one of Australia’s last frontiers - Cape Tribulation. Or for the adventurous souls out there, explore Cooktown in their custom 4WD tour. Taking you through a tangle of rainforests and creeks, it’s the kind of heart-racing experience you’ll want to do again and again. 

Janbal Gallery

When exploring up north, a visit to Janbal Gallery is non-negotiable. Run by artist Brian “Binna” Swindley, the gallery showcases his own art as well as works from other Indigenous creatives. After you’ve pursued the incredible works on show - keep an eye out for paintings of the rainforest-dwelling cassowary, Binna’s totem - you can get hands on with a painting workshop. Choose between a canvas or boomerang as your base, and let the inspiration flow as Binna shares his wisdom on ochre paints, Indigenous art history and precious East Coast Kuku Yalanji Dreamtime stories.

Flames of the Forest

Nestled deep in the heart of the rainforest you’ll find Flames of the Forest, a truly breathtaking experience of food, music and culture just a 10 minute drive from Port Douglas. Brothers Robert and Gary of the Creek-Nunn family and Kuku Ngoongal clan group, host intimate open-air dinners that will see you dine beneath a silk canopy, dotted with hand-made chandeliers while being served an eight-course banquet that celebrates native ingredients.

Think: lemon myrtle infused kangaroo loin, homemade fig chutney and bush lime yoghurt. In the midst of foodie heaven, you’ll be taken on a journey through the Kuku Yalanji culture, via storytelling and mesmerising didgeridoo performances.

Jarramali Rock Art Tours

The overnight Jarramali Rock Art Tours are the epitome of a bucket list experience. Along with a Kuku Yalanji guide you’ll head off-road in the Cape York Peninsula to the aptly named ​​Magnificent Gallery. You’ll crane your neck, jaw on the floor, as you gaze in awe at a collection of 450 works of Quinkan rock art covering a 40-metre swathe of sandstone. A snapshot of life, animals and stories told 20,000 years ago, the paintings look like they’re about to spring to life.

This dreamy spot is also the location of your camp for the night. Take in the sunset over the gorge, soak in the natural infinity pool and listen in wonder as your guide shares Dreamtime stories while a roast dinner cooks on the campfire. It doesn’t get much better than that! Explore more of Queensland's impressive array of Indigenous rock art with this guide. 

Want to delve deeper and learn more about Queensland’s First Nations culture? Connect to country with these goosebump-inducing events in 2022.