Combining love of culture with love of sharing - Nathan and Rochelle Lygon launch new cultural tour

Yandama on Country proudly created by Yuin man Nathan Lygon and his wife Rochelle, is a business venture that has come out of a deep love and respect of country, combining almost a decade of Nathan's experience in learning the rich history of the land and his ancestors, with his love of teaching.

Having been a cultural educator involved in schools around the district for years and being closely involved with varied cultural events across the region and country, Nathan said the importance of sharing culture and connecting people through it had become an integral part of his daily life.

"This is the culmination of a big journey where we are now coming together to start something new, complementing each other's skill sets to offer an experience that is desirable for a lot people and something that is needed in our area," he said.

The Lygons said they were blown away by the support from their local community since launching their business, having amassed a lot of interest to the point that their first tour has already sold out.

"We've been working and chipping away at this behind the scenes for a while now and we're getting a lot of interest which is really cool, we weren't anticipating it to take off like it has," Nathan said.

Rochelle added that they'd already received expressions of interest in the tour from companies looking to do team building days and local schools.

"While I'm excited to show tourists what we're doing, I'm really excited to share this with local people," she said.

"We've had feedback from residents that went on the Cultural Kayak tour in Pambula, saying they'd grown up on the Pambula River and had no idea about the history, so that's what I'm most excited about, seeing people learn about the lands they grew up on."

Yandama on Country's first official tour will begin on February 8, wherein a small group will be taken on a 1.8km walk around Twofold Bay by Nathan.

Starting off with an intimate smoking ceremony that will lay the way for an immersive walk and talk on country, participants will learn about local ecologies, traditional foods and medicines, native flora and fauna, cultural land management and more.

The tour also includes an Indigenous themed morning tea and a yarning circle at the end to reflect on the cultural experience.

Eden Visitor Information Centre manager, Clair Mudaliar, said she'd been blessed to experience a trial of the tour a few months ago, when Nathan presented it during the Indigenous Connections famils run by the South Coast Centre of Excellence in October 2023.

"It was just an exceptional experience, it was actually really moving and you came away with it feeling really relaxed and grounded, which is one of the things Rochelle said about the immersive walk," Ms Mudaliar said.

"Nathan does it so beautifully, he's obviously so passionate about his culture and he shares it so well."

"I mean you really got to take your hats off to Nathan and Rochelle, they've put a lot of thought into the experience to make it as complete as possible."

Ms Mudaliar said in the last decade and especially in the last five years, she'd noticed a growth of interest in Indigenous cultural experiences.

"I think Indigenous cultural experiences are a real growth industry in Australia and I think there's definitely been a gap in the market in Eden for a while now," she said.

"We have a lot of people coming into the visitor centre asking about Indigenous experiences wanting to learn more about the history of our area and I think that Yandama on Country is going to be a huge success."

Ms Mudaliar said the local community and visitors alike were fortunate to have such a unique experience on offer, wherein people could learn from a proud Yuin man who had embraced his culture and found a way to share it with people.

"The fact that he wants to share it through this experience is something really special. He has such a genuine passion for his culture and a genuine passion to share it with other people which is what will make this such a special and unique experience for people," she said.

To find out more information about the tour, dates and pricing you can follow their Instagram page @yandama.on.country.