From Sacred Skies to Ancient Waterways: New Cultural Journeys with Discover Aboriginal Experiences

Issue 11 of Connect to Country, a digital publication from Tourism Australia and Discover Aboriginal Experiences (DAE), is out now with a wealth of story ideas and inspiration for travellers.

From twilight cave walks and Creation stories shared on the shores of Byron Bay, to sacred river cruises and urban Aboriginal experiences, this edition explores what it means to truly immerse yourself in place, guided by Traditional Custodians who know these landscapes best.

For those who like their experiences hands-on and a little muddy, we head onto tidal flats, into rivers and coastlines for catch-and-cook adventures where food is stalked, gathered and prepared using cultural practices passed down through generations. These are barefoot, back-to-basics experiences that reconnect you to the rhythms of land and sea.

Some parts of Australia are simply too vast, wild or sacred to fully grasp from the ground. In Sky High, we take to the air to see Country from above, gaining a deeper understanding of its scale, story and significance as shared by Indigenous guides.

In Climate Smart, we explore how Aboriginal nations thrived across dramatically different environments, from lush coastlines to the dry inland, by developing sophisticated systems of land management, food production and sustainability that continue to this day.

When indecision strikes between visiting city or remote regions, our Great Southern Road Trip shows you how to do both, linking Melbourne and Adelaide with a rich inland and coastal route that reveals fascinating layers of culture, history and landscape along the way.

And finally, Paddle through Country invites you onto rivers, lakes and ocean, where stories flow as freely as the currents, and more than 65,000 years of knowledge is shared from the water.

We hope this edition inspires you to slow down, listen closely and experience Australia through the stories, perspectives and cultural knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander guides and storytellers.

Beyond enjoying the stories as published, media partners are encouraged to use these features as a springboard for their own editorial development - whether that’s expanding on a story angle, profiling a storyteller, or uncovering new destination and cultural narratives for future coverage.

Read Issue 11 here.

Promotional assets

A suite of assets for social, web, email signature etc has been developed which you can download here. A help guide on how to use the assets is here.

Please support our members by sharing this magazine via your networks. Feel free to repurpose any content as well to promote these experiences, however, please mention Discover Aboriginal Experiences and the respective member/s.

Editor’s Note

The Discover Aboriginal Experiences collective is part of Tourism Australia’s Signature Experiences of Australia program that promotes outstanding tourism experiences within a variety of special categories. This collection showcases a diversity of experiences delivered by the world’s oldest living cultures, creating memorable trips for adventure seekers, culture enthusiasts, foodies and nature lovers, ranging from exploring hidden rock art galleries to foraging for native delicacies, stand-up paddleboarding on culturally significant waterways to bedding down at wilderness lodges in serene natural settings. Each member of this collection is considered a world-class leader in Aboriginal tourism, representing local Aboriginal cultures with integrity and authenticity.

Find out more about the Discover Aboriginal Experiences collective via our website. From the website you can access a dedicated trade and media portal, replete with a Story Bank packed with story ideas, interviews, Discover Aboriginal Experiences resources and more. Keep up to date and be inspired via our Connect to Country digital magazines.

A collection of royalty-free Aboriginal tourism images and video are available here. Please search for Discover Aboriginal Experiences in the Resources section.