| Don't just visit these lands - experience them! | |
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 | Central Australia / Red Centre - small group touring to Aboriginal sights and with local guides. |
 | Top End - small group touring with local guides to Aboriginal sights. |
 | The Kimberley - in partnership with the Wunan East Kimberley Aboriginal people, our permanent camps and lodge are situated on Aboriginal-owned land. |
| Indigenous Culture and Art - discover the art and legends of the Dreaming. |
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* Northern Territory - Red Centre / Central Australia
Central Australia Small Group Touring
Liru Walk - Go on an Anangu-guided walk (the traditional owners of the land) along the path of Aboriginal mythological ancestors. Hear dreaming stories of Uluru and see demonstrations of bush skills.
Palm Valley 4WD Tour from Alice Springs - Journey into Finke Gorge National Park to visit the oasis-like Palm Valley and see rare Livistona palms and ancient cycads that are found only in this area.
Kuniya Sunset Tour - Walk with an Aboriginal guide from Uluru to the Mutitjulu waterhole. Hear a dreaming story, see ancient Aboriginal paintings, learn of bush food, then watch the sun set at Uluru.
Dot Painting - Join Anangu Aboriginal artists at the Dot Painting Workshop to learn how the artists express their culture in their paintings. Perhaps complete your own painting to take home.
Exclusive! Kings Creek Station Tours - On special packages, see ancient petroglyphs (rock engravings) and evidence of Aboriginal habitation.
Exclusive Kings Canyon Wilderness Lodge
APT's own Kings Canyon Wilderness Lodge is exclusively located on Kings Creek Station, a fully operational cattle and camel station of 1,800 square kilometres boarding the Watarrka National Park. The lodge conducts escorted Kings Canyon walks for lodge guests. Special packages feature exclusive tours of Kings Creek Station including ancient petroglyphs (rock engravings) and evidence of Aboriginal habitation. Find out more about Kings Canyon Wilderness Lodge here.
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* Northern Territory - Top End
Top End Small Group Touring
Guluyambi East Alligator River Cruise - This cruise is fully escorted by Aboriginal guides who provide an insight into their culture, the river's food chain, traditional uses of plants and animals, and survival skills in the environment. See crocodiles and other wildlife in this untouched wilderness.
Arnhem Land 4WD Tour - On a day tour of Arnhem Land, your Aboriginal guides will show you the Aboriginal settlement of Oenpelli, the Injalak Arts and Craft Association showroom and the rarely visited Mikinj Valley. Learn about their culture, hunting and gathering, and bush tucker skills. With special permission, visit otherwise inaccessible places, such as sacred rock art sites.
Jim Jim and Twin Falls 4WD Safari - Travel to Kakadu's largest waterfall, Jim Jim Falls and walk through monsoonal rainforest surrounded by towering cliffs. Then ford Jim Jim Creek and travel to magnificent Twin Falls where you can explore.
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* Kimberley Cultural Experiences
APT Kimberley Wilderness Adventures is a partnership with the Wunan Foundation, an Aboriginal company with a charter to provide independent income and employment for East Kimberley Aboriginal people.
Exclusive! Mitchell Falls Tour - Fly by private aircraft from Kununurra to Mitchell Falls where you will be met by your APT guide. On an escorted walk to the magnificent falls, visit hidden Aboriginal art sites. Then stay overnight at our exclusive Ungolan Wilderness Lodge before returning to Kununurra. Min. 2 passengers, max. 6 passengers.
Exclusive! Tour Purnululu National Park - Enjoy a flight from Kununurra into Purnululu National Park, home to the Bungle Bungle Range. Here, take a 4WD adventure, walk along the dry bed of Piccaninny Creek and explore both Echidna Chasm and Mini Palms Gorge. You'll also enjoy the chance to stay at APT's Bungle Bungle Wilderness Lodge.
Exclusive! Wunan - APT has a relationship with Wunan, a not-for-profit Indigenous organisation serving the East Kimberley's Aboriginal people. We are focused on showing travellers a wonderful part of Australia while also providing benefits for the East Kimberley community.
