Duration:
4h
Experience an Aboriginal Welcome to Sydney and follow a living Dreamtime cultural trail visiting sites of significance across Sydney. Experience first hand Sydney’s ancient heritage. Tour includes a delicious Aboriginal picnic lunch.
Operated By:
Connect with the Ancient Heartbeat of Sydney
Embark on a deeply moving journey across the metropolitan Sydney landscape to uncover the rich tapestry of Aboriginal history and heritage. This immersive four-hour coach tour invites you to walk in the footsteps of the world’s oldest living culture, exploring iconic sites and ancient rock engravings that tell stories thousands of years old. 🌿
Discover Dreamtime Stories and Sacred Sites
Delve into the profound wisdom of Aboriginal Dreamtime events. You will explore the who, how, when, and why of these sacred narratives, gaining a rare and respectful insight into the spiritual connection to the land. Feel a true connection to Wyanga Malu’s (earth mother’s) Heartbeats as you listen to the ancient stories of the landscape.
What Your Journey Includes
- Guided Cultural Walk: Enjoy a 40-minute guided segment of the acclaimed Rocks Aboriginal Dreaming Tour. 👣
- Native Flavours: Taste authentic Aboriginal food flavours with a specially prepared morning tea and lunch included. 🍲
- Scenic Exploration: Travel comfortably by coach with short, guided walkabouts at each historic location.
Important Tour Information
- Tours are 4 hours in duration and include lunch and morning tea.
- Pick up is from outside Gadigal Radio, 33-35 Cope St, Redfern. Your groups will be dropped off after at the same location.
- Please let us know if there are any special needs or dietary requirements.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Full payment must be made at least 7 days prior to event.
Share:
Living in harmony with nature Margret is an excellent guide and in a short tour helped us to understand the connection with the land, trees and animals from birth. Aboriginal people were living in harmony with nature here for longer than there were humans in Europe or the Americas.read moreread less
Trevor
27 Jul 2026
Eye opening - excellent tour around The Rocks! It's impossible to learn about whole cultures in 90 minutes, but this is an excellent tour to start understanding the depth of First Nation connection to the land and generations past, and how the growth of modern Sydney has impacted that - the tour was a nice balance between sharing stories and traditions while describing the realities of colonisation. Amanda was an excellent and deeply passionate guide who showed us things we would never have noticed just walking about - and we were lucky to have her to ourselves! This tour far exceeded my expectations and it was a highlight of our trip to Sydney. I would highly recommend to anyone who's interested in learning about what happens when two worlds collide.read moreread less
953grahamw
26 Oct 2025
Aboriginal Dreaming tour experience I did this tour and it was beyond expectation. Margret is an amazing tourguide. I wanted to learn more about the real indiginous story, culture and believes and Margret really educate. I would recommend this tour to everyone. I absolute enjoyed it.read moreread less
willemien
04 Sep 2025
Compelling content, uneven experience I booked this tour with great enthusiasm, and it delivered valuable education about Australia's indigenous culture, world view, traditions, and the impact of colonization. I particularly appreciated learning about the patterns aboriginal people see in nature, and about the way they pioneered sustainable practices.The tour was disappointing in its delivery. The young guide had wonderful knowledge and a passion for sharing it, but could have engaged participants more effectively. She tended toward the didactic, even angry at times, which led to the group remaining almost entirely silent for 90 minutes. I'm not sure why; perhaps they were afraid of offending her, or lacked English fluency. I've found other Indigenous experiences better at creating empathy, connection, dialogue and mutual understanding, even when communicating hard truths - as they must.
Finally, for almost $100 - far more than most Sydney small-group tours - it's fair to expect a better experience. I believe this tour can improve, as its message and content are important and compelling.
