Catch & Cook
Wild dining experiences
WORDS KATE ROBERTSON
Stalk, catch and cook your own food on these hands-on, muddy-boot, barefoot-on-the-sand cultural adventures.
From lying in wait, face down in the mud for crabs to show their claws, to catching fish with your bare hands and cooking oysters so fresh they are still clinging to the rocks...learn how to thrive on Country from those who know it best.
Fresh As
Western Australia
One thing Johani Mamid wants to make clear to potential guests is that his four-wheel-drive tag-along tour is definitely not a glam, luxury experience.
‘You're gonna get dirty. We may cross some water — which means you're likely to get wet, and foraging around in the mudflats and mangroves to get a feed, you’ll have gotten a bit dirty, but it’s just mud... you'll be fine!’
Apart from learning how to find mud crabs, mangrove snails and other food in season, learning how to cook and eat your own super-fresh catch over coals or an open fire is part of the fun. Whilst the feasting is relaxing, it can be as messy as the hunting — with the crab’s own shell used as the crockery, and fingers rather than cutlery used to dig the meat out of the crevices.
‘This isn’t a fancy restaurant meal, but it's delicious and very satisfying, especially after the hard work you've put in to catch it yourself and, by the end of it, you'll have a full belly,’ laughs Johani, who is one of Discover Aboriginal Experiences Storytellers.
Mabu Buru
Binba Mayi | Adult from AU$160
Fresh as
Western Australia
One thing Johani Mamid wants to make clear to potential guests is that his four-wheel-drive tag-along tour is definitely not a glam, luxury experience.
‘You're gonna get dirty. We may cross some water — which means you're likely to get wet, and foraging around in the mudflats and mangroves to get a feed, you’ll have gotten a bit dirty, but it’s just mud... you'll be fine!’
Apart from learning how to find mud crabs, mangrove snails and other food in season, learning how to cook and eat your own super-fresh catch over coals or an open fire is part of the fun.
Whilst the feasting is relaxing, it can be as messy as the hunting — with the crab’s own shell used as the crockery, and fingers rather than cutlery used to dig the meat out of the crevices.
‘This isn’t a fancy restaurant meal, but it's delicious and very satisfying, especially after the hard work you've put in to catch it yourself and, by the end of it, you'll have a full belly,’ laughs Johani, who is one of Discover Aboriginal Experiences Storytellers.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH HIS VIDEO.
Mabu Buru
Binba Mayi | Adult from AU$160
Oysters au naturel
Western Australia
You can’t get oysters any fresher than the ones Bardi Jawi man Terry Hunter shows guests how to cook on the beach, no stove top required.
Layering a handful of spinifex over oyster encrusted rocks, Terry lights the grass and lets nature do the rest — the shells pop open to reveal oyster meat cooked to perfection in its own mineral-rich brine.
Borrogon Coast to Creek
Borrgoron Coast To Creek Tour | Adult from AU$85
Oysters au naturel
Western Australia
You can’t get oysters any fresher than the ones Bardi -Jawi man Terry Hunter shows guests how to cook on the beach, no stove top required.
Layering a handful of spinifex over oyster encrusted rocks, Terry lights the grass and lets nature do the rest — the shells pop open to reveal oyster meat cooked to perfection in its own mineral-rich brine
Borrogon Coast to Creek
Borrgoron Coast To Creek Tour | Adult from AU$85
Hands on
Western Australia
Hunting with your bare hands is all about feel, says Bardi-Jawi man Bolo Angus as he sticks his arm into the hollow of a log submerged in a mangrove tide pool that creates a natural fish trap.
‘When the tide goes out, fish or crabs go inside them logs for protection, and it's just a matter of putting your hands in the logs and pulling them out.’
Bolo’s wet and mud-encrusted guests take their own turn at catching lunch, learning what’s in season and where to look.
‘We teach them how to collect food properly without getting hurt and you can see their confidence boost, and they just get right into it,’ Bolo says.
‘It’s very hands on.’
Finding springs bubbling with fresh water and learning how to cook up the varied mix of oysters, pipis, crab, cockle shells, fish and damper the traditional way is all part of his action-packed four-hour tour. As is a demonstration of traditional artefacts and songs.
Invariably, Bolo’s guests leave with a greater appreciation of the bounty that surrounds them.
‘Country provides us with everything that we need.’
Southern Cross Cultural Tour at Lullumb
Southern Cross Cultural Walk | Adult from AU$180
Hands on
Western Australia
Hunting with your bare hands is all about feel, says Bardi-Jawi man Bolo Angus as he sticks his arm into the hollow of a log submerged in a mangrove tide pool that creates a natural fish trap.
‘When the tide goes out, fish or crabs go inside them logs for protection, and it's just a matter of putting your hands in the logs and pulling them out.’
Bolo’s wet and mud-encrusted guests take their own turn at catching lunch, learning what’s in season and where to look.
‘We teach them how to collect food properly without getting hurt and you can see their confidence boost, and they just get right into it,’ Bolo says.
‘It’s very hands on.’
Finding springs bubbling with fresh water and learning how to cook up the varied mix of oysters, pipis, crab, cockle shells, fish and damper the traditional way is all part of his action-packed four-hour tour. As is a demonstration of traditional artefacts and songs.
Invariably, Bolo’s guests leave with a greater appreciation of the bounty that surrounds them.
‘Country provides us with everything that we need.’
Southern Cross Cultural Tour at Lullumb
Southern Cross Cultural Walk | Adult from AU$180
Spear Fishing
Far North Queensland
On the tidal flats around Port Douglas, Juan Walker doesn’t give guests a menu — he hands them a spear. The Walkabout Cultural Adventures guide will lead you through shallow waters in search of mud crabs, just as his Kuku Yalanji people have done for thousands of years.
You’ll learn to read the mangroves, track movements of your prey and, if you’re lucky, you’ll spear your dinner straight from its burrow. The reward? Fresh mud crabs cooked right there on the beach.
Walkabout Cultural Adventures
Ngana Julaymba Dungay / Southern Daintree Rainforest Guided Tour | Adult from AU$190
Spear Fishing
Far North Queensland
On the tidal flats around Port Douglas, Juan Walker doesn’t provide guests with a menu — he hands them a spear. The Walkabout Cultural Adventures guide will lead you through shallow waters in search of mud crabs, just as his Kuku Yalanji people have done for thousands of years.
You’ll learn to read the mangroves, track movements of your prey, and if you’re lucky, you’ll spear your dinner straight from its burrow. The reward? Fresh mud crabs cooked right there on the beach.
Walkabout Cultural Adventures
Ngana Julaymba Dungay / Southern Daintree Rainforest Guided Tour | Adult from AU$190
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