Animal Tracks Safari
Animal Tracks Safari
5
1:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Monday
1:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Tuesday
1:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Wednesday
1:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Thursday
1:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Friday
1:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Saturday
1:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Sunday
1:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Full view
About
Totally unique 7 hour interactive combination of Aboriginal Culture and Wildlife Safari, with a bush aboriginal guide. Gather, cook & eat bush foods, learn about traditional medicines and hear authentic stories. At sunset, enjoy a traditional bush food campfire cook-up, aboriginal-style. We have exclusive access to the amazing Goose Camp floodplain. This is a small, local business that directly benefits local Kakadu aboriginal people. It's authentic, non-commercialised and eye-opening.
Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia
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5.0
214 reviews
Excellent
200
Very good
7
Average
5
Poor
0
Terrible
2
Glen h
Parrearra, Australia136 contributions
Aug 2022 • Couples
It was billed as a real aboriginal experience & All I’ve can say it certainly was.
Started with pickup in bus, our tour has 17 adults & 2 children, buss is a real bush bus, no windows which adds to the experience, while it was hot it was still comfortable as we were driving pretty slow so a breeze was flowing all the time through bus.
Picked up our aboriginal guide from her community, her name is Patsy.
She has a brilliant understanding of the bush & her customs & she had a wonderful sense of humour which got better as the afternoon went by.
Tour bus driver Shawn has run this tour for over 20 years & the tour IS the only one that goes onto this restricted area.
Patsy showed us how to find fresh water mussels, dig for water chestnut’s, find native white apples & native carrots.
We saw wild buffalo, pigs, dingo’s & thousands of magpie geese, we had 2 geese & a large barramundi as well as buffalo meat for campfire BBQ.
It was a hungi style bbq, which was brilliant, as was the sweet potato & damper.
Myself & my wife come away with a much better understanding of aboriginal bush life & huge respect of how they lived.
Totally recommend doing this tour as it is great, nothing else like it.
Started with pickup in bus, our tour has 17 adults & 2 children, buss is a real bush bus, no windows which adds to the experience, while it was hot it was still comfortable as we were driving pretty slow so a breeze was flowing all the time through bus.
Picked up our aboriginal guide from her community, her name is Patsy.
She has a brilliant understanding of the bush & her customs & she had a wonderful sense of humour which got better as the afternoon went by.
Tour bus driver Shawn has run this tour for over 20 years & the tour IS the only one that goes onto this restricted area.
Patsy showed us how to find fresh water mussels, dig for water chestnut’s, find native white apples & native carrots.
We saw wild buffalo, pigs, dingo’s & thousands of magpie geese, we had 2 geese & a large barramundi as well as buffalo meat for campfire BBQ.
It was a hungi style bbq, which was brilliant, as was the sweet potato & damper.
Myself & my wife come away with a much better understanding of aboriginal bush life & huge respect of how they lived.
Totally recommend doing this tour as it is great, nothing else like it.
Written 7 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cathie S
Melbourne, Australia14 contributions
May 2021 • Couples
Listening to an aboriginal woman, Patsy, explain her culture, demonstrate how to find bush tucker and then demonstrate how to cook meat in water drenched leaves under hot rocks ( like a steamer) was amazing. Our tour guide, Don, was very knowledgeable about plants and wildlife too and cooked near perfect loaves of damper. We ate this delicious meal while watching the sunset by a wetland in perfect privacy on an old buffalo station not open to the public. A truly remarkable experience and fun too.
Written 21 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dani A
6 contributions
Sept 2022 • Friends
This experience blew my mind!! It was humbling and enspiring to be in the presence of Patsy and he family while they shared their culture and traditions. You will get dirty, participate in the hunting and gathering, and will help prepare and cook the food. It is a truly emersive experience! Bring insect repellant and sunscreen and wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty to ensure you have the best time possible.
The food was delicious and plentiful, the sunset was mind blowing, and the tour guide Don was so passionate and knowledgeable. For people who are wanting to experience an authentic connection with Indigenous culture, this is a must!! Worth the investment!!
The food was delicious and plentiful, the sunset was mind blowing, and the tour guide Don was so passionate and knowledgeable. For people who are wanting to experience an authentic connection with Indigenous culture, this is a must!! Worth the investment!!
Written 13 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nid
14 contributions
May 2021 • Couples
Patsy and Sean are a wonderful team! They packed so much knowledge and experience into a short time period, plus cooked a delicious meal for us in a beautiful setting with an eye on the buffalo in the background.
From the moment Patsy joined us she was grabbing leaves off trees, showing us bush tucker and other medicinal uses. She moved quickly on her feet guiding us to various sites of nature and telling stories about how they had changed in her observations.
