Yuin Retreat

2 Days & 2 Nights
South Coast, New South Wales
Cultural Immersion
Year Round
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Explore Yuin country on the South Coast of New South Wales with Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness (NNCA). The traditional custodians of Yuin country invite you to come, learn and immerse yourself in the world’s oldest living culture.

Your Yuin guide will explain the significance of Country, culture and dreaming. Gulaga Mountain is central to Yuin culture, dreaming and people of the Narooma/Tilba region on the South Coast. As traditional knowledge holders and teachers, NNCA will guide you on this two night, one day Aboriginal experience, connecting you to the creation stories and allowing you to walk away with a piece of the sacred dreaming of the Yuin forever. 

Location

Narooma and the neighbouring Bega Valley region is located just over 4 hours and 30 minutes’ drive south of Sydney, 3 hours’ drive east of Canberra and 8 hours’ drive north east of Melbourne.

What to expect

The Yuin Retreat is a 2 night, 1 day (40 hour) experience that starts on the evening of Day 1 and concludes mid-morning on Day 3. This tour includes two nights’ accommodation, meals as indicated and a team of guides offering insights, knowledge and dreamtime stories for the duration of the experience.

Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness (NNCA) was established in 2011 and is an Aboriginal owned and operated Cultural service provider running Aboriginal tourism experiences in the Narooma/Tilba region on the South Coast of New South Wales on Yuin Country

Your lead guide is Dwayne ‘Naja’ Bannon-Harrison with over 17 years of experience along with 9 generations of cultural teachings passed down. Dwayne and the family team at NNCA invite all walks of life onto Yuin country.

Yuin Country

Many parts of the Narooma, Bega Valley and Bermagui region have held sacred significance for the Yuin Aboriginal community for tens of thousands of years yet the stories are not widely known. The traditional custodians of Yuin country Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness an Aboriginal owned and operated initiative invite you to come, walk and listen to a sacred dreaming of Djirringanj country heartland of the Yuin people. This experience will enlighten you to a traditional way of knowing and you will experience first hand ceremony and dreaming stories that have been passed down to connect to country.

Key experiences

  • Participate in and witness traditional Aboriginal wellness sessions, dance, yidaki (didgeridoo), and yarning circles
  • Meet, talk with and learn from knowledgeable Aboriginal guides – the traditional custodians and community from the Yuin nation with generational traditional interpretation
  • Walk and experience several significant sites on Yuin Country.
  • Learn about the Yuin people’s creation story and the Aboriginal Dreaming, history and culture
  • Partake in a traditional sound healing workshop, cooking demonstration and cultural interpretation of the oldest food and healing techniques in the world.
  • Be part of a life-shifting unearthing traditional Aboriginal immersive experience

Itinerary

Day one: 7pm

Traditional Welcome - The immersive experience begins with a welcome to Yuin country. This will include language, song and smoking ceremony followed by dinner, a tour briefing and traditional yarning circle.

Day two: 6.30am

Sunrise ceremony – The day begins with greeting one of the Yuin people’s elements in a traditional ceremony with spectacular ocean scenery. This is followed by a local 'Indigenous Twist' breakfast bundle.

On country experiences

Option one (1) Gulaga National Park guided walk day tour – Starting at the historic Tilba Tilba you will begin your journey onto the sacred Gulaga Mountain. This involves a two hour ascent of walking and taking in all the surrounds of Gulaga National Park complemented by the tour guides knowledge and protocol sharing. This truly gives you the opportunity to look,listen and see what Gulaga has to offer and its importance to the Yuin people, from cultural knowledge handed down from generation to generation. This is the core aspect of the experience and takes most of the day, it is suitable for the more eager bushwalker, spiritual seeker or moderately fit visitor. A packed lunch with Indigenous twist will be provided.

Option two (2) Djirringanj dreaming experience drive and walk day tour- –This on country journey involves heading out seeing significant areas for the Yuin people following the Djirringanj Dreaming trail. Travelling via vehicle to several sites with some short moderate walks (1-2 km) to immerse and learn about traditional knowledge. This experience is suitable for the visitor who would like to take a more relaxed and bespoke day out learning on country. A packed lunch with Indigenous twist will be provided.

