Pudakul Aboriginal Cultural Tours Founder Lynette Kenyon

When Lynette Kenyon and her husband Graham launched Pudakul Aboriginal Cultural Tours near Darwin more than a decade ago, they had two goals. One was to be their own bosses and run a business on their traditional land; the other was to ensure that they passed their culture on to their four daughters.
“Knowing our heritage and living in today’s society, it’s like we have two toolboxes,” Lynette says. “The business lets us use both. We can keep our daughters connected to their country while we make a living, too.”
Pudakul’s most popular tour is its two-hour Aboriginal Tour, designed to introduce guests to traditional culture. “We teach visitors about bush foods, about the way we move across the land according to the seasons, and the many ways we use the plants around us, from medicine to using the fibres to make baskets and mats,” Lynette says. And for those who just want to learn how to throw a spear, “we’re happy to help with that, too”.
Lynette and Graham are determined to keep growing the business –
their most recent addition is some overnight accommodation – but what they are most proud of is the chance to show off their country. “Visitors are often amazed by how beautiful it is here in the wetlands; they don’t know what’s in store for them until they get here.”