read moreread less
Echevarria
28 Aug 2025
Amazing RAP Initiative for NRW We had an amazing and extremely informative tour. Our RAP working group found the session to be deeply educational and interesting, full of facts and stories that have never been told before. Our tour guide Emily was fantastic and so knowledgeable, and she is only 19!! Thank you so much Dreamtime SouthernX for such an amazing session, will definitely recommend this to other companies.read moreread less
Tia
28 May 2025
Great way to start a trip to Sydney This was a great way to start my 2025 Australian tour. Situated in the context of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, hearing about the culture and lives of the First Nations people was an absolute privilege. Amanda was very knowledgeable and no question was a daft question!read moreread less
janemelvin2
03 May 2025
Outstanding tour. This was an enjoyable and very enlightening look into Australian aboriginal culture and history. This is especially remarkable as it happened in an urban setting. I would recommend this to all visitors to Australia as a way of beginning to understand ways of the earliest inhabitants of Australia.read moreread less
howardk406
18 Apr 2025
Book this tour! This was one of our favorite things we did in Sydney. We felt very privileged to have the founder, Aunty Margaret, as our guide. History, knowledge, and experience are flowing through her, and we were honored to have her share her gifts. This is a must-do for anyone wanting to know more about the full history of the area and Aboriginal culture.read moreread less
Eric
30 Mar 2025
Do not miss this hidden gem! This was the BEST experience in our entire trip to Australia. Our guide Amanda was incredibly knowledgeable and kind. It was a little difficult to find the start of the tour (front of Cadman's cottage - side closest to the harbour). All of our other cultural experiences in Australia missed the mark by not describing the meaning and history behind certain traditions, such as the boomerang, the Dreamtime, traditional Walk-Abouts, etc Amanda shared the importance of traditional lifeways and Indigenous culture, and the impacts of colonization. She answered our many questions very well. Seeing the hidden history of Sydney (including the original shoreline) was eye-opening. This is definitely a hidden gem of Sydney.read moreread less
Sarah
19 Mar 2025
Great guide, very informative. The guide was great and the tour was very informative. The tour incorporated the cityscape into the story in a very natural way.read moreread less
Odyssey795182
02 Mar 2025
Tour guide didn’t even show up Don’t bother booking this tour, our tour guide didn’t show up, we stood around with 7 other people for 40 minutes, travel to Sydney. Tried to call the mobile number multiple times and no one answered or even bothered to give us an answer, everyone ended up walking away.read moreread less
angelicapE1983OS
02 Mar 2025
Exciting tour We really enjoyed the Dreamtime walkabout tour. Our guide Douglas was very informative and interesting, Would recommend this tour to others as an essential introduction to understanding aboriginal culture.
read moreread less
Melissa
23 Feb 2025
Don't miss this opportunity We were really fortunate in having our two guides to ourselves - how lucky were we! Full of knowledge and passion which they were able to share with us. Wpuld absolutely recommend this original encounter instead of, or as well as, your standard 'First Settlers' tour.read moreread less
suzanne
12 Feb 2025
Amazing tour experience with school group Aunty Margret is an amazing guide and delivers an authentic telling of First Nations history including natural elements from the environment on the tour path, as well as incorporating and telling the stories of significant places and monuments around Sydney. I went for educational purposes as part of a group of college students coming from America, and I appreciated her candid telling of aboriginal history. I enjoyed hearing both her life’s story and what brought her to share her culture and educate others.Overall amazing experience, with personal and educational storytelling that is engaging to the audience. Would highly recommend!
read moreread less
Ava
02 Feb 2025
Do not miss this opportunity to learn about Gadigal country from an indigenous point of view Great experience with Doria, she was a lively guide and invited us into several indigenous stories of the region. I would not have learned any of this on my own, and definitely would not have dared to eat/drink some of the plants around the harbour! A must-do when visiting Gadigal countryread moreread less
marcas20
23 Aug 2024
Highly Recommend I highly recommend this tour, it was so beautiful and important to see the world through the lens of the First Nations people. We had Amanda and she was super knowledgeable, friendly and funny. We really enjoyed the tour and honestly I wish it went a bit longer.read moreread less
Moura
22 Aug 2024
Do not miss. Mother Earth wants you here. I can barely put into words how amazing and educational this tour was. Our guide had only the two of us, it was pouring rain, it shouldn’t have worked but I cannot recommend this enough. The depth of knowledge, the patience and encouragement for us to learn, the friendliness, openness, not shying away from the history, the enthusiasm for the culture was downright infectious. Something that will continue to trigger light bulb moments for years to come.read moreread less
