This week Gabby uncovers Indigenous culture, stories and art along the Songlines of the NSW Central Coast.
Girri Girra Aboriginal Experiences is a 100% indigenous-owned business that provides guided walking tours throughout The Bouddi National Park, just ninety minutes from Sydney.
The scenery of the park is undeniably stunning, but as Gabby discovers, it’s the ceremonies, the storytelling, and the insight into the world’s oldest living culture by Director and Cultural Educator, Tony Selwyn, that makes the Girri Girra experience really special.
The gentle three-and-a-half-hour round-trip starts with a traditional Welcome to Country ceremony and a fascinating, inclusive discussion about ‘skin grouping’ that connects us all to the land and our ancestors. Tim, then guides the group along the pathways, or ‘Songlines’, where Gabby visits special sights, engages in a spiritual ‘brush-down’, and learns about rock carvings that date back at least eleven-thousand years.
After the group are farewelled by Tim with a beautiful clapstick song, Gabby heads a few minutes down the road to Bouddi Gallery in Killcare. The gallery represents not-for-profit aboriginal owned art centres and trades exclusively in beautiful Aboriginal artworks, homewares and lifestyle products, and as Gabby learns, every individual art work comes with a unique story and background on the artist.
So, whether it’s taking a spiritual journey with Girri Girra or getting lost in amazing contemporary Indigenous art at the gallery, one thing is for sure – after a day at Bouddi National Park, you’ll never look at the land in quite the same way.
FOR MORE INFO:
Girri Girra Aboriginal Experiences
@girrigirra
Bouddi Gallery
@bouddigallery
