Connect delegates with country in Cairns & Great Barrier Reef. Home to Australia’s two indigenous cultures, the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander people, delegates can choose to connect through interactive tours, cultural events, art galleries and the performing arts.
First Nations history stretches back tens of thousands of years and is closely linked to the World Heritage status of the Wet Tropics rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.
Joining an Indigenous guide or Sea Ranger exploring the reef and the rainforest gives a unique insight into the cultural values of these ecosystems. There are also opportunities for team building activities such as searching for bush foods in the rainforest, discovering natural medicines or learning how dreamtime stories share knowledge gathered over many generations to become lore. Delegate engagement with Indigenous experiences offers a strong educational element, creating opportunities for authentic Corporate Social Responsibility interactions.
Delegates can discover the nutritional values of ochres that are also used for ceremonial body paint on the Mossman Gorge Dreamtime Walk as they explore the ancient Daintree rainforest with a cultural guide. The rainforest is a pharmacy, supermarket and hardware store for the Kuku Yalanji people and their stories passed down over tens of thousands of years are an oral history of how to survive in the dense jungle. Delegates will even learn how to make a rainforest “telephone call” and do their laundry with sarsaparilla “soap!”
Land and sea combine with Mandingalbay Ancient Indigenous Tours. Delegates can take a boat tour from the Cairns CBD to country across Trinity Inlet passing through mangrove country to a working Indigenous Ranger Base giving them exclusive access to an Indigenous Protected Reserve. The Rangers welcome delegates with a smoking ceremony before showing how they have rejuvenated their country after it was farmed.
Those taking to the sky can experience the rainforest through the dreamtime stories and the voice of the Djabugay people with the audio guide app on Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. Weaving history, culture and nature into one experience, delegates will hear stories that tie the land, people and sacred places together before joining an Indigenous Ranger after descending from the rainforest canopy to explore the forest floor and the rainforest giants seen from above.
Aboriginal performance and the use of weapons can be experienced up close with the Pamagirri Dance Troupe at Rainforestation Nature Park. Aboriginal clans tell their unique stories and history through performance showcasing hunting skills and the wildlife they encounter. Delegates can then try their hand spear and boomerang throwing to see who has the best aim!
Indigenous people along the coast relied on the Great Barrier Reef for food and delegates can learn about their connection to sea country on Dreamtime Dive and Snorkel or Reef Magic. Cultural Sea Rangers talk about the complexities of this World Heritage ecosystem and demonstrate the tools created by their ancestors through music dance, guided tours and storytelling.
Incentive groups seeking an immersive and intimate experience, can join Down Under Tours Daintree Dreaming adventure travelling to the ancestral fishing grounds of the Kubirri Warra to learn about traditional bush medicines, foods and hunting techniques across the beach and mangroves. In the afternoon, delegates will join renowned Aboriginal artist Binna Swindley at Janbal Gallery to learn painting techniques to create their own dot painting.
Speaking of art, why not time a business event with the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair held in the city each July and enjoy the bringing together of culture for Queensland’s largest display of Indigenous art? This is a unique opportunity to meet the artists from remote arts centres and to see Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performance, and perhaps take home a piece for the boardroom!