Aboriginal Melbourne Tour: Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne Museum and Koorie Heritage Trust

A driver picks you up in air-conditioned minivan at your hotel for a ride over to the Royal Botanic Gardens. During the visit, you'll take a 1.5-hour Aboriginal Heritage Walk led by an indigenous guide who explains the history of the gardens and their traditional owners. Experience an Aboriginal smoking ceremony, and discover how plants are used for food, tools and medicine.
After a refreshing cup of lemon myrtle tea at the gardens, you'll have a light lunch at the nearby Charcoal Lane. The restaurant works in collaboration with Mission Australia to provide work opportunities for vulnerable young people, many of whom are Aboriginal. The seasonal menu draws on native Australian foods to create modern cuisine.
Hop back in the minivan and head to Melbourne Museum for a tour of the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre. See the First Peoples exhibition, which presents Aboriginal creation stories of Victoria using cutting-edge multimedia, artifacts and contemporary artworks. Learn about the history, achievements and cultural resilience of around 2,000 generations of Aboriginal life in Victoria.
Your final stop is Federation Square, a mixed-use public space in Melbourne’s inner city. On a visit to the Koorie Heritage Trust, relocated to the Yarra Building in June 2015, reflect on Koorie culture with a look at the social history exhibition on the first floor. Your 6-hour tour will end in Federation Square (no hotel drop-off).