The best ways to connect with Indigenous culture in Queensland

• Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel (Cairns): A reef day trip that’ll shift how you see everything - fish, coral, even the tides. Snorkel over coral gardens with Indigenous Sea Rangers who share the Great Barrier Reef’s creation story, cultural performances, and 60,000 years of living knowledge. 

Daintree Rainforest

• Mossman Gorge Dreamtime Walk: Walk alongside Kuku Yalanji guides to sacred sites, learn ancient stories, and take part in a traditional smoking ceremony in the heart of the rainforest.
• Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tours (Cooya Beach): Ever tasted bush-to-plate dining? Hunt for mud crabs, spear fish and gather shellfish in the mangroves before cooking up your catch over a fire.
• Walkabout Cultural Adventures (Cape Tribulation): Spend the day with a local Aboriginal guide exploring Country, collecting bush tucker and learning how culture and land are deeply entwined.
• Janbal Gallery (Mossman): Get creative in a hands-on art class with a local Kuku Yalanji artist and take home your own crafted souvenir.
• Daintree Ecolodge: Pamper yourself with an Indigenous-inspired spa treatment using native botanicals at this luxury eco-retreat surrounded by ancient rainforest.
• Flames of the Forest: An unforgettable dining experience, feast on local flavours in a rainforest lit by fairy lights while two Kuku Yalanji brothers share stories, didgeridoo and song. 

Remote tours and rock art

• Jarramali Rock Art Tours (Cape York): Go off-grid by 4WD or helicopter to one of the world’s most significant rock art galleries, only accessible by Jarramali guests. Hear Dreamtime stories etched into sandstone for over 20,000 years.
• Culture Connect (Normanby Station): Tour the Balnggarrawarra homelands near Cooktown and hike to ancient rock art sites with Traditional Owners. Multi-day options let you truly immerse yourself in Country.
• Talaroo Hot Springs (Mount Surprise, Gulf Savannah): Join the Ewamian guides on a tour then soak in natural thermal springs. This spot has a fascinating history, and you can learn more at the yarning circle if you choose to camp here for the night.
• Yagurli Tours (Burketown, Gulf Savannah): Choose from sunset cruises, stargazing, fishing tours or even a hot air balloon ride over the mesmerising salt pans of Queensland’s northwest corner.  
• Rossville Retreat (Cook Area): Stay in eco lodges under the watchful gaze of Kalkajaka (Black Mountain) and take a bush medicine walk with renowned local guide, Mooks.

Cairns experiences

• Rainforestation Nature Park (Kuranda): The Pamagirri Aboriginal Experience brings Dreamtime storytelling, traditional dance, and spear throwing to life for the whole family. Add on Army Duck rainforest tours for the full adventure.
• Mandingalbay Authentic Indigenous Tours (Cairns): Cruise across Trinity Inlet and enter Yidinji Country few travellers ever see. Choose a rainforest walk and bush medicine tour, or go big with the Deadly Dinner: sunset cruise, moonlit ceremony and a four-course Indigenous feast.

Torres Strait Islands experiences

• Strait Experience: Island-hop from Ngurapai (Horn Island) to Waibene (Thursday Island) and beyond. Visit sacred sites, meet local artists, and taste traditional Torres Strait Islander food. Want true escape? Masig Island’s three-day cultural retreat is the definition of remote paradise.
• Gab Titui Cultural Centre (Thursday Island): A powerful hub preserving Torres Strait culture through art, storytelling, and community. Watch artists in action and explore the evolution of saltwater traditions.

Use this itinerary to plan your Torres Strait adventure. 

Brisbane

Ancient stories meet urban soul in Queensland’s capital. Here are the best Indigenous experiences in Brisbane.

• BlackCard Cultural Tours (South Brisbane): See Brisbane through a new lens with a private city tour led by local guides sharing Aboriginal perspectives, history and resilience (groups up to 15 people).
• Aboriginal Art Co (South Brisbane): Shop with heart at this not-for-profit gallery and store that celebrates First Nations artists and gives you an ethical way to buy.
• Birunga Gallery (Milton): This Indigenous owned and operated art hub offers talks, workshops and immersive experiences that include native-ingredient inspired degustations.
• Gindi Tours (Minjerribah): Walk 40,000 years of history with Quandamooka Elder Uncle Norm. This isn't your average tour, it’s a chance to hear powerful history directly from those who carry it, and walk in the footsteps of those who’ve walked here forever.
• Yura Tours (Minjerribah): Join Quandamooka guide Elisha to explore sacred lakes, art trails and stories passed down through generations.
• Art Workshops with Delvene Cockatoo-Collins (Minjerribah): Create and connect with renowned Quandamooka artist Delvene in her studio on North Stradbroke Island.

Events

• Quandamooka Festival (13–14 September 2025): Join Traditional Owners on Minjerribah for a weekend of celebration, dance, storytelling, bush tucker and ceremony. 

Gold Coast

Behind the glitz and glamour of the Gold Coast lies a deep cultural heartbeat. Take a break from the beach to discover the Yugambeh history that shaped this land long before the high-rises and holidaymakers arrived.

• Jellurgal Aboriginal Cultural Centre (Burleigh Heads): Walk alongside a Traditional Owner to sacred middens and Dreaming Mountain, where bush tucker meets creation stories and the surf breaks come with spiritual meaning.
• Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary (Currumbin): Catch the Yugambeh Aboriginal Dance Group perform powerful traditional dances as part of your visit to the sanctuary, the perfect family day out.

Sunshine Coast

The Sunshine Coast is alive with culture, from the majestic Glass House Mountains to the sparkling waters of Mooloolaba.

