The history of Western Australia’s indigenous cultures spans tens of thousands of years; their lands encompass an area the size of some countries… but there’s a common thread among the messages of operators at Tourism Western Australia’s Aboriginal Tourism Showcase – that what they’re doing is about far more than tourism.
“Our job isn’t tourism. Our job is to look after the place we come from. Tourism is a vehicle that allows us to do that,” Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures owner and operator Darren “Capes” Capewell says, as he talks about the “symbiotic relationship” between tourism and responsibility to country at the Sydney stop of the showcase, which also hits Melbourne and Auckland.
“We’ll have a laugh and a joke and carry on… but we don’t forget our cultural protocols and responsibilities of looking after country.”
And you’d be hard-pressed to find a visitor who also wouldn’t want that. Which is why aboriginal tourism by and large works.
As far as businesses go, you get a genuine sense that the tour operators here – despite being at the top of their field – aren’t driven by dollar signs, but for a purpose… like sharing stories passed down through generations, how to live off the land, and ways to connect to country and one another.
So the aboriginal tourism operators here go well beyond guiding… they’re teachers, caretakers and even spiritual advisors. It turns out they’re a talented bunch too.
Like Bart Pigram, owner and operator of Narlijia Experiences Broome, who entertains guests at the event with his guitar and vocals, before talking about his business’s wonderful Mangrove Discovery Experience, among other tours.
Then there’s Bolo Angus, owner and operator of Southern Cross Cultural Tours, which operates on the Dampier Peninsula at Lullumb. After sharing some of his guests’ experiences, which include learning about hunting and gathering techniques, Bolo enthrals those present with a song that utilises boomerangs as clapsticks.
In keeping with the family theme, his sister and owner/operator of Oolin Sunday Island Cultural Tours, Roseanne Angus, joins him onstage for another song.
Elsewhere, Kimberley Cultural Adventures owner and operator, Robert Dann plays the didgeridoo during lunch.
Other operators present at the showcase include Ngurrangga Tours (2023 WA Tourism Awards winner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tourism Experiences), Broome-based Mabu Buru Tours, and Dale Tilbrook Experiences, which operates out of Swan Valley.
All Aboriginal-owned and operated, the eight businesses on show are all members of the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council (WAITOC), which was formed just over 20 years ago in response to the demand for indigenous tourism experiences.
“We have over 150 experiences under the banner. We started with ten, 20 years ago. So it’s come a long way and it’s going from strength to strength,” WAITOC Marketing Manager Di Below told guests in Sydney.
“The operators here today have all been operating for a while and they all work with trade.”
Sunrise host sheds light on WA
In an interview at the event, special guest and co-host of Seven’s Sunrise program, Natalie Barr, spoke of her love for her home state, which she describes as “like nowhere you’ve ever been”.
In particular, the Bunbury-born television host highlights the beauty in the “silence” of the Kimberley and the red dirt that touches the sea near Broome.
She also speaks of chasing the stories and not just the “headlines” among tours, referring to doing more than just Cable Beach and camel experiences in Broome, for example. Because “that’s what I want in a tour”, she says.
Speaking at the event, Tourism Western Australia Senior Market Manager Mel Johnson says, “The Dream State is the premier destination within Australia for an authentic aboriginal tourism experience”. On the evidence of this, she could be right.
West Aussie All Stars is Tourism WA’s online trade training program. And those who complete their training by the end of March can win a spot on a Western Australian famil to experience the state for themselves. Visit the training website here.
For more information on Tourism Western Australia, click here.
Check out our story on the top 5 experiences in the Kimberley. And read our review of Ngauwudu Safari Lodge, Kimberley.
