Discover cultural stories from your SUP

Cultural connection through stories, beautiful scenery and Aboriginal culture – picture this, with a bit of exercise thrown in for good measure.

There’s no better environment to learn the long history of our coastal region than out on the water, says SUP Shellharbour owner Rebecca Dunning.

For years, she’d searched for the right person to share the cultural stories of the Dharawal land and waterways she lives and teaches on. Having known Dr Jodi Edwards – Dharawal academic and accredited Wayapa Wuurrk and Sharing Stories practitioner – for some time, Rebecca said she felt like Jodi was the perfect person to lead SUP Shellharbour’s Aboriginal Stand-Up Paddle Boarding Tours.

Though she admired the concept, Jodi had at first looked to mentor an emerging Aboriginal guide before realising her own attachment to the project, Rebecca said.

“She ended up saying to me, ‘You know what? It's something that is so close to my heart, that I want to tell stories and I want to share information, I want to reconnect the disconnected – I feel like I want to do it’,” Rebecca said.

“I could not think of a better person than Jodi to do it, so to have her along to tell the stories of the Illawarra – like Minnamurra River, Lake Illawarra – she's got so much to tell, and she's all about bridging the gap.

“The way she wants to do it is not through [politics], not through blame, she wants to do it through connection and she does that through sharing stories, and I think everyone really takes that on board and wants to know more and more and more about the Indigenous history of our area.”

The Aboriginal SUP Tour launched in late February and SUP Shellharbour and Dr Jodi Edwards have already held three tours. The most recent one was last weekend on Saturday, March 18 and each tour has drawn 12 to 24 participants.

Currently operating at Minnamurra River and Lake Illawarra, Rebecca said Jodi has a wealth of local knowledge and many cultural stories to share, making each tour a unique experience, which begins with the earth connection practice of Wayapa Wuurrk.

“First, once we welcome people, Jodi does a Wayapa Wuurrk... [which], for me, it's like an Aboriginal Tai Chi where they take 14 elements of Earth connection and wrap it with Aboriginal cultural connection – things like the land, the fire, the sun, the wind, the water – and they combine that through movement and story sharing, and that becomes our first 10 minutes of warm-up on the land,” Rebecca said.

“Depending what tide it is to where we stand, we could be standing on the sand or the grass – that real good earth connection, which is Wayapa Wuurrk – warming up our bodies through story sharing and movement, and she blends that into wherever we are to tell the story of the local [land].”

What follows is two hours of exploring the waterways, stopping to learn about the spirit of ancestors, the spirit of the Minnamurra River, sharing some of the ancient ways of the waterways and land that taught the Aboriginal people. Sombre historical events, such as the 1818 massacre of an unknown number of Wodi Wodi people along Minnamurra River, are also shared.

“[It’s] a sad story, but as Jodi says, telling the story helps the healing process,” Rebecca said.

“She always tells people 'this is a safe place', and you can ask me whatever you want – there's no question that she probably will have never heard before.

“It really relaxes everyone, and they ask questions that have probably been on their minds for a long time but haven't had the right person to ask.”

The tour is the first of its kind in the area. Rebecca and Jodi are hoping to not only attract Sydney visitors but also international guests to the Illawarra. Last Saturday, a group of visitors from America joined the tour.

Rebecca said there are plans to offer Aboriginal SUP Tours in Belmore Basin and further north of Wollongong in the near future.

“We’ve got two coming up in April [during] the school holidays, and then one in May, and then we'll just see how we're going from there,” she said.

“It's just exciting… to be able to tell the stories of local Aboriginal people, how we're all going to come together and bridge that gap and have fun at the same time paddling, and it's just a perfect environment – especially with the extra-long summer that's happening at the moment."

The next Aboriginal SUP Tour will be held on Friday, April 14 at Minnamurra River. To find out more or to purchase tickets, visit the SUP Shellharbour website.

All ages and all abilities are welcome to take part as SUP Shellharbour instructors attend every Aboriginal SUP Tour.

While a board and paddle are provided, use the promo code OWNSUP at checkout for a discount if you will be bringing along your own equipment.