Aboriginal Culture Park

Friday's trip was to the Tjapukai (pronounced JAB-a-guy) Aboriginal Culture Park on the edge of the rainforest.

Tjapukai Aboriginal Culture Park

Our Indigenous guide introduced us to his group's customs including playing the didgeridoo, throwing a boomerang, and throwing a spear (the last two of which we each tried to do). He and his friends also performed dances that illustrated Dreamtime Stories (their understanding of the world). The music of the didgeridoo accompanied their stories.

Our wonderful Indigenous guide

Dreamtime Story dance

There was a demonstration of pit cooking, similar to a Hawaiian luau, with the cooked food included in our lunch buffet. One of the most impressive demonstrations (other than the boomerang) was rubbing two sticks together to make a fire. It took all of one minute to create a roaring fire in the fire pit. Amazing!

There are 500 different Indigenous nations in Australia, each with its own language and customs, and our guide was quick to point out that the Tjapukai is just one of those nations. There are approximately 700,000 Aboriginals in Australia today, representing 3% of the country's total population.