Excellent cultural tour - Guides were very friendly and welcoming, well spoken and good knowledge of their area. Saw some crocs on the boat cruise, and we learnt about hunting tools and weapons, family history, plant use and was also provided with a nice morning tea and coffee. Highly recommended.

So great to visit traditional Indigenous country with custodians - We loved this tour. Our Indigenous guides were very friendly & informative & we learned so much about the traditional cultural practices, plants, foods & animals. It was a really memorable experience to be on country with such knowledgeable hosts. Many thanks!

A must-do experience - Amazing experience seeing and understanding more of Cairns and surrounding areas from the perspective of the First Nations people who live on and love the land. Incredibly open and honest conversations were able to be had and I felt very comfortable and welcomed. I left with a deep sense of appreciation and love for this sacred land and its people.

Great experience - Great experience and friendly guides with so much knowledge of their culture. thanks Jo, Tess ,Rae and Leanne for your time and wisdom

Highly recommand it ! - What an amazing experience that I will highly recommand. Such genuine people, we could ask anything, I learned a lot and had fun :) to top it off we saw 2 crocs very close and a Sting gray. No hesitation 5 stars

Best experience - Amazing experience felt one with the traditional people of the land . Best tour in Cairns 👍👍😊😊 have to see before any other tour

A positive, engaging, thought-provoking experience. Highly recommended. - This is an excellent tour, with friendly, engaging, and informative traditional owner guides. I was grateful for their welcome to the land that their families have lived on for generations, and for the insights they shared with us. As someone who has had a long-term interest in Australian cultural history, I valued being able hold and learn about the manufacture of traditional items and wares. It’s one thing to read about and see items in books and museums, but quite another to hold and learn about manufacture from people who know how it’s done. Feeling the weight of a bloodwood club, holding a rock-hard piece of tree resin that can be heated and manipulated to haft an axe or join blades to form an X-shaped boomerang, seeing how a woomera is actually used – wow! There’s nothing like “hands on” to really gain understanding. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Cairns. For me, it was the highlight of our time here. Yeah, there’s the reef, and the rainforest, but there is so much more here in Cairns – take a glimpse of the depth of Australian culture that Mandingalbay tours offers you and gain a fresh perspective of Australia’s quite chequered post-European history. Along with meeting some great people, it will (hopefully) also leave you with much to think about afterwards, and I mean that in a very positive sense.

One of Cairns' local hidden gems - Great tour experiencing local traditional culture and stories. On the boat ride across, local landmarks around Cairns harbour and creation stories were explained, the various Indigenous tribe names and delineations of their boundaries. Arriving at an award-winning shelter constructed within the Mandingalbay Indigenous Protected Area, we found out more about the Traditional Owners' efforts to overcome high levels of acid sulphate degradation from past sugarcane land clearing. The area is now close to being restored, after decades of hard work in conjunction with scientists. We then boarded a bus and visited the Ranger Station, where a traditional welcome and cleansing smoke ceremony were performed. Ladies get a special clay face treatment as well! A nearby guided bushwalk uncovered Indigenous customs, bush foods, tools and medicines - make sure to wear sturdy covered shoes and plenty of insect repellent. Morning tea awaited us afterwards, consisting of fresh scones, jam & cream, seasonal fruit, tea and coffee. Highly recommended tour for someone seeking an authentic local experience that is out of the ordinary.

Awesome experience. A must do - Amazing experience. Jo and Leanne were open to any questions we had. So friendly, inviting and informative. The stories and education starts from the minute you step on the boat. Their lives in tune with country and respect is obvious and it was a privilege to see and feel so welcomed. Even saw a croc as a bonus! Highly recommend this tour.

Low value - This 2.5 tour consists of meeting an aboriginal ranger who talks about his family's background and short work in the forest with an aboriginal guide who points out medicinal plants used by the Aboriginals. We were expecting more. Not worth the money.