Note: Upon booking you can choose your preferred on country experience. You also can choose either experience and be neutral to a surprise of which journey you take on the day. If you are booked on a shared experience (non private) and the majority of the group chooses one experience and your preference is the other experience, we will contact you. You can choose to upgrade to a private tour to ensure your preferred on country experience or we can offer to reschedule to an alternative date for the shared experience. Of course, you can also choose to keep your original date and the majority group choice of experience will apply. Please refer to note below for other itinerary or on country experience section_culturalConsiderations to take into account.

Cultural wellness evening - Arrival back to your accommodation is between 5-6pm afternoon, where a local cheese and fruit platter awaits you. Following that you will be taken through a first peoples wellness session, then it's onto our second food journey for dinner.

Indigenous Twist Food Journey dining experience (Two nights)- Be taken on a unique high quality dining experience in our amazing nature eating space. Mirritya Mundya Indigenous Twist have worked with some of the best chefs in the country, so sit back and be ready for a remarkable immersion into the tradition of the oldest food culture in the world.

Traditional Reflection Yarning Circle – Reflecting with each other on the days experience around the fire immersed in Mother Earth's elements with a nice warm Indigenous tea, is truly a grounding and connected way of finishing your special day on country. This time and space will leave you exhaustively content.

Day three: 8 am

Farewell beach ceremony - A morning cultural wellness session concludes the formal part of the tour. This is followed by a farewell brunch.

Note: This itinerary order and activities may change due to daylight saving and weather conditions. This is to enhance the visitor experience by responding and delivering our features to suit each group and time.

Also please be mindful that due to weather, safety, situational or access restrictions to the Gulaga National Park (option one), we may have to undertake the other tour map of the Djirringanj Dreaming (option two) trail as the alternate on country experience on Day two.

What is included

Yuin Retreat - Two Night- 40 Hour Experience

Group sizes- Minimum two (2) - Maximum eight (8)

The Yuin Retreat is available as a shared experience with other travelMonthlers or as a private experience for two to eight guests. The private experience is an additional cost. A private experience for two to eight guests with a tailored itinerary for your group can also be arranged - price and inclusions on application.

Inclusions:

Day one: Dinner, accommodation and activities as defined in the itinerary features.
Day two: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, accommodation and activities as defined in the itinerary features.
Day three: Breakfast and activities as defined in the itinerary features.

Accommodation:

Accommodation is in the Narooma, Mystery Bay, Tilba and Bermagui region. We use a variety of accommodation options from belle or safari tents to private comfortable cabin or beach house locations. All with self- contained bathroom & kitchen.

Your accommodation location will be sent to you upon booking. This is due to availability on your chosen date of the experience.

Note: If you would like to stay in a belle tent, this is at an additional cost and the price is based on two people - twin share or queen.

Check in: Day one 5.30pm- 7pm

Check out: Day three 10am - 11am

Note: Check in times are very strict for our experience, please let us know prior if you require an earlier check in time.

Mirritya Mundya Indigenous Twist Sample Menu

Dinner Menu (two x nights)
Finger Lime Butter Freshly Shucked Oysters
River Mint Snapper in Paper Bark
Sarsaparilla Cherry Beef

Sides
Bush Tomato Cauliflower
Green Beans in Bush Dukkah
Warrigal Green Pesto Potatoes

Dessert Boards
Tarts-Choc Davidson & Desert Lime
Muntire Marrang Wattlessed Splat

One x Breakfast- Self serve
Home made toasted muesli
Sour dough
Indigenous jams
Fresh fruit

One x Brunch - Service
Indigenous Twist - Big Breakfast - Eggs, Smoked Sausage, Bacon, Spinach, Tomato, Mushrooms

One x Lunch
Native Infused Pull Apart Breads & Seasonal Fruit

Grazing Boards

  • Cheese Selection
  • South Coast NSW - Yuin
  • Bodalla Dairy Shed
  • Bushies- Mix (Soft)
  • Old Man- Salt Bush
  • Campfire -Pepperberry
  • Shoalhaven Brie and Camembert

Sobah Beers (non- alcoholic)

  • Fingerlime Cervesa
  • Pepperberry IPA
  • Lemon Aspen Pilsner

Sodas

  • Lemon Myrtle
  • Lilly Pilly

Dietary Requirements

Accepted and required upon booking, we can cater for;

  • Vegetarian
  • Gluten Free
  • Vegan
  • Pescatarian
  • Nut allergy
  • Lactose free

Planning your trip

Physical capability
The Gulaga Creation National Park walk day tour includes a 12km return gradual walk in the national park. A moderate to average level of fitness will ensure you enjoy the journey on Gulaga. A 4WD escort service is also available for the less mobile and physically fit. Please keep in mind approximately 1-2 km of steady gradual walking is required to be able to partake in the tour. This experience is for the outdoor adventurer, spiritual seeker and fitter visitor.

