Travel Green List: 7 top sustainable destinations in Australia and the Pacific

The Kimberley’s ‘Camping with Custodians’ initiative welcomes travellers to seven minimal-impact campgrounds, all owned and operated by Indigenous communities. The latest to open, the Djarindjin site on the Dampier Peninsula, runs in conjunction with Bardi and Jawi people. Elsewhere in the state, Ningaloo’s ‘Baiyungu Dreaming’ tour explores the history of Aboriginal people on the Coral Coast, with Traditional Owner Hazel Walgar offering an opportunity to understand life through the lens of its Indigenous communities – even teaching guests how to dig for fresh water in the dunes. But it’s not only cultural encounters that are on offer. Ningaloo’s reef stretches over 300km, and its waters are a prime spot for swimming alongside whale sharks (Mar–Aug), with strict guidelines having been put in place for local eco-certified small-group operators.

Read next: Close encounters with wildlife wonders in Ningaloo Reef

Māori heritage is increasingly weaved into visitor experiences on the islands. In Northland, Footprints Waipoua incorporates storytelling and waiata (song) into its forest walks, and Rotorua’s Te Puia community shares its artistry through its national schools for carving and weaving. Meanwhile, adventures can be found at the Bay of Plenty, where rafting and hikes to the extinct Mount Tarawera volcano come with the promise that Kaitiaki Adventures offsets 120% of its emissions through regenerative forest projects. On the South Island, also look out for the Ngati Kuri-run Whale Watch Kaikõura, which takes visitors in search of its resident sperm whales, while Māori guides from Horizon Tours operate twilight trips to Hoopers Inlet, a prime spot on the Otago Peninsula for seeing the Aurora Australis. Creation tales are usually shared along the way.

Read next: A guide to the Great Walks of New Zealand

Tourism Australia’s ‘Discover Aboriginal Experiences’ initiative is putting income back into communities where it is most needed. In the Ourimbah State Forest, family-run Girri Girra offers guests the opportunity to camp under the stars following a traditional ‘welcome to country’ smoking ceremony and fireside storytelling. Meanwhile, Coffs Harbour’s Wajaana Yaam Gumnaynggirr Adventure Tours offers walking and SUP experiences, with some profits donated to cultural camps and NSW’s first Aboriginal Gumnaynggirr language school.

Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its cultural value, Budj Bim and the history of the Gunditjmara people date back over 30,000 years. Join a full-day excursion from Heywood with the Indigenous- owned Budj Bim Tours, journeying out to Mount-Eccles-Budj Bim National Park and then on to the on-site aquaculture centre – a modern day equivalent to the eel-farming techniques adopted by the Gunditjmara over 6,000 years ago.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland has launched its own Sustainable Travel Hub, which enables travellers to access interactive cultural experiences and conservation-focused tours. Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel is one of 62 operators championed by the project, offering Great Barrier Reef tours that amplify the Indigenous peoples’ connection to the ocean. There is also Passions of Paradise owner Alan Wallish, who combines snorkelling and diving with citizen science, replanting broken coral in man-made nurseries; once healthy, the corals are relocated to dive sites. It’s one of many projects working to preserve the reef, including the Living Coral Biobank, which is currently growing 800 threatened coral species at its centre in Port Douglas.

The Guluyambi Cultural Cruise travels along the East Alligator River in Kakadu NP (May–Nov), teaching guests about bush survival and local mythology dating back over 40,000 years. At Mount Borradaile in western Arnhem Land, you can see red haematite handprints that show coming-ofage rituals from 55,000 years ago, just as later depictions of ships and guns narrate the first contact with colonisers. And in the Red Centre, solar panels and composting toilets are being added to the Larapinta Trail Walk’s award-winning eco-camps.

Many of the region’s farms and wineries have used sustainable practices from inception. Barossa Valley’s Hutton Vale Farm, for example, is planting trees across its land, while Gemtree Wines in McLaren Vale has a solar-powered tasting room made from recycled materials. The Green Adelaide initiative, established in 2019, inspires similar environmental stewardship by educating kids in the value of nature and planting trees to expand Adelaide’s green spaces. You can see the difference it has made as you stroll the city.

See more of the Travel Green List:

Sustainable destinations in Europe

Sustainable destinations in North America and the Caribbean

Sustainable destinations in Asia