Zenadth Kes (The Torres Strait), explained by the people it belongs to.
You can spend a week up here and never have anyone tell you what you are looking at. Most tours in this part of the world hand you a commentary track. This is a conversation on a small boat with someone whose family has been reading this water for generations.
Your guide will tell you which island is which and who belongs to it, how families connect right across the Strait, how people moved between these islands long before there were engines. You will get the pearling years and the war years and what both of them did to families here. Some of what you hear is public history. Some is family knowledge shared with you as a guest, and we will tell you which is which.
Elders and knowledge holders are paid properly for their time. That is built into what you pay, not passed around in a hat at the end.
Three to four hours. From $250 per person, or [$2,100] for the boat.
We leave Horn Island or Thursday Island and work through the inner islands. A lovely opportunity to see the stunning scenery and hear local, cultural stories. Partway through we may pull up at a beach depending on weather, and cut the motor for snack, because the good conversations happen when the engine is off.
Best if you have one day up here, you are working around a flight, or you want the Strait explained without giving up a whole day to it.
Six hours. From $450 per person, or [$2,950] for the boat.
We leave Horn Island or Thursday Island and head to Badu Island. Badu Island is not a stop on a cruise itinerary. Getting there takes a boat, a relationship with the community and permission. We have all three.
The run across takes about [an hour] and it is part of the day, not just transport. Ashore, the day is built around who is available and willing on the day. Usually that means [time with Elders, the Badu Art Centre, a walk through Country with a knowledge holder, weaving or artefact making]. You will hear how the island works now, how it worked before, and what people are doing to keep language strong. Ask questions. Good ones are welcome.
Lunch is sourced by a local business. Then the run home in the afternoon light.
This is not a performance. If the Elders or knowledge holders are not available, we do not substitute someone in. We tell you, and we either reshape the day honestly or reschedule you.
Best if you have the time, you want to meet people rather than look at scenery, and you are comfortable being a guest somewhere on somebody else’s terms.