Meet our newest member: Mandingalbay Authentic Indigenous Tours
From Cairns in Tropical North Queensland, Indigenous rangers take guests on an immersive ride to explore this country through Aboriginal eyes.
It’s hard to comprehend just how ecologically diverse and important Tropical North Queensland really is globally – this pocket of Australia is home to a staggering 3,000 plant species, 400-plus different birds and more than 100 unique mammals, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth. It’s a bounty that the Djunbunji rangers of Mandingalbay Authentic Indigenous Tours have been actively tracking and recording for a decade, imparting their immense knowledge to guests who sign up for their deeply immersive tours departing from Cairns.
Victor Bulmer, Mandingalbay Yidinj guide
Your guide for the three-hour Mandingalbay Hands on Country Eco Tour may well be Victor Bulmer. A Mandingalbay Yidinji man, Victor knows the Cairns countryside intimately, and saw an opportunity to launch the Djunbunji Land and Sea Ranger program in 2009 to give back to the community he has such an affinity for – its goal to not only ensure the conservation of the land, but also provide training and employment opportunities for the Indigenous community. The Mandingalbay tours came later in 2015, to share the story, and today they take guests from Cairns across Trinity Inlet and into the rainforest. “I grew up on Country knowing my strong connection to the land and community from both my maternal and paternal side of the family,” says Victor. “I’ve always been involved in issues concerning our people, and how we connect through our Songlines, Storylines and Dancelines. I was pretty much raised to be a ranger and share my story.”
mandingalbay-guide
Today, Victor and his team give guests a fresh perspective of the land, revealing its Indigenous history and how it has been a food bowl for Indigenous people for millennia. You can expect the chance to taste bush tucker, with seasonal plants plucked along your journey, including blue quandong, or banana figs and lemon aspen. Much of the flora surrounding you on your outing also contains medicinal properties. Your Mandingalbay Yidinji guide will point out a bush used as an insect repellent and another with properties similar to modern toothpaste. “If you didn’t know where to look, chances are you’d walk straight past them,” says Victor.