Anne
14 Aug 2024
Fun and educational tour We wanted to learn more about aboriginal culture and heritage and were not disappointed. The guide was interesting and patient with us and we learned a lot! Very enjoyable and enriching.read moreread less
gabrieller595
11 Jul 2024
Amazing experience Amanda was an amazing tour guide, gave personal experiences and stories and could tell how much the Dreamtime story as well as Mother Earth is to her. A great way to start your understanding and educational journey.read moreread less
Daniella
04 Jul 2024
A privilege to have these stories and knowledge shared An incredible experience which all visitors to Sydney should participate. It provides the important context to the place in which they are visiting, by the traditional custodians of these lands. The stories and knowledges shared impacted our perspectives as we continue our visit to Gadigal country. Our guide was Emily and she was fantastic!read moreread less
DonMincho
30 Jun 2024
Fantastic intro to Aboriginal life! Amanda was our guide and was very knowledgeable, a great storyteller, and answered questions well. She showed us parts of the Rocks area through an Aboriginal lens as well as many aspects of an Aboriginal worldview. Very enlightening to see how culture, religion, education, economics, politics, and family life are all interwoven with the land, animals, and plants of Australia. She also included how Aboriginal culture has interacted with other cultures. Bring a hat if it's hot and sunny, though Amanda found us a lot of nice, shady spots for stops on the tour. Highly recommended!read moreread less
David
15 Mar 2024
Excellent and highly recommend It was a very informative, well designed and well run tour. Amanda was an excellent leader. I was the only Australian on the tour and I learned things I didn’t know before which was wonderful. I’d love to see more Australians do the tour.read moreread less
Megan
10 Mar 2024
Worthwhile experience Amanda is really knowledgeable and made the tour extremely interesting. She gave a really great insight into the past and present indigenous Australians and how present and future generations across the globe should be looking after our wee planet earth and all who inhabit it!Stephen & Alison Mann
From Erskine, Renfrewshire, Scotland.
read moreread less
Alison
08 Mar 2024
An educational and spiritual experience I learned a lot about the history of the First Nations people and most importantly, learned about Dreamtime and how we are connected to Earth, our Mother. It made me realise a lot of things, especially our role/s and responsibilities in this world. Amanda, our guide, was amazing and special. She’s a great person. This tour is definitely worth the time and money for exploration and enlightenmentread moreread less
engrkebin
01 Mar 2024
Wonderful Tour Wonderful experience with Nathan! Very informative and eye opening, giving us an overview of both the cultural and spiritual foundations of the oldest civilization. I say-don’t miss it!read moreread less
Venture138482
01 Mar 2024
Informative, Interesting and an essential experience Our guide, Amanda, was wonderful and we learnt so much about First Nations people and their way of life for thousands of years. She explained about Dreamtime and the beginning of life, and as the tour continued it became so clear why the connection to country and family is so very strong for them. We learnt how their connection starts from they day they are born and continues their life time. You can understand why the country flourished for thousands of years under their ongoing care until it all changed in 1788. Their knowledge is incredible and it would be wonderful if we could all work together as one to continue caring for this beautiful place so many of us call home.Thoroughly enjoyed the tour and would highly recommend it not only for tourists but for everyone.
read moreread less
Annie
21 Feb 2024
One of the most beautiful cultures in the world One of THE best tours I have been on! Amanda was amazing! I learned so much about the way our First Nations people lived in harmony with Mother Earth. If only the rest of the world had lived in such a way, we would all be living in paradise right now. Very ashamed to be a white Australian in recent times. How dare we deny one of the most beautiful cultures in the world the right to have a say in how THEIR land and people are managed!read moreread less
Shona
01 Jan 2024
Educational! Great cultural experience. Guide was very knowledgeable! A good walking tour. Well worth taking to get an idea of the indigenous culture and history.read moreread less
James
27 Dec 2023
Wonderful tour! Nathan was a great tour guide and got to really understand the history of the aboriginal people. So many new and exciting things discovered. Thank you and highly recommend this tour!read moreread less
Steven
15 Dec 2023
Best experience on holiday! We went on this walk on our last day in Australia. I wish we had gone earlier so that I could do it again. Amanda was brilliant and I found the tour so informative. I felt very emotional as so much of what she said is exactly how I feel the world should be. I am probably too old now to make the long journey from Scotland again but if the opportunity should arise, this tour would be first on my list! Thank you!read moreread less
pungoo
23 Nov 2023
An Educational and Interactive Tour. Our Guide was very knowledgeable about their history.She was very friendly too.
A very educational experience.
