animal tracks safari

We visited in August 2014 with 3 kids age 12, 8 and 4. This was one of the highlights of our 4 weeks of touring Australia. We joined Sean and 2 aboriginal women Patsy and Jennifer on the Animal Tracks trip. We experienced the true and authentic indigenous way of life. We followed the tracks of snakes, we spotted crocodiles, birds, buffalos and wallabies in the wild. Patsy showed us how to gather bush tucker (food): how to search for mud clamps, how to make a basket out of paper bark, we learnt to identify where bush carrots are growing and we dug for them, we were breaking mud to find water chestnuts, we gathered leaves to get fibres for rope, we ate green ants for medicinal purposes... Towards the evening, we made a camp fire and prepared the foods that we gathered for the bush dinner, while watching the sunset over the wetland covered with birds. We plucked and roasted the animals that Patsy hunted in the morning: the barramundi fish and the magpie goose, and also the buffalo. Sean made some damper (bread). Patsy and Jennifer taught us how to make rope/string out of the leave fibres - they use them to weave baskets. Through Patsy’s stories we gained some understanding of aboriginal bush life and a real respect for the indigenous culture. This was truly a humbling and unforgettable experience!

Animal Tracks is a most outstanding cultural appreciation tour. Over 7 hours of hands-on experiences ends with a very specially cooked dinner in an underground oven in the traditional way. Patsy is the aboriginal expert who assists the leaders of this tour. It is as a result of her lifelong experiences that we came to appreciate her hunter / gatherer existance and that of her people.

After much scrutiny of the Trip Advisor reviews, I booked this safari, looking for an earthy and adventurous day for my 14-year-old twins. All I can say, is that this experience with Patsy and Sean is very, very special. To witness Patsy's relationship and knowledge of the land was a great privilege and Sean is equally amazing in his understanding. I intentionally told the kids very little about the upcoming day and they were blown away, absolutely loving the whole experience. I highly recommend Animal Tracks to anyone keen to deepen their understanding and appreciation of indigenous culture . Just brilliant.

What a fantastic action packed day. We have 4 kids aged between 6 and 11 and afterwards they all wanted to do it all again the next day. It was so informative and hands on. We were provided with great information and it gave us a greater appreciation and respect for the way of life for the Aboriginal people. The safari has been one of the highlights of our month away. The sunset was like nothing I have ever seen before. If you want something that is hands on and a safari you will remember for a very very long time, this is the trip for you.

We loved animal tracks safari. So great for kids as its hands on. So great for adults as its very interesting. Such a stunning location. Im still buzzing on the location we ended up at for sunset and cook up. Such great food too. Thanks for providing us with a unique and special Insight into aboriginal culture. Unforgettable.

Expect to spend several hours doing activities you would not do anywhere else and in a magnificent landscape that will not be seen anywhere else in the WORLD!! With an aboriginal guide we had great fun searching for local aboriginal food, collecting the firewood and plucking the goose before it was cooked for us the traditional way over hot coals on the ground. These were just some of things we did for a truly authentic cultural experience....of course you didn't have to do any of those things but hey thats the fun of this tour. Animal Tracks tour gives you a real appreciation of the local customs and culture of the traditional owners of this wonderful land.

'Awesome' is the conclusion of my two girls (7 and 9), who were a perfect age for enjoying this trip. You do actually work quite hard (if you want to), foraging for your food, and we got stuck into everything with Mark and Patsy. What you do varies depending on the season so don't expect everything to happen that you read in the reviews. There are a lot of mosquitoes at various stages so I would recommend taking long trousers and top with you. There is plenty of cold fresh water on board if you bring a bottle to refill.

Having read the excellent reports on this tour we decided that we also wanted to experience the animal tracks tour. Not one word of criticism. We realy enjoyed the trip itself as well as the things Patsy tought us. During the rest of our stay we kept on looking for the paracetamol ants and the mossy repellent shrubs. Thanks for a wonderful day. Still waiting for Marks damper though.

While visiting Kakadu National Park in NT we went on an Animal Tracks tour. It was led by an indigenous woman who showed us how to dig for mussels in a creek bed. We were then shown how to find carrots in the bush. Lastly we dug for chestnuts. We were then driven to a location near the river where we were treated to a feast of Goose, Barramundi and beef, which along with the vegetables were cooked on hot coals covered with grevillea leaves and sealed with paper bark. This delicious meal was served with damper and billy tea. We were treated to a beautiful sunset and a vast array of birds. Included in our sightings were wild boar, brumbies and ducks. This was a very well run and enjoyable tour by a very knowledgeable woman. Thankfully we weren't relying on our efforts for dinner! The only downside was the Mosquitos so take plenty of repellent.

