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No trip to Australia is complete without an understanding of the Aboriginal Culture

Aboriginal (or Aborigine) means Indigenous to Australia. They were the sole inhabiters of Australia before it was occupied by the British and other Europeans

There were over 300,000 Aboriginals in Australia before the settlers arrived. With them, they brought Old World Diseases which simply wiped out thousands of Aboriginals. As well as this, they were not given any rights to the land which pushed them out.

Nowadays, Aborigines account for just 3% of the Australian population and many suffer from alcohol and poor health problems. But there are pockets within Australia where you can still see their old values and traditions which are very interesting indeed. There are certain places, such as Ayers Rock, that are very sacred to the Aboriginal community. These are key places to learn more about Aboriginal culture and beliefs.[I:http://phila-airport-parking.com/blog/wp-content/uploads//2009/10/JenniferSchellington0.jpg]

Music and art are two key elements of the Aboriginal culture. The didgeridoo is one of the most well known instruments but is in fact only really used by those from the East of Australia. The clapping sticks are in fact more well known.

Rock Art is the oldest of the Aboriginal Arts and can be found in places such as Ayers Rock and Kakadu National Parks as these are sacred Aboriginal lands. It is the dot paintings that are particularly popular with tourists and these are generally easy to find throughout Australia.

Where To Experience Aboriginal Australia

There are lots of places you can go to learn about the Aboriginal Culture. There is not room in this article to explore them all. Arnhem Land which is near Darwin in the top end of Australia is in my opinion the best place to go. Numbers are restricted to this sacred area so you can guarantee a less touristy approach. You really do get to appreciate the real culture and see real Aboriginals dot painting and making crafts. You can easily incorporate a day trip here as part of your trip to Darwin or Kakadu National Park and I highly recommend it. Remember that this area has defined seasons so only come here between May and October.[I:http://phila-airport-parking.com/blog/wp-content/uploads//2009/10/JenniferSchellington1.jpg]

If Darwin is not on your to do list then consider an Aboriginal experience in one of the more visited areas such as Sydney. Two of the best experiences are The Blue Mountains Walkabout Tour or The Rocks Half Day Dreaming Tour. The second is taken by an Aboriginal Elder called Margaret Campbell and the tour is authentic and very interesting.

As the Aboriginals would say, lets go Walkabout. Discover Aboriginal Australia and see Australia in a whole new light.

Local aborigines referred to Queenslands south coast as kurrungula name derived from their word for endless supplies of timber, and the region was said to be a meeting place where tribes would come together (essentially on summer holidays) to fish and camp near the many creeks and estuaries between the Tweed River and Moreton Bay.Captain Cook traveled past the coast in 1770 and named Point Danger and Mount Warning but it wasnt until government surveyors chartered the region in 1840 that the area was really brought to the attention of the European settlers, who werent really interested in surf beaches but were keen to chop down as much wood as they could drag up to Brisbane to use in the Moreton Bay shipping industry.

Timber cutters began coming to this region in large numbers in the mid 1800′s. The town of Merang was home base for this industry. Surrounding valleys and plains were quickly developed as sugar, cotton and cattle farms and by 1869 the settlers had reached as far as the mouth of the Nerang River to the South of Moreton Bay.

The Governor of Queensland, Musgrave, built his vacation home on a hill just north of Southport. At this time the coastal surroundings began to gain a reputation of being a resort town for the rich and famous. After the finish of the railway in 1889, numerous hotels and guest houses were built up and down the area’s coastline.

The population of permanenet residents was slowly increasing yearly until the road between Brisbane and Southport was built in 1925. It was also in 1925 that the original Surfers Paradise hotel was built. This glorious hotel burned in 1936, but it was quickly rebuilt on an even grander scale and even included a zoo in the back.

Developers began to recognize this area and refer to it as the Gold Coast by the 1940′s. It was not officially named that until 1958. The development of high rise buildings began in the 1950′s and continued into the 1980′s, however the skyline began to really soar after the Japanese investment in the 1980′s. This area is home to over 500,000, making it Australia’s sixth largest city. It is also home to one of the tallest residential buildings in all the world.

This interesting outback city is surrounded by a surprising number of locations of interest. It’s the second biggest city in the Northern Territory, with about 25,000 people, and is located about 1,500 km from Darwin, and about 300 km north of the South Australian border.

This city has often been called the center of Australia, and is a popular tourist spot for people wanting to explore Ayers Rock (Uluru), the MacDonnell Ranges, and the Olgas (Kata Tjuta). There are many other attractions available here, as well.

Alice Springs came into being as a vital link in the Overland Telegraph Line. It later became a major railhead in the Northern Territory, with goods passing through the city on their long journey to other destinations.

Located about 600 m above sea level, Alice Springs is on the Todd River, a dry bed that contains water only after a heavy rain. This river rises in the MacDonnel Ranges and flows through the rich alluvial plain where Alice Springs is located, then disappears about 300 km south in the Simpson Desert.

The springs themselves are located northeast of the city, and were discovered in 1871, while the Overland Telegraph was being built. The Springs were named after Alice Todd, who was the wife of Sir Charles Todd, the namesake of the Todd River, and the driving force behind the telegraph’s creation.

Of course, these weren’t the first settlers of Alice Springs. There have been 5 generations of Europeans there, but over 500 generations of Aborigines. A number of the attractions in this area are related to that ancient culture, in addition to those related to the area’s more recent history.

Anzac Hill is an excellent place to start looking at what Alice Springs has to offer, showing visitors a three hundred and sixty degree panorama and a great view of the city. If you continue east from there, you’ll also see the bed of the Todd.

History lovers should check out Adelaide House, which was the city’s first hospital and has a number of interesting architectural features, like 45 cm thick walls and an intriguing cooling system. Nearby is the famous radio hut, featuring the first pedal wireless radio and the site of Australia’s first field radio telegram transmission.

The Old Stuart Gaol is the oldest building in the city, and it’s desert oak lintels and local stone make it a lasting structure. The railway station offers a number of railway cottages that used to house workers, and Wild Dog Rock (Gnoilya Tmerga), a stone associated with Aboriginal legend, is located nearby.

You can also see the Henley-on-Todd regatta every August – a race along the dry river bed, and the Bangtail Muster in May – a parade with humorous floats. More rail history is available at the Ghan Preservation Society museum, which features a tea room and souvenir shop.

At the Pitchi Richi Sanctuary, collected machinery, clay sculpture, and native animals mingle, and a few kilometers away is Emily Gorge. For those who love nature, Simpson’s Gap National Park, the Chambers Pillar Historical Reserve, the Henbury Meteorite Conservation Park, and the Ewaninga Rock Carvings Reserve may be points of interest.