Intrepid Travel has partnered with Taungurung Land and Waters Council (TLaWC) to contribute its industry knowledge in the development of the Taungurung Cultural Tour Guide Program.

TLaWC represents the Taungurung Nation of the rivers and mountains of Central Victoria and plays a defining role in lending traditional knowledge to the management of Country and culture.

The program will provide the skills and capacity for the Taungurung Tour Guides to tell their story through tourism experiences on Country.

The Taungurung-led training takes a unique approach that values foundational guiding skills combined with the cultural integrity and diverse life experiences that have shaped the Taungurung story.

In collaboration with Koorie Heritage Trust and Visit Victoria, Intrepid Travel will contribute its tour guiding expertise to help build the confidence of the Taungurung Cultural Tour Guides in delivering best practice guiding to a diverse range of visitors.

“To me, the tour guide program is about getting our mob trained up so they can tell our ancestors’ stories. I want to see Taungurung culture shared and celebrated with more people,” Uncle Shane, Taungurung Elder and Cultural Tour Guide said.

“This program is about supporting our mob to have the pride and confidence to share this knowledge and be proud of our Taungurung identity.”

15 participants from the Taungurung Nation, both Elders and youth, have joined the program and are proud to be taking the first step towards sharing the vitality of Taungurung culture and country with visitors

“We are excited to contribute our expert guiding knowledge to ensure the Taungurung Cultural Tour Guides can confidently and safely share and celebrate their stories with a diversity of audiences,” Brett Mitchell, Intrepid’s managing director said.

“First Nations stories are imbedded in all the places we visit and it’s our mission to partner with First Nations communities so they can start telling these stories”.

Featured image: Facebook/taungurunglandandwaterscouncil