Loved every bit during the walk.
read moreread less
Tom
22 Nov 2023
Fantastic experience - a must-do My husband and I had a wonderful experience with tour guide Donya. Donya was personable, friendly, and knowledgeable about the First Nations culture, specifically around the immediate area. Would highly recommend!read moreread less
dplanter
21 Nov 2023
Interesting Morning Exploring Aboriginal Culture in Sydney Interesting and insightful tour. It was the perfect amount of info to give me a basis of knowledge about aboriginal culture in Australia, but also left me feeling like there is much more to notice and learn. I liked that some basic info was interspersed with specific examples of plants and animals found in The Rocks area itself. Amanda was welcoming and approachable - which is important if you have questions about a subject that is not heard about in mainstream culture. Most of the info about The Rocks as it is now is easy to find online or in a book, so I found this tour special because I would not have found that info anywhere else.read moreread less
Lyssatravels
03 Oct 2023
Bootcamp on First Nations (aboriginal) culture I wanted to learn more about the aboriginal culture of Australia, and this was a perfect start. Our aboriginal tour guide gave us an introduction to aboriginal beliefs, family ties, language, cultural connections, lifestyle, relation to the land, animals and plants, and so much more while going on a walking tour through the Rocks.read moreread less
David
24 Sep 2023
A rich culture What an amazing tour. Amanda was brilliant in giving us a taste our her aboriginal heritage. I learnt so much in such a short time and it gave me a deeper understanding of the richness of the culture.read moreread less
Caseysasha
29 Aug 2023
Brilliantly engaging local tour We went as a family with a teenager, unsure how he would find the tour, but he was captivated, as were we, and we all loved it! Amanda was so engaging and the history was fascinating. The interactive nature of the talk really helped us to understand the stories and cultural heritage aspects. Would highly recommend this brilliant tour.read moreread less
Dominique
17 Aug 2023
Brilliant tour of Warrane | Sydney Time passed quickly on this insightful tour as we explored and learned about the area, history and heritage with our wonderful guide, Emily. There's so much to see & learn about on this tour- keen to come back again soon with friends, fam and relatives!
read moreread less
Jessica
15 Jul 2023
More Aussies need to go on this tour! This was a fantastic cultural walking tour! Our guide, Amanda, was passionate, knowledgeable and patient with all our questions. I highly recommend more Aussie locals to book into this tour to learn about the world's oldest continuous living cultures from a local Sydney perspective. Once you've been on the tour, it opens your eyes to the rich First Nations histories and knowledges which are all around us. An amazing experience, which I cannot recommend highly enough!read moreread less
U4952ZKclares
30 Jun 2023
Best experience ever this was the best experience I had in Sydney so far. Thank you so much for this initiative, please keep going it was truly amazing. My guide was Amanda and she was fantastic <3read moreread less
blalla
19 Jun 2023
The Spiral of Life. Always hope ❤️ Meeting Dallas Thank you sincerely.You shared soulful, and incredibly informative insight into your cultures history, lives, and ways of being. Captured with heart and integrity.
read moreread less
SpiralofLife
01 Jun 2023
Aboriginal Welcome to Australia Amanda was awesome. After a 14 hour flight, drop bags at the hotel, and straight to this tour; what a welcome by the first people of Australia. As a person of faith it was awesome to hear their story of coming to understand that there truly is ‘something’ greater than what we see and feel. The walking tour was awesome with many handheld visuals presented as you move about Sydney harbor. A truly awesome experience.read moreread less
C3074DRbobbyh
24 May 2023
Amazing tour, very insightful It was a great trip. We organised a group of clients who are veer new to Australia (some arrived only a week ago) to learn more about First Nations culture and history as an important part of making Sydney their new home. Dallas was amazing, he has a lot of knowledge and people enjoyed walking around the iconic harbour getting to know plants, original landscape, local customs and how places came to have the name they have.read moreread less
emmamO9000YW
15 May 2023
The best and most important experience you can have in Sydney. The best and most important experience you can have in Sydney. Amanda was so kind, engaging and entertaining! I learned more in 90 minutes on her tour than I had done in the previous three years of living here.
