A gastronomic fine dining experience enjoying views of Uluru and Kata Tjuta and the night sky Uluru glows red and gold as you sip sparkling wine and nibble on canapés infused with bush tomato and wattleseed. Photo / Desert Dining Beneath the Stars
From foraging with Aboriginal guides to sampling exotic bush tucker under starlit skies, there are many ways visitors can deeply connect with Australia’s first peoples, writes Ash Jurberg
Australia’s 60,000-year-old indigenous food culture offers some of the world’s most unique culinary experiences. Forget ordinary dining; this is eating with a cultural connection.
Here are some ways visitors can experience native cuisine across Australia’s states and territories.
Indigenous gardens by Sydney Harbour
At the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney – Warrane, to the Gadigal people – Aboriginal guides lead visitors through gardens that tell stories of food, medicine, and land management that predate colonisation by thousands of years.
Just a 10-minute stroll from Circular Quay, through the Cadi Jam Ora Garden, you’ll learn to recognise native food plants against the backdrop of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Aboriginal guides will point out plants like finger lime and lemon myrtle and explain how they have sustained communities and served as medicine.
The one-hour tours run Thursdays through Saturdays at 1pm and cost just A$30 ($32). The tour connects past practices to present uses, showing how these native ingredients have entered modern Australian kitchens and restaurants. Don’t miss the chance to taste seasonal bush foods along the way – you might never look at your backyard weeds the same way again.
Botanicgardens.org.au
Bay of Fires cultural food trail
The wukalina Walk, Tasmania’s first Aboriginal-owned tourism operation and featured on TIME Magazine’s 2024 “Greatest Places” list, takes small groups of 10 along the Bay of Fires (larapuna) coastline.
Located about a 3.5 hour drive from Hobart, this four-day adventure immerses you in 40,000-year-old Palawa traditions. Each day brings new understanding as you walk across the landscape, following paths similar to the traditional seasonal movements of the Palawa people.
When evening comes, meals reflect genuine Tasmanian Aboriginal food traditions – wallaby, mutton birds harvested according to cultural practices, and fresh seafood from local waters. You’ll rest in the award-winning Krakani Lumi (place of rest) with its distinctive domed buildings that reflect traditional seasonal shelters. At A$3245 ($3472) per person, this isn’t your budget backpacker option, but the limit of 10 guests makes it one of Australia’s most exclusive cultural journeys. And best of all, your participation directly supports Palawa employment and training and helps fund important community cultural initiatives.
wukalinawalk.com.au
Desert dining beneath the stars
In the spiritual heart of Australia, the Sounds of Silence experience offers what may be the country’s most breathtaking dinner backdrop as Uluru transforms through deepening shades of crimson and ochre during the magical desert sunset.
Guests begin with sparkling wine and canapés featuring native ingredients like wattleseed and bush tomato, setting the stage for the culinary journey ahead. Arrive with an appetite; the welcome drinks are just the beginning of your outback indulgence.
A multi-course bush tucker feast follows, where kangaroo fillet in wild pepper berry sauce and lamb and wattleseed chipolatas showcase Australia’s native flavours. After dinner, the experience continues as a resident astronomer guides you through the stars visible in the desert’s clear skies and identifies constellations Aboriginal peoples have used for navigation and storytelling for generations.
Priced from A$290 ($310) per person, this is a must-do dining experience in the Red Centre.
ayersrockresort.com.au
Floating bush tucker on Sunshine Coast waters
Why settle for land-based dining when you can float while you feast? Hop aboard the Spray of the Coral Coast, a beautifully restored timber ketch from 1925 that now serves as one of Queensland’s most unique dining venues. Based in Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast, Saltwater Eco Tours lets you experience Aboriginal maritime culture while enjoying fresh seafood and native ingredients on the calm waters of the Mooloolaba River.
During the Bushtucker Cultural Cruise, Kabi Kabi guides share stories about their deep connection to these coastal waters as you sample a mouthwatering spread of local delights. Sample plump, fresh-caught prawns, oysters with macadamia and mango mornay, and kangaroo koftas with bush tomato relish.
The two-hour cruise costs A$99 ($107) per adult and departs six days a week at 11.30am from The Wharf at Mooloolaba, just an hour’s drive north of Brisbane. If you prefer an evening adventure, the Sunset Acoustic Music Cruise lets you unwind with live music from local musicians and native-inspired cocktails against the backdrop of a Queensland sunset.
Saltwaterecotours.com.au
Read more: The best food and dining experiences in Australia for 2024
The world’s oldest aquaculture system
At Southwestern Victoria’s Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, you can explore what Unesco recognises as one of the world’s oldest aquaculture systems. The Gunditjmara people built an ingenious network of channels and dams to harvest kooyang (eel).
Located about 3.5 hours from Melbourne near Portland, your journey begins at the Gunditjmara-owned Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre, where local guides take you through ancient lava flows, traditional fish traps, and eel smoking trees that tell the story of thousands of years of sustainable food harvesting. Choose from a quick two-hour wetland tour, a half-day exploration of Budj Bim National Park and Kurtonitj Indigenous Protected Area, or treat yourself to the full-day experience with a bush tucker lunch included for A$199 ($214).
At the Centre’s cafe, try the signature Kooyang Tasting Plate – featuring smoked eel, crispy eel skin chips, and eel pate with accompaniments. It’s better than it sounds!
budjbim.com.au/visit/cultural-tours
Learning from the “Bush Tucker Queen”
In Perth’s picturesque Swan Valley, Dale Tilbrook – often called the “Bush Tucker Queen” – offers Australia’s most comprehensive hands-on native food education through her signature experiences. As a Wardandi Bibbulmun woman with an encyclopedic knowledge of indigenous ingredients, Dale transforms simple tastings into memorable cultural experiences, explaining how these plants have nourished and healed her ancestors for countless generations.
Only 30 minutes from Perth’s CBD, you’ll taste an incredible variety of bush foods as Dale shares stories about traditional food practices, including how her ancestors cultivated yam farms along the Swan River long before European farming methods arrived. If you’re curious to learn more, Dale’s Aboriginal Art and Dreamtime Stories session lets you connect food traditions with creative expression – you’ll even create your own dot painting to take home as a meaningful souvenir of your experience.
With experiences starting from just A$90 ($93.60) per person and private options available, this is Perth’s most accessible indigenous cultural experience.
Daletilbrookexperiences.com.au/experiences
Southern bush food exploration
The Australian Native Garden in Adelaide (Tarntanya) shows visitors practical ways to use native food plants in home gardens. Aboriginal guides from Southern Cultural Immersion lead visitors through garden spaces that showcase plants native to the Adelaide region and their traditional uses.
Plants star in many traditional cuisines and not just because they taste good. At the Australian Native Garden in Adelaide (Tarntanya), Aboriginal guides from Southern Cultural Immersion walk you through garden spaces filled with plants native to the Adelaide region and explain their traditional uses. As Corey Turner, founder of Southern Cultural Immersion, points out, “There are so many things around us that we can eat for wellness. You just need to know where to look”. With help from the guides, you’ll discover plants that naturally thrive in the Adelaide region alongside species from across Australia, and learn creative ways to incorporate native plants into your own garden space
Perfect for garden enthusiasts and foodies, the 60-minute tours run on Tuesdays and Fridays at 3pm for A$61 ($65.27) per person. Finish your visit by stopping at the Adelaide Botanic Garden’s Botanic Dining cafe, where several menu items feature native ingredients you’ve just learned about. Now that’s putting knowledge to delicious use!
southernculturalimmersion.com.au
For a taste of the real South Australia, head to its bustling market stalls.