Kuku Yalanji Tours – Mossman Gorge and Cooya Beach

Cooya Beach

I experienced these two uniquely Indigenous tours just North of Cairns and I was trying to think of a tour/place I have been on before where I have experienced something similar…I couldn’t think of anything…

Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tours with brothers Brandon and Linc Walker at Cooya Beach is such a unique tour, I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it! I was the only person booked on the tour for the day so I felt pretty special to be one on one with Brandon. The tour doesn’t feel like a tour, it’s just spending a day with Brandon (or Linc)

Spear Fishing

going spear fishing, it’s a learning and sharing experience with a local who is so knowledgable of the area, customs and culture that this aspect of the day is what sets it apart from other mainstream tours and provides an authentic Indigenous product.

Cooya beach is pristine and when the tide is out you can walk for ages in knee-deep water. I was given a spear which I had NO idea what to do with while Brandon explained that the hunting he and his family do is sustainable, which of course is very important. We waded through the waters for nearly two hours with Brandon

spearing a few sting rays (that he would return to the waters after de-barbing them) and a few crabs. On our return we

Chili Mud Crab - Delicious

walked via the Mangroves where I searched for delicious oysters! I learned that if I was ever to come across a crocodile, the safest spot is in the mangroves as the crocs don’t like to crawl through them to get to you!

The tour concludes at the Walker family home where our catch of the day is cooked up – my favorite part of the tour! Delicious chili mud crab with Brandons amazing chili sauce.

For further information on the Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tours please visit: www.bamaway.com.au/KukuYalanji

Rainforest Creek

Kuku Yalanji Dreamtime Walk and Mossman Gorge takes you through the rainforest on a one and a half hour guided walk and along the way you learn the survival skills and knowledge gathered by ancestors passed down through the generations that includes traditional culture and a complex understanding of forest flora and wildlife. Walking through the rainforest is unforgettable, everything is so green and damp, rivers and creeks run throughout while spotting an animal isn’t uncommon.

My guide told me that James Cameron actually came to Mossman Gorge for inspiration prior to filming Avator. Which makes perfect sense when I saw the strangular figs that have roots that stretch all the way along the rainforest floor and do seem to be the heart of the rainforest.

Strangular Fig Roots

The tour concludes with the outback tradition of billy tea and damper and chatting with the Indigenous guides. The Mossman Gorge shouldn’t be missed when staying in Cairns, it’s less than an hour to drive there and it is magnificent and so so stunning.

For further information on the Kuku Yalanji Mossman Gorge tour, please visit: www.yalanji.com.au