AUSTRALIA
INDIGENOUS HERITAGE TOUR (included in your Programme)
If you do any placement with Travellers in Perth, an Aborigine Indigenous Heritage
Tour is included in your itinerary, free of charge. Once you've taken the tour,
we strongly recommend that you spend the rest of the day there and explore the many
things there to see and do.
Discover the oldest stories of the Dream Times and
the first Australians, the Aboriginal people.
On the tour you’ll learn about the indigenous heritage and History of Kings Park,
the importance of Swan River and Botanic Garden. Learn about the traditional implements,
tools and weapons, bush medicines and bush tucker. The Kings Park Indigenous Heritage
Tour is an enjoyable and fun way to understand the strength of connections between
the indigenous people, the land and the original West Australians who used and loved
Kings Park for tens of thousands of years.
Kings Park is No. 1 on the tourist map of Western Australia. It gets over 5 million
of visitors every year, including local residents who pack up picnic baskets and
spend the day there. This huge Park overlooks the city of Perth and the Swan River
and is only a few minutes from the city Centre. The Park has much to offer with
its sweeping parklands, Botanic Garden, wildflowers (which are spectacular, especially
in Spring), and native bushland (two-thirds of the Park).
TOP TEN THINGS TO DO IN KINGS PARK:
- Lotterywest Federation Walkway: Enjoy the wonderful views of the
city of Perth and the Swan River while walking among the treetops in the Western
Australian Botanic Garden. The Walkway is currently one of Kings Park and Botanic
Garden's most popular tourist attractions. It extends 620 metres through the Botanic
Garden along a combination of on-ground pathways and a spectacular elevated 52 m
glass and steel arched bridge suspended amongst a canopy of tall eucalypts.
- Aspects of Kings Park: Need some retail therapy? Browse through
uniquely Australian arts and crafts. Sales of products from Aspects of Kings Park
support the Park's conservation work. Aspects is arguably Perth's most unique retail
outlet. It bridges art and design, ecology, conservation and education.
- The Botanic Garden and Gija Jumulu - the Mighty Boab: For Western
Australians, Kings Park and Botanic Garden is a place of inspiration, relaxation,
recreation and wonder. The Garden is unique from those around the world primarily
because of the extraordinary diversity of Western Australian wildflowers found nowhere
else on earth. About 2,000 of Western Australia's 12,000 species of plants are displayed.
The Baobab tree, named Gija Jumulu, needed to be relocated due to work on the Great
Northern Highway ... so it journeyed over 3200 kilometres, from Warmun in WA's Kimberley
region, to Kings Park in Perth and attracted world-wide media coverage. It is estimated
to be 750 years old and its trunk measures 2.5 metres in diameter. The tree is a
special gift to all Western Australians from the local Indigenous people, the Gija,
who are the traditional land owners. Boabs (Adansonia gregorii) are deciduous trees
that are highly valued by Indigenous people for their edible fruits, medicinal uses
and water-holding properties. Along its journey, almost entire towns came out to
see Gija Julumu and people honked horns and waved the whole way down.
- Synergy Parkland: See the footprints of dinosaurs and discover
ancient fossils. This is a playground both exciting and challenging for children
to explore, discover and play or for adults to enjoy wonderful coffee and meals
at Zamia Cafe.
- Guided Walks through the Park: Botanic Garden Walk (All Year) 1-1.5
hrs
Kings Park - Past and Present (All Year) 1-1.5 hrs
Water Views and Wilderness (May - Oct) 2-2.5 hrs
Wilderness and Wildflowers (July - October) 1-1.5 hrs
- Climb the DNA Tower - all 101 steps to the top: The DNA Tower is
so named because it resembles the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) double-helix molecule,
which is found in all cells and control the development of life. With stops along
the way to enjoy the views, the climb is well worth the effort to get to the highest
point in Kings Park.
- The Bushland Nature Trail and/or Law Walk: Bush in the Heart of
the City - an easy 25 minutes loop walk. This walk offers an encounter with Western
Australia's famous wildflowers, trees and birdlife living in the wild as they have
done for millions of years. If you are lucky you might see a bobtail lizard or some
of the other bushland fauna.
- The State War Memorial precinct: For many thousands of years, Aboriginal
people have been visiting Kings Park. It remains an important ceremonial and cultural
place for the Indigenous people of Western Australia.
- The Lotterywest Family Area and Stickybeaks Cafe: Free BBQ's and
picnic areas if you want to spend the day with friends and have an Aussie barbie!
- The Kokoda Track Memorial Walk : A tribute to the bravery of Australian
troops who fought through atrocious conditions
and against vastly superior numbers in the Papua New Guinea campaign of July 1942 - January
1943.