I will never forget watching her hand pick green ants and smack them dead to serve on our hands as a snack! So tasty! She is a powerful and strong woman to be in the presence of, and it felt like such a privilege to spend time with her.
Sean was a wealth of knowledge in translating his interactions of aboriginal culture and invasive issues from ballinda people coming to the land.
From the moment Patsy joined us she was grabbing leaves off trees, showing us bush tucker and other medicinal uses. She moved quickly on her feet guiding us to various sites of nature and telling stories about how they had changed in her observations.
I will never forget watching her hand pick green ants and smack them dead to serve on our hands as a snack! So tasty! She is a powerful and strong woman to be in the presence of, and it felt like such a privilege to spend time with her.
Sean was a wealth of knowledge in translating his interactions of aboriginal culture and invasive issues from ballinda people coming to the land.
Written 18 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Heken1954
Sydney, Australia116 contributions
June 2021 • Friends
My brother and I wanted an experience led by a traditional First Nations person who would enrich our understanding and appreciation for the relationship between First Nations people and the land. The focus of this tour, 7-8 hours, is how the First Nations people’s survived in this harsh continent. The tour focussed on bush food where we looked for fresh water mussels and yams, and to learn about bush medicine through learning about the green ants and various leaves and barks.
The collection of food gathered by the group added to the dinner we shared. Patsy brought two magpie geese, some buffalo meat and a huge barramundi for dinner. Our role in helping to prepare the food, apart from the mussels and yams, included plucking the feathers from 2 magpie geese, watching Patsy scorch the down off, cutting up the geese and water buffalo and then placing all the food in paperbark for cooking. Our dinner included barramundi, geese, buffalo, mussels, yams, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and a freshly made damper, washed down with billy tea.
The tour is led by a traditional First Nations woman called Patsy who was able to pass on so much knowledge about bush food- locating it, preparing it, and linking these foods back to stories from her own experiences, be that as a child or as an adult. She was supported by Don who was the driver, the facilitator and the overseer of the entire programme. Don was able to provide the link between Patsy’s stories which were often rich in symbolism, to a level that we were able to understand what those symbols meant. I found the whole experience fascinating. Where else can you spend such an intense period of time with a person from such an ancient culture? English is Patsy’s fourth language but she was able to communicate most effectively through her actions. She showed us how to find the mussels using a digging stick and how to then get them out of their secure hiding places. Everyone in the group found at least one. Many of us found three or more. When we went searching for the yams, we were shown how to differentiate the stems, how to dig them up so that we didn’t break them. Patsy showed us through her actions. Don described how he would cook them and that when we went to eat them, that we would need to peel off two layers. After preparing the meats, Patsy also showed us how to make string from palm leaves that we had collected earlier. Everyone had a go, men, women and children, and much laughter and a little frustration followed! Needless to say, her string was perfect; mine not so much.
The entire afternoon was a learning experience and a salutary reminder that what we consider to be “ sophisticated” in our society means nothing when you need to know how to survive and thrive in our very harsh continent. This is not a tour only for children. Adults also need to learn about the unique relationship that the First Nations people have had and continue to have with the land.
The collection of food gathered by the group added to the dinner we shared. Patsy brought two magpie geese, some buffalo meat and a huge barramundi for dinner. Our role in helping to prepare the food, apart from the mussels and yams, included plucking the feathers from 2 magpie geese, watching Patsy scorch the down off, cutting up the geese and water buffalo and then placing all the food in paperbark for cooking. Our dinner included barramundi, geese, buffalo, mussels, yams, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and a freshly made damper, washed down with billy tea.
The tour is led by a traditional First Nations woman called Patsy who was able to pass on so much knowledge about bush food- locating it, preparing it, and linking these foods back to stories from her own experiences, be that as a child or as an adult. She was supported by Don who was the driver, the facilitator and the overseer of the entire programme. Don was able to provide the link between Patsy’s stories which were often rich in symbolism, to a level that we were able to understand what those symbols meant. I found the whole experience fascinating. Where else can you spend such an intense period of time with a person from such an ancient culture? English is Patsy’s fourth language but she was able to communicate most effectively through her actions. She showed us how to find the mussels using a digging stick and how to then get them out of their secure hiding places. Everyone in the group found at least one. Many of us found three or more. When we went searching for the yams, we were shown how to differentiate the stems, how to dig them up so that we didn’t break them. Patsy showed us through her actions. Don described how he would cook them and that when we went to eat them, that we would need to peel off two layers. After preparing the meats, Patsy also showed us how to make string from palm leaves that we had collected earlier. Everyone had a go, men, women and children, and much laughter and a little frustration followed! Needless to say, her string was perfect; mine not so much.