Permanent Camps on Aboriginal Land
APT operates tours utilising fully hosted permanent camps on Aboriginal land or reserves in the Kimberley, as well as a state-of-the-art eco-lodge in the heart of World Heritage Purnululu (Bungle Bungle) National Park. Wherever possible, local Aboriginal guides are utilised for the APT touring operations. Our operation provides a source of revenue for the Aboriginal people of the region and also independent income for specific communities involved with the camp operations and upon whose land the camps are located. Find out more about our Kimberley camps and lodges here.
Our commitment to the Kimberley Aboriginal communities includes a portion of the price going towards direct funding commitments for cultural and educational activities, fund raising and involvement in Aboriginal guides’ training programs.
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* Indigenous Culture and Art
Whether it's the unique dotted bark paintings of the Territory's Central Desert people, the carvings by the Rarrk of the Kunwinjku, or the intricately woven objects crafted by the Yolgnu of Arnhem Land, the Northern Territory is alive with indigenous art and home to a unique Aboriginal culture. On our escorted tours you'll have the chance to experience the vibrant creativity of some indigenous artists and their ancient culture.
Indigenous Culture
In traditional Aboriginal societies, dancing, singing, body decorating, sand drawing, making implements and basket weaving are all considered to be essential cultural activities. They are all a part of celebrating The Dreaming within daily life. The Dreaming is the description of the revelations or insights that are often received in dreams or recurring visions. The Dreaming refers to all that is known and all that is understood. It is the way Aboriginal society explains life and how the world came into being. It is central to the existence of traditional Aboriginal culture, as it explains the basis for every relationship with every living creature and every natural feature of the landscape.
The Dreaming tells of the journeys and deeds of creator ancestors. Indigenous people believe that the creator ancestors made the trees, rocks, waterholes, rivers, mountains, stars, animals and plants. They also believe that creator ancestors' spirits inhabit all of these things. Dreaming stories can be used as a guide for a broad range of subjects including hunting, marriage, care for children and protection from evil. Within traditional Aboriginal culture, The Dreaming is seen as a continuous entity from which all people come and to which they will ultimately return.
Indigenous Art
Aboriginal people believe that each person has a special obligation to protect and preserve the spirit of the land. Art is one of the ways through which indigenous people communicate this belief and maintain a oneness with The Dreaming. When people take on the characteristics of The Dreaming ancestors through art, they believe that the spirits of the creator ancestors are renewed. Hand in hand with this notion is the concept that every indigenous person is an artist. As such, Aboriginal people traditionally used the materials available to them to create art, which in turn, continues and reinforces their ancient cultural practices.
Cultural Dot Painting with the Artists
Dot painting is the traditional visual art form of the Aborigines of the Western Australia Central Desert. Bark or canvas is covered in small dots of paint which form patterns and symbols. These symbols can easily be read by those familiar with Dreamtime stories. Bright colours are now more common with the use of acrylic paint, but traditional dot painters still also use natural pigments such as ochre and crushed seeds. On some of our tours you'll have the opportunity to join skilled Aboriginal artists at a special Dot Painting Workshop at Uluru and see how they create their works of art. This really is an experience you won't forget.
Discover Ancient Rock Art
Visit galleries at Ubirr and Nourlangie Rock in Kakadu National Park which contain some of the most impressive assemblages of Aboriginal rock art anywhere in Australia. At Mt Borradaile in Arnhem Land, discover rock art dating back 50,000 years, considered by many as the most significant and continuous rock art gallery in the entire world.
Kimberley Rock Art
The Kimberley is famous for its Gwion (Bradshaw) and Wandjina Aboriginal rock art. Discovered by Joseph Bradshaw in 1891, Gwion rock art has survived the rigours of the harsh Kimberley climate for tens of thousands of years. The Wandjina is the Rain Spirit of the Wunambal, Wororra and Ngarinyin people of the Kimberley. Wandjina artwork is painted from ancient stories about this magical Rain Spirit.
Return to APT home page for further information on cruising, touring and travel.