Australia has many places in which you can learn more about the culture of the indigenous people who have lived on this land for millennia. The best places are in the Red Centre, at Alice Springs and Uluru-Kata Tjuta, and in the Northern Territory. Some take the form of tours, others are cultural centers. Aboriginal art can also make a unique souvenir.
- You’ll taste bush food, throw boomerangs, and learn about Aboriginal family values during a half-day tour of the Aborigineowned Aboriginal Art & Culture Centre in Alice Springs. Anangu Tours run a series of walks around and near Uluru (Ayers Rock). The Anangu are the traditional owners of Uluru. Join them for walks around the Rock as you learn about the “snake men” who fought battles here, pick bush food off trees, throw spears, visit rock paintings, and watch the sun set.
- Manyallaluk, The Dreaming Place, is an Aboriginal community near Katherine, in the Northern Territory, which welcomes visitors and teaches them to paint, weave, throw boomerangs, and perform other tasks of daily life. It’s a low-key day and the chance to chat one-on-one with Aboriginal people in their home. Mike Keighley of Far Out Adventures takes tours to Elsey Station (a ranch) near Katherine, where you can visit with the children of the Mangarrayi people, sample bush tucker, learn a little bush medicine, and swim in a natural “spa pool” in the Roper River.
- Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, in Cairns, is a multimilliondollar center showcasing the history of the Tjapukai people — their Dreamtime creation history and their often-harrowing experiences since the white man arrived — using a film, superb theatrical work, and a dance performance. Its Aboriginal arts-and-crafts gift shop is one of the country’s best, and there is also an outdoor “corroboree” experience at night.
- Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute in the South Australian capital, Adelaide, is a good place to find out more about Aboriginal culture. At the Institute, they offer boomerang- and spear-throwing instruction, painting with natural ochers, discussions on Aboriginal culture, and guided walking tours.