read moreread less
lpw2907
18 Apr 2023
A Must Do Experience! Absolutely phenomenal. Amanda was our wonderful guide and she was so warm and welcoming. Ready for any of our questions and so knowledgeable. The tour is so informative and a beautiful opportunity to learn about the truth and history of Australia. Couldn't recommend moreread moreread less
Paige
12 Apr 2023
Insightful experience Fabulous overview of the incredible connection Aboriginal cultures have to Country and how their intricate knowledge of flora and fauna is passed on through the generations. It also gave a sobering insight into the the impact of colonisation. A must do when you're in Sydney.read moreread less
Kate
10 Apr 2023
Wonderful I highly recommend this experience. This area of Sydney holds great significance for First Peoples before & after colonisation. Its a wonderful & fulfilling experience to learn from & embrace the oldest living civilisation & culture on earth. Thank youread moreread less
Scotty4579
23 Mar 2023
Thanks for the tour We absolutely loved our tour with Uncle Dallas. We decided to do this as a team-building exercise with our work team. I highly recommend it for any visitors or teams, even if local.read moreread less
js1202
21 Mar 2023
An absolute yes to this one. ???????? The tour was great, informative, intimate. Nice way to learn about the culture and tradition of the native Australians.read moreread less
Contactmami
21 Mar 2023
Highly recommend This tour was so interesting and inspiring, would highly recommend. Thank you Amanda for opening our eyes to the beautiful Aboriginal world.read moreread less
FFindlay
23 Feb 2023
MUST DO Hands down one of the BEST tour I’ve done in/around the rocks area.Amanda was a fabulous guide, major kudos to her on her ability to command attention from our massive group, making it fun but also making us think. very well done and she’s a credit to the team that does the tours.
Just do it book it and I’ll know for a fact that you’ll be glad that you did so! HIGHLY recommend this tour and I cannot thank Amanda enough.
read moreread less
Long_Vodka
09 Feb 2023
Walking Tour with Margaret This heritage tour is a necessary complement to any trip to Sydney and especially the Rocks area. It highlights the resilience and strength of Indigenous cultural survival in the face of overwhelming pressure, like a flower blooming in the crack of a sidewalk. I’ll never see the Rocks and the Harbor Bridge in the same way again. I highly recommend the tour to everyone!read moreread less
benjaminwY9727ST
03 Feb 2023
Study Abroad from USA A unique educational opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Aboriginal Australians and see their perspectives - in down town Sydney! Many layers of learning during this walking tour, making it an important excursion in all Study Abroad programs. Not to be missed by visitors or locals alike. Thank you for sharing with us!read moreread less
372nath
25 Jan 2023
Walk About with Margret After 2 weeks visiting NZ & AU I finally felt like I was learning and experiencing the real origins of the country. Brilliant presentation!read moreread less
R2229PPellens
25 Jan 2023
Amazing experience, highly recommended Amazing experience. Learnt so much and helped me feel more deeply connected to beautiful mother earth. Recommend attending whether in a group, pairs or alone. Friendly tour guides and very professional service. Shout out to Amanda who was our tour guide!read moreread less
ElishafromSydney
10 Jan 2023
Inspiring and informative We spent an informative and inspiring afternoon tour with Margaret today. We learned a great deal and so appreciated her passionate, authentic advocacy for the rights and traditions of the aboriginal clans of Australia. Highly recommend.read moreread less
Denny
02 Jan 2023
A Different Perspective... I wanted to make sure that my 9-year-old learns about the history of the First Nation and not just about the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Bridge. I told her the entire time that these are our cousins who are also still struggling with generational trauma. Our tour guide did not hold back which we love and answered questions we had. Would definitely recommend this tour over and over.read moreread less
SEA_Chic
29 Dec 2022
A Different Way of Understanding The Rocks & Sydney. Our tour guide, Donia asked what we were interested in & she talked to those points - nature & how did First Nations people inhabit & use the local area.read moreread less
Angela
11 Dec 2022
Interesting and interactive tour I really enjoyed this tour. It was fantastic to see and understand more about Sydney and the culture that has been here for thousands of years. Our guide, Donia, was such a great person and her passion made the tour even better!read moreread less
Justin
10 Dec 2022
Dreamtime Cultural Heritage Tour Loved the tour. Aboriginal guide was so helpful, educational and willing to share his precious cultural knowledge.Would recommend this tour for anyone wanting to engage with integrity with local Aboriginal culture and heritage.
read moreread less
Mobile731721
27 Nov 2022
Fascinating cultural tour As someone who had no knowledge of Aboriginal culture before today, this tour was incredibly fascinating. So curious to learn more. Thank you for the special tour, Margret, I feel honored to listen to your stories.read moreread less
Kimuuu
09 Nov 2022
