Atherton Aboriginal Cultural Discovery Tour

Departing from Cairns at 8am, the journey will take a little over an hour before reaching the 500yr old Cathedral Fig Tree, located in the heart of Yidinji Country. You will view a cultural presentation followed by a short 100m walk to view the fig tree, where your guide explains the cultural significance of the area and the fig itself.
We then travel to Lake Barrine where we take a 150m walk to view two ancient Kauri Pines and learn the creation story of the crater lakes.

Our 3rd stop is Hastie’s Swamp bird-hide, where you will get the chance to view many species of aquatic bird life, as well as learn about the cultural significance of the Swamp.

Our last stop is the Watsonville Culture Park. Here you will enjoy a picnic lunch before taking a 300m walk in the nearby bushland to view the many types of plants and trees used in traditional bushcraft, foods, and medicines.

We finish off our adventure with some spear throwing before returning you back to Cairns.

What to expect:

Duration: 8 hours

Cathedral Fig Tree

Danbulla Road, Danbulla State Forest, Yungaburra, 4884, Queensland

Our first stop of the tour is the Cathedral Fig Tree in Danbulla National Park.
Here we introduce you to Bundaburra-Yidinji Country and explain the rainforest culture of the Yidinji people. We will conduct a short 200m return walk to view the magnificent Cathedral Fig, and learn her stories.

30 minutes

Lake Barrine

Lake Barrine, Queensland

Lake Barrine is the second stop of our tour. Here we will explain the variety of fish in the lake and how the lake was created in Yidinji belief. We also explain the traditional diets of Yidinji people and how recent settlement of the area has caused Yidinji people to become more reliant on western foods.
We will then take a short 100m return walk to view the ancient giant Kauri Pines and learn about the history of timber harvesting in the region and it's impact on the rainforest.

30 minutes

Hasties Swamp National Park

Herberton Road, Herberton-Atherton Road, Atherton, Queensland

We make a short stop at Hastie's Swamp bird-hide to view aquatic birdlife and learn about the significance of the swamp as a traditional meeting area between 3 neighboring Aboriginal nations.

15 minutes

Watsonville

Watsonville QLD 4887, Australia

From Lake Barrine we journey out of the rainforest and into the open bushland of Mbabaram country to our 4th stop in Watsonville. Here we visit our Culture Park where we explain the early mining history and it's impacts on the Mbabaram people who have looked after the bushland and it's waters for thousands of years.
We explain the traditional hunting methods and tools used in the bush by Mbabaram people. You will also have a try at using a spear-thrower and learn how the Mbabaram people make didgeridoos using the trees that have been naturally hollowed out by termites.
We will also enjoy a picnic lunch in the bush before returning to Cairns.

2 hours