I rang NT Indigenous Tours, the week before I went to Darwin as her tours sounded like something a bit out of the norm. I was specifically interested in bush tucker as i worked in the food industry and was looking for something special which I could add to a new product i am introducing onto the market mid 2012. Tess told me she was excited at the prospect of having me for three days and likewise so was I. Tess told me she would send my itinerary through, I presumed the next day and as I heard nothing and didnt get a reply, I also sent me email so her itinerary didnt bounce back, still no reply. I send her a text and you guessed it, no reply. I tried to phone her and got her answering machine.
I arrived in Darwin early in the morning no sleep on the 24th Oct 2011 the girl I was staying with suggested I phone again, still the bloody answering machine. There was another number on the message so I tried it again and no I did get her, she said there had been a death in the family. OK but it would have helped to have known this before i left Melbourne, looking forward to something that didnt eventuate and at least telling your clients, Lyons Cottage you werent on tour, but Tess nobody knew and as a professional operator, you needed to tell everyone that displays your brochures you cant do the tours for whatever reason. I woudnt recommend you because you didnt communicate.

Never the less I had a great time with another company, suspect it was cheaper as well and met some great people in a small group.

Great day with knowledgeable guide and tremendous insight into the importance of Litchfield Park to indigenous people.

I booked this tour because it came highly praised in the reviews and seemed to offer more than just a commercial coach trip. However, it did not live up to expectations and we ended up rather disappointed. Perhaps Tess was having an off day but I can't believe it was the same tour other reviewers had raved about. It consisted of a stop to see some termite mounds, a breakfast we we were left to order, eat alone and pay for ourselves, a stop at a waterfall where swimming was possible, a visit to an old hut by disused mines, a poor lunch by a stream which was meant to be an old homestead but was just unattractive scrub, another stop to a busy waterfall and then back to the hotel far earlier than we expected and missing out some of the itinerary. I was expecting a fascinating insight into Aboriginal life but we were told and shown very little of interest and left on our own at most of the stops. We were the only two on the trip and I felt Tess was not really interested that day. Considering it cost more than twice the cost of other trips I think we did not get value for money. The larger tour groups would have been more fun, seeing crocodiles for example, or other Aboriginal guided tours (if one wanted to be less commercial) we subsequently discovered seemd to offer much better value for money.

Tess took myself and my two children on her tour last Saturday 27th August 2011 in Litchfield National Park near Darwin. Having travelled quite a bit and not being a fan of bus tours, I was sure this type of intimate small group tour would be something special. I was not disappointed. In fact the time we spent in Litchfield park and chatting with Tess and her daughter (who kept my daughter company) was life changing in a most subtle gentle way. Tess invites you in to her world with such passion and love for her people and her land. Every tour will be unique and personal and to a large degree what the traveller will get from the tour, I think will depend largely on what they put in. I feel richer as a person for the short time I spent with Tess and I am very glad that my young children were with me and we could share the experience together. I highly recommend this tour for anyone who thinks a little outside the square, I would rate this took as very special.