Aborginal Culture, Australia

Aboriginal Culture, Australia

According to the Australian Tourism Commission, 40 percent of visitors to Australia want to learn something about the indigenous people, the Aborigines. To get to one of these remote communities, you go in a four wheel drive vehicle, on dirt roads. It is interesting to learn how to collect, prepare and eat “bush tucker” native food found in the outback. Many of the remote locations I have been to have been done by helicopter and the airlines with names which make me chuckle, Sling Air, Alligator Line etc. I once flew with a cattle station owner who had no doors on either his helicopter or small plane.

I was too scared to even take a photo of his million acres with wonderful waterfalls and rock art.

You will find all over Australia, wonderful art work done by Aboriginal people.

In many remote locations, the rock art paintings are spectacular and to hear the stories of the paintings is best heard from a member of the local tribe.

The outback is not a place you should be exploring on your own. It is important to join a group when visiting this part of the world. You have to be dressed appropriately for the weather, wear a brimmed hat with a fly net, and watch out for snakes The temperature can go as high as 120 degrees in the summer months, December to March, which is also the wet season so humidity is unbearable.

There are over 450 tribes, with their own language and dialects. Many groups were unchanged by European influence until the 1940’s and the last traditional nomadic families moved from the desert regions to settlements in the l960’s. People of the Torres Strait Islands in the far north of Queensland don’t consider themselves Aboriginal since they are a mixture of people from Papua New Guinea as well as mainland Australia. A very good movie to view is the Rabbit Proof Fence, about two aboriginal girls on a remote cattle station in central Australia.

Two icons of Aboriginal culture is the curved returning boomerang and the didgeridoo, a wooden pipe which is the worlds oldest wind instrument, which is only played by men.

A Corroboree is a ceremonial meeting, and worth attending if you can.

There are several places where a visitor can learn something about the Aboriginal culture. Here are the ones I recommend.

Queensland.

Tjapukai people when you go on the Kuranda tour. out of Cairns. The tour covers the Kuranda rail, the sky rail, and the Tjapukai settlement where you learn to throw a boomerang, a spear, learn about their ancient medicine and customs. The dance performance is excellent. They have an excellent gift shop.

A little “touristy” but worth seeing if this is your own chance to experience Aboriginal culture

Northern Territory

Alice Springs, in the heart of the red centre, where the Arrente people have lived for 20,000 years. Nice little town, with good art galleries, starting point for outback camping trips, with 500,000 camels roaming around the desert. Years ago, with no roads, you travelled by camel. There are very few roads, even today.

Kings Canyon. Great destination for hiking the rim, and seeing a less visited part of the outback.

Uluru, or Ayers Rock, which is sacred to the Aboriginal people. This is home to the Agangu tribe. Great museum, and shops selling crafts made by the local tribe.

Two activities you must go to are the Sunrise breakfast at the rock, and the Sounds of Silence dinner.

Kakadu National Park

This is three hours east of Darwin. Visit the rock art galleries which are 50,000 years old.

You can only visit here May to October. Impossible to use the roads during the wet season. Rugged escarpments, lush rainforests and millions of birds, crocodiles and snakes. Great barramundi fishing, millions of birds, wonderful place to take a flight or a helicopter ride.

Tiwi Islands.

A hour’s flight from Darwin.

This is where the film Australia was made, and where the aboriginal children all have wonderful smiles and white painted faces This is my favorite place to send visitors to.

Western Australia

There are over 60 tribes in W.A. Go on their website and see the locations.

www.waitcoa.com

I had an interesting experience recently. The Western Australia Indigenous Council have hired the Wharton School of Management at the University of Pennsylvania to do a study into why Western Australian Aboriginal tourism is not getting American visitors. I was asked to lecture to the M.B.A. class on marketing one since I know Western Australia well. It took me back to my MBA days when I was a project leader.

If you can fit in a visit to an Aboriginal settlement, or go on a tour no matter where you go in Australia, it will give you an insight into a piece of real Australia.

Maureen Jones, Aussie Specialist

All Horizons Travel/Frosch

825 Santa Cruz Avenue

Menlo Park, Tel.No. 650-941-5810

Maureen.Jones@Frosch.com