At the Tjapukai Night Tour in Cairns you are invited in by the welcoming front office staff through to the dreamtime section - the beginning of the show. I don't want to ruin it for you by telling you too much, but it is a very impressive show with actors and multi media. Then you are invited to come outside and join in the Corroboree. Each person is given music sticks and asked to participate in the ceremony of lighting fire. This is a lot of fun for children and adults alike.

After the Corroboree it's time to move into the restaurant. Three courses of buffets are served and in-between courses more dancing and singing is performed on stage. This gives you time to digest your food and the waiters and chefs time to prepare. The food is exquisite and it is all you can eat. It is some of the best food I have eaten in Cairns. Entrée is generally a choice of home made soups and rolls. Mains are as much salads, vegetables and meats as you can imagine with sauces made from traditional Australian bush flavours such as bush tomatoes, quandongs and wattle seeds. The dessert is mountains of Aussie cakes like pavlova, lamingtons and fresh fruits as well as tarts, cheesecakes etc. Afterwards you can help yourself to tea and coffee!

The performances are touching and well performed. They range from traditional dancers retelling the story of a kangaroo hunt, to modern songs about reconciliation and every body in Australia working together to live in harmony. At the end Zara and I stood up to clap the performers and had tears in our eyes. You can also go outside afterwards and sit around a camp fire to get photos with the performers and ask them questions.

The shop is also open at this time of night so you can grab souvenirs to take home. I can definitely recommend this experience as a great night out of Aboriginal theatre and fantastic food. You can self drive or pay a little extra for return transfers which is advisable if you drink any alcohol with your meal.

Anna  x