Aboriginal culture

When travelling around Australia many do not think about it as a particularly cultural destination. However hidden between the amazing beaches and stunning landscapes there remains the artifacts of earlier Aboriginal life and their culture. Many visitors choose not to visit and embrace this side of Australia which is a real shame.

For those of you who wish to soak up this side of Australian culture there are a number of key destinations to visit:

The Northern Territory - Home to the most famous of Australia's landmarks Uluru. The traditional owners of the Rock are the Anangu who believe as descendants of this ceremonial area that they are responsible for its protection. If you visit make sure you check out a performance of their traditional dance. The majority of the land in the Outback is Aboriginal owned which has allowed them to preserve their ancient culture more so than elsewhere in Australia. In fact the Aborigines have resided here for between 20,000 and 50,000 years and to this day one third of the states population are Aborigines. The N.T. is also home to Kakadu National Park, Australia's largest park covering over 4.3 million acres with the impressive Jim Jim falls at its heart. The Park is home to many superbly preserved Aboriginal rock art including the stunning paintings of Namaragan (or the Lightning Man) on Nourlangie and the depictions of local wildlife at Ubirr Rock.

Melville and Bathhurst Islands - Australia's second largest island after Tasmania, the island located about 50 miles off the north Darwin coast, is inhabited by Tiwi Aborigines. With no contact with the mainland for centuries a very different Aboriginal culture has developed. That the culture has survived to this day is due in part to the fact that the island is still owned by the Tiwi. Worth a day trip to visit the art centres and burial sites with their painted wood burial poles.

Queensland - Laura - A typical Outback town it is off the beat and track but home to some great Aboriginal art sites including the 'giant horse gallery'. Quinkans, large stick like figures designed to represent spirits can also be found here.

Sydney - If you can't make it to the N.T. then there are some equally spectacular rock engravings of more than 4,000 figures in the Hawkesbury area of Sydney. One whale engraving is more than 20 metres long!