Navigate new horizons on Indigenous tour

INDIGENOUS guide Delta Kay has introduced a new tour of the iconic lighthouse trail in Byron Bay.

The two-hour Walgun Lighthouse Aboriginal Tour begins at Clarkes Beach and takes guests up the Tallow Ridge Trail through coastal rainforest before reaching Cape Byron Lighthouse, which was built on the site of a ceremonial ring that had been used by generations of Arakwal Bundjalung people.

Along the way, guests will learn about bush tucker and natural medicine and hear Dreaming stories.

Ms Kay, who is also a Byron Shire councillor, began offering Explore Byron Bay tours at Walgun/Cape Byron in 2020 and has since expanded to offer a tour at Broken Head and a native food tour in Bangalow.

“The Cape Byron tour down below at The Pass is a really easy tour that everyone can do,” she said. “If people bring their elders I can modify it and everyone can join in. This one is more for those who are at least moderately fit and seeking that nature experience.”

Ms Kay said Cape Byron Lighthouse was a major landmark in the area and she had been thinking of launching the tour there for some time.

“You can’t come to Byron without doing the lighthouse walk or visiting the lighthouse,” she said. “I want people to walk in the footsteps of my ancestors and view the walk through Aboriginal eyes and to share that with them.”

Ms Kay said a lot of locals who did the Cape Byron tour during COVID were now bringing friends and family who visited on her tours, any many people were surprised by the stories they hear.

“Since colonisation it’s mostly been the white man’s story that people hear and these tours give people a greater understanding about where they live,” she said. “A lot of people don’t know much about Native Title and how our elders protected Country.

“There’s been a huge shift in thinking in Australia. Since the failure of The Voice referendum people really want to connect with our culture.”