Every family with teenagers who visits Kakadu park need to do this. A real eye opener for kids who take the advantages of our western society for granted.

This is a must do tour if you are visiting Kakadu. So pleased to find a down to earth tour where the guides were so genuine and very friendly and we spent the whole day entertained and enthralled. I would really like to give this tour a 10 out of 5. There is so much packed into the tour but the pace was relaxing and fun. We are still recounting the highlights to each other days later. We saw a wide range of amazing wildlife, dug for mussels, water chestnuts, gathered herbs, pulled paperbark and cooked together an amazing dinner and the sunset, wow!!!.

We booked this for my wife and I and my two girls, aged 10 and 6. Thought it might be a bit of a stretch to keep my youngest interested for 8 hours, the length of the trip, but we all loved it. It was fascinating to see what Patsy was doing, apparently she was born and lived in the bush for years, and Sean's explanations were extremely interesting. My girls even got involved in plucking the geese and foraging for bush carrots, eating ants, searching for river mussels, the lot. And the scenery at sunset were Patsy has the fire pit and wer we ate lovely damper, goose, buffalo and bush food was breathtaking. Truly a fascinating experience and a glimpse of what Patsy's truly different culture is.

This could well be the highlight of our Kakadu experience - the story that you tell first to people who ask about Kakadu. Our guide and driver, Mark, was very experienced in the wildlife and aboriginal culture, and was able to add to the information that Patsy, our aboriginal guide, was providing. This is a hands on tour - you get most out of it if you jump in and have a go at all the activities. Collecting bush tucker , trialling bush medicines, seeing the bush through different eyes. This knowledge you don't absorb from driving by. Less than half of our group of 10 were Australians and were able to encourage the overseas component to participate fully. The sunset spot and preparing the food and seeing the cooking process- there was always plenty to do and see. You are totally involved all the time.An expensive tour , but best value for money as it is so authentic and genuine. No tours are ever same - this real article. Do it now, as tours like this will not always be around as the knowledge disappears with this generation. We should all learn about this to understand Australia and in particular, Kakadu. If you can only afford one trip - this is the once.

Spent 7 1/2 hours on a safari at a water Buffalo farm with local lady who showed us how to dig for mussels, bush carrots, water chestnuts, gathering grevillea for flavouring our dinner, Turkey bush leaves for mozzie repellant, pulled paperbark to use for cooking and plates for eating, plucked feathers from a magpie goose the singed the rest ready for dinner. Saw water buffalo, jabiru, thousands of egrets, magpie geese, Brolga, kites in an amazing day, finished off with a brilliant sunset with dinner of barramundi buffalo and magpie goose. Fantastic day

From start to end, the whole day was an incredible experience! I would highly recommend the tour to anyone seeking some cultural understanding of the aboriginal people. At the start of the tour we were picked up in our safari vehicle by our guide Mark, who I highly praise for his knowledge and respect of Aboriginal culture. Fortunately we were only in a small group of 9 people so the car wasn't to squishy and we all got to individually soak up the experience without it being too crowded. After we were picked up we drove to go and pick up our aboriginal guide Patsy. There is no possible way I can begin to describe how much of an incredible woman Patsy is, she has grew up living off the land and the knowledge she has to offer about aboriginal culture is extensive. As the day went on she showed us many things like identifying and finding different bush foods, she also taught us about many different bush medicines. By late afternoon we had made our way to a beautiful wetlands area to sit and cook our bush tucker as we watched the many different bird species fly over the orange sky as the sun set, it was a an amazing site to see. Our bush tucker dinner included magpie goose, buffalo meat, barramundi and some bush food we had found throughout the day, these were all beautifully cooked in a traditional aboriginal ground fire. I won't say much about the preparation of the food, but I advise that you have an open mind and be hands on with the experience (it's definitely a story to tell). After finishing our meal and taking a few more photos of the beautiful sky, it was sadly time to pack up and start driving back to reality. On the car ride back to our drop off point both Mark and Patsy shared some stories with us and the whole group was in silence as we soaked in the authenticity and beauty behind their words. To my family and I this experience really meant a lot to us because we have aboriginal ancestors and have always wanted to get more connected with the aboriginal culture and way of life. I can honestly say that I would return to the Northern Territory just to do this tour over and over again! Trust me you won't forget it!