• Saltwater Eco Tours (Mooloolaba): Climb aboard a century-old sailing vessel for a slow cruise with big meaning. Kabi Kabi guides share traditional stories, bush tucker flavours and live music for a journey through culture and calm.
• Glass House Mountains National Park: Hike Mt Ngungun at sunset and feel the ancient energy of this Dreamtime-rich landscape. These iconic peaks have long been sacred to the Jinibara and Kabi Kabi Peoples.
• Horizon Festival (Aug 2025): Set your alarm for the breathtaking Dawn Awakening sunrise ceremony at Stumers Creek in Coolum. Through music, dance and storytelling, it honours Country in one of the most moving moments of the year and is a highlight of this 10 day festival. 

The Whitsundays

Beyond the postcard-perfect beaches and island resorts, The Whitsundays hold the stories of the Ngaro People, one of Australia’s oldest seafaring cultures.

• Whitsunday Paradise Explorer – Ngaro Indigenous Cultural Tour: Cruise across turquoise waters to hidden rock art sites, learn traditional hunting methods like spear fishing, and hear the stories that have shaped these islands for thousands of years. You can even add on a snorkel safari for a look at those famous Great Barrier Reef colours.

Townsville

In Townsville, Indigenous stories are never far from view – they’re etched into headlands, shared around campfires, and preserved through passionate local guides.

• Jezzine Barracks (Townsville): Once a food foraging site, now an open-air history walk. Stroll the coastal Garabarra headland where interpretive signage and outdoor art installations honour the stories of the Wulgurukaba and Bindal Peoples. 
• Mungalla Station (Ingham): A powerful experience on Ngwaigi Country. Learn cultural customs, share a kup murri feast around the fire, and join an eco-tour to see how wetlands are being regenerated for native species.

Fraser Coast

You might know this area as Australia’s whale watching capital, but while on Butchulla Country why not take time to understand how the ocean is a central part of culture and connection.

• Hervey Bay Eco Marine Tours (Hervey Bay): Join Aboriginal guides aboard a glass bottom boat tour through the Great Sandy Marine Park. Snorkel local reef, swim, and spot turtles, dolphins, and dugongs while hearing Dreamtime stories that bring the ocean to life. Sunset cruises come with live didgeridoo and local prawns, and guided walking tours are ideal for those seeking insight on dry land.
• Kingfisher Bay Resort (K’gari): The island’s premier accommodation offers a range of tours, from bush tucker tastings to the new Illumina light and sound show.

Queensland Country

Sacred landscapes, ancient art, and stories written in stone. In the wide-open spaces of Queensland Country you’ll find some of the state’s most powerful cultural sites.

• Carnarvon Gorge: Hike through Carnarvon National Park to stand before the Art Gallery – rock walls covered in thousands of ochre stencils, etchings and symbols, each one a story passed down over generations.
• Gummingurru Cultural Landscape (near Toowoomba): Walk in the footsteps of the Jarowair People at this historic ceremonial site, home to 4,000–6,000-year-old stone arrangements. Join a guided tour to witness a smoking ceremony, see traditional tools and hear stories that connect the land to the Bunya Mountains.

Outback Queensland

In Outback Queensland, you’ll find some of the oldest, most sacred sites in the country. Along with a welcome as warm as the sun overhead. This is culture with dust on its boots and heart in its hands.

• Turraburra (near Barcaldine): Explore the teaching wall of life at Marra Wonga, a sandstone escarpment etched with thousands of petroglyphs, stencils and carvings left by the Iningai People. This former cattle station has been restored by Traditional Owners and offers guided tours and multi-day immersions.
• Desert Dreaming Centre (Barcaldine): Get hands-on with Aboriginal art workshops, local bush tucker, and dance performances from the Desert Dust Dancers in this grassroots cultural hub.
• Boobook Explore (Roma): This crew offers hands-on learning about Aboriginal culture and Country through guided nature walks and story-sharing across the southwest outback region including Mulga Lands and Carnarvon Ranges.

Events

• Outback River Lights Festival (Cunnamulla, 17–19 Apr 2026): Celebrate water, Country and culture through art, music and lantern-lit processions that light up the Warrego River.
• Mount Isa Mines Indigenous Rodeo Championships (10 Aug 2025): Watch 100+ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander riders showcase jaw-dropping rodeo skills passed down through generations.
• Outback by the Sea Festival (Karumba, 12-15 Sep 2025): A unique cultural twist on a fishing festival, where seafood, Indigenous art, music and storytelling come together in this remote Gulf town each September.

Southern Great Barrier Reef

Reef meets rock art, with culture all around this neck of the woods. You might have come for the islands and coral reef, but stay for the cultural richness – you’ll be surprised what you discover.

• Dreamtime Cultural Centre (Rockhampton): Step into reconstructed sandstone caves and ceremonial sites as you journey through Darumbal culture, art and storytelling. A powerful introduction to Central Queensland’s Traditional Owners.
• Nurim Circuit Cultural Walk (Mount Archer National Park, Rockhampton): Take a guided treetop walk and learn about the deep cultural significance of the region’s landscape through the eyes of its Traditional Custodians.
• Taribelang Bunda Cultural Tours (Bundaberg): Taste bush tucker, learn how boomerangs were used in daily life, and discover the stories of the Taribelang People on a half-day family favourite tour through Bundaberg’s Indigenous sites.

Events

• 1770 Cultural Connections Festival ( 4–5 Oct 2025): Held on the Gladstone coast, this inaugural two-day celebration of local cultures includes art, music, language, and hands-on workshops that bring traditions to life.

From stargazing in the outback to sailing with Sea Rangers and hands-on workshops that teach you the ropes, Queensland’s Indigenous experiences don’t just show you the land. They change the way you see it.