The land of eternal STORIES

The Northern Territory's 65,000 years of Indigenous history is wrapped up in otherworldly natural landscapes, making this the perfect place to explore the secrets of Aboriginal Australia

-  George Kipouros

This was not the standard map of Australia that I knew. I recognised the shape but not the way that it had been broken up.

"There are more than 500 different Aboriginal peoples across this country, with over 150 languages spoken," explained Maria, my guide, as she pointed to the puzzle-like fragments of First Nations communities covering the continent. "While we share commonalities, we are many nations, all with distinct cultures, languages and traditions."

It was dizzying to take them all in at once. As Maria highlighted the names of the different Aboriginal peoples represented in today's Northern Territory alone, I realised there were myriad little-known histories running alongside the larger narrative of a country that I thought I knew.

"Right here, in Darwin, the Traditional Owners are the Larrakia people. They've been around for thousands of years-long before today's city was built," smiled Maria as we walked in front of the territorial capital's colonial-styled, 19th-century Government House.

While people who identify as Aboriginal Australians make up only about 3% of the country's modern population, that figure rises to 30% in the Northern Territory, which has long been a stronghold of Indigenous culture. Evidence uncovered by archaeologists has revealed that human habitation here goes back as far as 65,000 years.

"You'll be witnessing what is perhaps the planet's oldest continuously active civilisation," foreshadowed Maria, an unexpected gravitas suddenly creeping into her voice.