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Dreams of an Aboriginal journey

Five days, five countries, five languages and you don’t even leave Queensland. JESSICA REID* joins a new indigenous tour from Townsville that she believes every Australian should experience.

“If you need any supplies I suggest you get them now from Coles because we won’t pass another one for quite a while,” said Tony O’Connor from Kookaburra Tours.

“He’s lying!” cried our indigenous guide Jai Cummings. “There’s a huge supermarket where we’re going — and a hardware store and a chemist too.”

And sure enough, we soon found soap and antiseptic treatments from a red ash tree, made an entire house out of wait-a-while and palm trees, and snacked on various bush berries and nuts, without a check-out or shopping trolley in sight. 

“The entire bush is an indigenous person’s version of a Bunnings Warehouse,” said Jai. “And everything else I see in the bush is either food or medicine.”

Jai is just one of the indigenous guides we meet during our five days on the Dreamtime Journeys tour, which has been put together by Tony from Kookaburra Tours.

Demystifying Australia’s indigenous culture, the interactive tour takes us through the traditions and stories of five different tribal groups — the Wulgurukaba and the Bandjin saltwater people, the Jirrbal rainforest people, the Warrgamay woodland people and the wetland Nywaigi people.

And to cross the boundaries of each tribe and enter a new ‘country’ we even needed a passport in the form of a message stick, which, like a passport, was signed by a representative from each tribe before we left.

“It’s like travelling through Europe,” Tony explained.

“And being a Jirrbal person or a Bandjin person is the same as being French or Russian,or German.

“It’s a common misconception that all Aboriginals once roamed free across the land and are from the one country.

“In their eyes, there are actually around 240 different ‘countries’ that sit within the Australian border and each ‘country’ has a different language, stories and traditions.”

And this is what makes Tony’s tour, which combines five different ‘countries’, so unique. Most other tours just stick with the one tribe.

Dreamtime Journeys begins in Townsville with a traditional “Welcome to Country” ceremony from Castle Hill lookout and a visit to the city’s Cultural Centre, to get an overarching understanding of the area’s indigenous history and significance.

Traditional baskets, spears, boomerangs, message sticks and paintings are all on display within glass cabinets, but it was nothing like seeing each of those items being made and used out in the bush.

At Echo Adventure Cultural Centre, for example, we transformed a pile of sticks and palm fronds into a ‘midja’ (traditional Aboriginal house) and I was so proud of our creation that if I’d have brought a swag I would have happily slept the night under the stars and our work of art. 

Instead, I spent the night in the Jackaroo Quarters (bunk beds and shared bathrooms), but not before spending a few hours perfecting the ancient skills of basket weaving and traditional drawing.

Tonya Grant, a multi-award-winning basket weaver and artist, took us through the delicate paces of a simple bracelet weave, while at the same time instilling in each of us a new appreciation for the incredible resourcefulness of the Aboriginal people.

Another highlight of the five-day tour was spent with the Bandjin Saltwater people, exploring Australia’s largest National Park island, the stunning Hinchinbrook Island.

Local legend ‘Uncle’ Russell Butler from Bandjin Sea Country Expeditions (who was well known in the area long before his starring role in the Hollywood blockbuster Nim’s Island), took us out for the day discovering his home area.

Russell’s bright blue eyes glow from his dark face as he proudly tells the stories of his forefathers.

“This branch here on the native hibiscus tree would have been used as a spear because it’s nice and straight and it will also float, so it’s perfect for fishing,” he said.

Russell, a highly skilled spear thrower, explained that his people know that fish always swim with the sun behind them so it’s quite easy to work out their next move.

“And the fish traps just off the beach here are around 5000 years old,” he said.

Made with stones and held together by nothing but oysters, the fish traps have withstood tropical cyclones and other weather extremes over the years. But as Russell can illustrate, they are just as effective today as they were thousands of years ago.

Back on the mainland, we also visited Mungalla Station which is run by the Nywaygi people. Here we enjoyed a delicious Kupmurri dinner where our feast of meats and vegetables were all cooked underground amongst banana leaves and heated rocks.

It is also at Mungalla that we learnt how to throw a boomerang and learnt about the sad history of some Aborigines through the Captive Lives exhibition on display at the property’s homestead. Back in 1883 Barnum and Bailey’s Circus The Greatest Show on Earth captured Aboriginals and paraded them around the world as ‘Australia’s boomerang-throwing cannibals’.

The Dreamtime Journey tour also incorporates some non-indigenous elements, including accommodation at Hidden Valley Cabins, Australia’s first 100 per cent solar-powered and carbon-neutral tourism operator and art deco inspired Noorla Heritage Resort where guests enjoy a traditional high tea and sleep in individually decorated rooms.

And as we were sitting back with our tea and scones I think Tony best summed up the significance of his tour without even realising it when he said: “We could all learn a lot from our country and indigenous history, if we just took the time to listen.”

*Jessica Reid was contracted to write this article by Tourism Queensland.