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Tour company awarded for presenting the real Australia

8 June 2007 - Requests from overseas visitors for an experience of the ‘Real Australia’ has placed demands on the tourism industry to deliver. Tour company Anangu Waai! has been recognised for rising to the challenge, offering a range of authentic natural and indigenous encounters with Uluru and Central Australia.

Based in the heart of Australia, Alice Springs, Anangu Waai! is a 100% Aboriginal owned tour company that has already tucked several awards under its belt, including most recently, the PublicityShip Hidden Jewel Award for the Northern Territory.*

It was the company’s total commitment to an honest sharing of real Australian cultural and spiritual understanding that attracted the Hidden Jewel judges, along with the energy they have devoted to creating a successful Indigenous tour company and taking their message overseas.

Much more than an Indigenous showcase, Anangu Waai! presents a close encounter with

the spiritual legacy of Uluru with Anangu Tours

1.the natural environment of Central Australia with Frontier & Uluru Camel Tours and Desert Tours & Transfers, and
2.the clearest of skies with Spirit of the Night Sky
3.Many tour operators offer ‘Indigenous experiences’, and all claim authenticity, but inevitably those experiences are often little more than a brief theatrical show, and Aboriginal guides have been thin on the ground.

Anangu Waai! owns and operates a string of specialist tour businesses, beginning with Anangu Tours, which employs local Aboriginal guides. The guides speak in their own languages (Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara), which are then translated into English by interpreters.

Anangu Tours took out the Legacy World Tourism Award in 2004 for tours that present an Indigenous interpretation of Uluru and involvement of Aboriginal artists.

Guests also have the opportunity to join a dot-painting workshop. Sitting with the artists, they learn to symbolise their own life in dot painting on an individual canvas, which they can take home with them.

Flying Camels is the latest tour added to the Anangu Waai! menu – a combination of a Todd River camel trek, a helicopter flight with Alice Springs Helicopters at sunset along the MacDonnell Ranges, dinner and star show with Spirit of the Night Sky.

Overseas visitors are often stunned by the Australian night sky, especially in Central Australia where there is so little ambient light.

Spirit of the Night Sky makes the most of the clearest skies in Australia, taking guests to a converted winery to star-gaze through telescopes with a star presenter.

Desert Tours & Transfers adds nature-based touring to round off the Real Australian experience with Alice Springs Desert Park.

The Park’s interpretive displays, animal habitats and presentations (with both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal guides) is a must for visitors wanting to experience Australia’s Indigenous wildlife and landscapes.

Also touring to other local natural wonders

Anangu Waai! pours the profits from the company’s operations back into the three Aboriginal communities surrounding Uluru for ongoing development, reflecting the company’s philosophy, Ngapartji, Ngapartji, which means: “This is our culture, we share it with you, it benefits us all.”

Further information: tourism action page - includes news index and external links

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