The entire afternoon was a learning experience and a salutary reminder that what we consider to be “ sophisticated” in our society means nothing when you need to know how to survive and thrive in our very harsh continent. This is not a tour only for children. Adults also need to learn about the unique relationship that the First Nations people have had and continue to have with the land.
Written 19 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Trisha B
Greater Adelaide, Australia18 contributions
July 2022
The whole experience was wonderful. We learned so much about aboriginal life by spending 8 wonderful hours with patsy and Sean, we were picked up and taken to patsys house where she joined us and took us on an amazing adventure. We watched as she collected paper bark which she would later use on the fire while cooking our dinner, dug for mussels in the dry creek beds and then dug for bush carrots. They were difficult to find.
We tried some green ants, which were delicious saw some crocodiles and then in the evening watched and helped as patsy de feathered the magpie goose and prepared the barramundi. We heated the rocks and all the veges, goose and barramundi were put onto the rocks, covered with the pater bark and left to cook. Sean prepared the mussels and got the damper ready.
We are our beautiful meal at sunset beside the billabong…a magic day. Thank you patsy and Sean.
We tried some green ants, which were delicious saw some crocodiles and then in the evening watched and helped as patsy de feathered the magpie goose and prepared the barramundi. We heated the rocks and all the veges, goose and barramundi were put onto the rocks, covered with the pater bark and left to cook. Sean prepared the mussels and got the damper ready.
We are our beautiful meal at sunset beside the billabong…a magic day. Thank you patsy and Sean.
Written 22 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
resyvanbeek
Darwin, Australia146 contributions
July 2024 • Family
We visited Kakdu with a family visiting from overseas and decided to go on the animal tracks tour to explore Kakadu in a special way. Dom and Patsy took us for a drive, literally off the beaten track, with a few stops on the way to do some food gathering. We now appreciate the challenges of ‘living of the land’ better: most of the success of our food gathering came from Patsy. We looked, but wouldn’t have found much without her there! There was enough time for wild life spotting before we arrived at our ‘camp kitchen’ and ‘dining area’ near the billabong. We cooked a variety of local meats and damper according to local tradition. The dry season cool burns led to a spectacular sunset which was a beautiful setting for our dinner.
We highly recommend this experience to people with an open mind who are happy to leave the white table cloth meal behind for a wonderful afternoon!
We highly recommend this experience to people with an open mind who are happy to leave the white table cloth meal behind for a wonderful afternoon!
Written 8 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MissSydneyOz
Sydney2 contributions
July 2022
We joined this tour with a little trepidation due to the ages of our kids (11, 9, 6 years old) and whether they'd find the tasting of bush foods too confronting or even last the 7 hours it ran for. However, this tour ended up being by far and away the highlight of our trip around the Top End. No other tour offers an authentic experience of gathering and preparing bush foods, learning about and tasting bush medicine and cooking up a feast in a campfire oven. Everything was truly delicious and Sean and Patsy were incredibly informative and generous in sharing their knowledge of culture and bush foods. They do this tour daily 7 days/week in the dry season and you couldn't tell because of the enthusiasm in which they conducted the tour and how patiently they involved the kids even if it meant they had to pause to answer their many questions, or slow things down a little to teach and explain the purpose of doing various things. Hats off to Patsy and Sean - we will always remember our time with them and have already had so many people asking for the name of their tour after seeing our photos!
Written 24 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lilli P
3 contributions
June 2021 • Friends
What an amazing tour! Don was very knowledgeable and accommodating to everyone’s needs with a great sense of humour. Patsy the indigenous guide was very cheeky with great story’s and very interesting to watch as she used traditional methods to gather and prepare bush tucker. Very in touch with her land! Definitely one of the best tours you can do here in Kakadu, very interactive and the whole tour group got involved. Thanks guys!
Written 20 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Doug B
1 contribution
Aug 2024 • Family
Spending time with Animal Tracks Safari (Don and Patsy) was such a great cultural experience. We joined a dozen others on a tour that concluded with a bush meal at sunset with a full moon. We picked up Patsy on the way, gathered firewood, looked for freshwater mussels in the drying mud, and gathered palm leaves to try making string. When we eventually reached the dinner location everyone helped out with things like making fires (rubbing sticks together!), plucking feathers off magpie geese, making damper, and cutting plates out of paperbark. The whole while thousands of magpie geese noisily foraged for water chestnuts nearby. Patsy was quiet but had such amazing bush skills. It was such a privilege to spend the day with her. We got home after dark sweaty, dirty and exhausted but super happy for the experience.
Written 30 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
YES! You can stay in the car the whole time except to eat and someone will help you out.
Written 4 October 2016
Hello, do we need to book this tour for travel in July? We are a party of 8. Thank you Rachel
Written 17 May 2015
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