Desert Rose

Visitors to Australia are often struck by the scarcity of opportunities to encounter Aboriginal culture. With indigenous people forming less than 3% of the population, there aren't many to be seen walking about on the streets; and the closest most tourists get to Aboriginal life is at a museum, or a didgeridoo purchased at a souvenir shop. That's why Gunya Titjikala (gunya.com.au) is such a welcome initiative. The country's first Aboriginal resort enables guests to live in a real desert community, absorbing local traditions firsthand.

The hosts are the 300 Aborigines of Titjikala, a far-flung settlement in the Northern Territory, comprising members of the Arrente, Luritja and Pitjantjatjara tribal groups. The resort is a joint venture between them and Gunya Tourism, a firm set up to promote indigenous tourism experiences. Half of the profits go to the Titjikala Foundation's health and education programs, and the camp employs only local tribespeople. The objectives are cultural interaction and Aboriginal self-sufficiency, says Mark Provost, Gunya Tourism's managing director: "In remote areas such as Titjikala, tourism offers the prospect of economic independence and eliminates a sole dependency on government welfare. We aim to provide guests with a greater sense of purpose and respect for indigenous traditions and culture."

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Accommodation is in three safari tents just outside Titjikala, 120 km south of Alice Springs, along a dirt track. Each luxury tent has a shaded veranda—the ideal place to enjoy a drink and watch the sun set over the Simpson Desert. The bathroom is a corrugated-iron extension at the rear of the tent, and features a stylish, freestanding bathtub open to the sky. Excursions include visits to rock art and fossil sites and to Chambers Pillar, a sandstone monolith 40 km away. There are also hunting tours, where tribal elders instruct you in the gathering of "bush tucker"—local foods like grubs and wild plants. Meanwhile, at Titjikala's art center, guests can meet local artists as they busily transmute the desert's vivid colors into pieces destined for big city galleries.

In the evening, a resident chef prepares Western-style gourmet meals infused with local ingredients. Expect dishes like Nile perch poached in eucalyptus, and dessert such as wattle seed cheesecake. Members of the Titjikala community also make an appearance, regaling guests with stories from the Dreaming, the Aboriginal myth of creation. Later, tales are shared around a campfire, beneath a star-studded sky. Experienced like this, the vastness of the desert seems to resonate with the ancient traditions of a proud people—and the tourist traps of Sydney or Surfers Paradise couldn't seem farther away.