Visitors to Bendigo can engage close-up with the art and culture of Dja Dja Wurrung - the Traditional Owners of Central Victoria - through immersive tours run by DUMAWUL, an enterprise of DJAARA, the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation.

Dja Dja Wurrung tour guides host two tours: the Ulumbarra CBD Walking Tour through Bendigo's central arts and business district, and the Kooyoora cultural tour: a half-day nature-based experience at the Kooyoora State Park, which is a 30-minute drive from Bendigo.

The Kooyoora guided walking tour explores the significant cultural and natural history of Kooyoora, the 'Mountain of Light'.

The tour begins with a traditional Welcome to Country smoking ceremony. Visitors are then guided to explore the landscape, and Dja Dja Wurrung connection to Dreamtime, including ancient rock and terrain formations, rock pools, and our stories of water spirits, bush tucker, native plants, and animals.

DUMAWUL's CBD tour weaves historic storytelling with Dja Dja Wurrung language, art, and living Culture embedded in a modern regional city. The tour finishes at DUMAWUL's Creative Arts and Cultural Tourism Hub in the centre of Bendigo, where visitors can view and purchase works by Dja Dja Wurrung artists. This tour is perfect for visitors with limited time or restricted mobility.

Dja Dja Wurrung man Kyrun Kerr is one of several DUMAWUL tour guides.

“As a Dja Dja Wurrung man, it's a privilege to provide visitors with a deeper understanding of how Dja Dja Wurrung People are preserving our language and living Culture, our connection to Country, and the work we are undertaking to heal Country almost two centuries after Bendigo's gold rush,” Kyrun said.

DUMAWUL is providing a sneak peek into their tours at the Australian Tourism Exchange, on this week at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. Learn more about DUMAWUL tours at dumawul.com.au/tours.

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For more information, please contact:

Nicola Dunnicliff-Wells | Communications Officer | | M: +61 427 701 908 | E: communications@djadjawurrung.com.au