The Djirringanj Dreaming tour is more forgiving and requires less physical energy and fitness. It involves around 1-2 km of gentle moderate walks along with travelMonthing via car to the various locations. Definitely a more relaxed experience.

Location
Narooma and the neighbouring Tilba region is located just over 4 hours and 30 minutes drive south of Sydney, 3 hours drive east of Canberra and 8 hours drive north east of Melbourne.

Airport Transfers
Transfers are available for additional costs from Moruya (Local), Sydney and Canberra airports.

Important Information

  • COVID Plan Restrictions will be implemented with guidance from NSW & Australian Government compliance
  • This experience is strictly a non-Alcoholic experience. Alcohol or substances are not permitted on this experience.
  • We have a 4WD escort available for the less mobile this needs to be indicated upon booking (weather and track conditions apply)
  • We require you to use your own transport to drive 15km return to Tilba from Island View Resort in groups under 12.
  • Please advise us of any medical conditions or previous injuries upon your booking
  • Please keep in mind you will be required to walk 10km (approx.) 4WD escorts will require around 1km of steady walking
  • Please ensure you have adequate water bottles. We will have some spare however only limited supplies.

Covid Plan

Compliance and regulations from the NSW & Australian Government in place and implemented. This includes;

  • Separation of accommodation rooms in two bedroom cabins for each individual or travelMonthing group (max four)
  • Sanitizer and hygiene resources on hand
  • Physical distancing measures for all itinerary meals, activities and inclusions
  • COVID accredited safe food handling for all meals
  • All guests booking information will also be used for a COVID compliance record
  • Transportation on day two (on country experience) is offered in a 4-8 seater vehicle/s with appropriate social distancing or you can choose to self drive with your group and follow the tour leader's vehicle.
  • Note: Only travelMonthling groups of two to four travelMonthling together would be allocated a shared cabin. Please contact us if you have a different request.

Meeting point

To be confirmed upon your booking.

What to bring

As this experience includes an outdoor walking tours, we recommend guests wear comfortable walking shoes, and bring a backpack, sunscreen, hat, and water bottle. If wet weather is predicted, it is recommended to pack wet weather gear and a change of light warm clothes for the day walk.

YOUR EXPERIENCE PROVIDER

Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness

Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness (NNCA) was established in 2011 and is an Aboriginal owned and operated Cultural service provider running Aboriginal tourism experiences in the Narooma/Tilba region on the South Coast of New South Wales on Yuin Country.

Your lead guide is Dwayne ‘Naja’ Bannon-Harrison with over 17 years of experience along with 9 generations of cultural teachings passed down. Dwayne and the family team at NNCA invite all walks of life onto Yuin country to learn and immerse yourself in the world’s oldest living culture. Gulaga Mountain is the centre piece of the Yuin people and as traditional knowledge holders and teachers, NNCA guide you on Indigenous experiences to connect you to the creation stories and enable you to walk away with a piece of the sacred dreaming of the Yuin forever.

With the honour and privilege of leading NNCA Dwayne is striving to not only pass on the knowledge and skills to deliver cultural knowledge and self-determination with his own family, but also to assist and mentor other Aboriginal people to also get involved with cultural awareness in their communities. Dwayne is also a working party member of the NSW Aboriginal Tourism Operators Council, along with this has extensive and award winning achievements and National recognition in the First Nations male wellbeing space.

Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness motto is ‘give it away to keep it’. By sharing our culture and generational knowledge, we want to show that traditional Aboriginal culture is well and truly alive in South Eastern Australia.

Our Experiences

The Yuin Retreat includes a range of cultural experiences across 2 nights that starts on the evening of Day 1 and concludes mid-morning on Day 3.

NNCA can also cater for exclusive groups such as niche tourism groups, families, corporate and workplace team building and for cultural competency requirements. Please Enquire Now for more information.

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