Coorong tour richer from First Nations perspective

"Our six-hour cruise down the Murray River will teach you about our people, and the area's environmental, maritime and indigenous history," says Ngarrindjeri Elder, Mark Koolmatrie.

Entering Coorong National Park, where freshwater and tidal waters meet, it's a swirling world of flood-forged sandbars calling for an impressionist's easel. Lining them are migratory birds that have flown 12,000km-13,000km from Alaska and Siberia to feed in this internationally acclaimed Ramsar-listed wetland, where brine shrimp beckon hungry waders.

Before us are bar-tailed godwits and black swans protecting their cygnets. Pelicans, and black cormorants dwarf the Caspian, crested and fairy terns, while red-necked avocets elegantly sport their upturned beaks.

The first of the off-grid shacks to our right was built in 1902. In 1974, a handful of the shacks were washed away. The constantly changing Murray Mouth was closer to the shacks back then. And residents still have to boat to Mundoo to reach Goolwa for their provisions.

Pulling up at Barker Knoll on the Younghusband Peninsula, we step onto a mighty sand dune. By a kuti shell midden site, Mark burns coastal rosemary for a smoking ceremony.

"On behalf of my ancestors I welcome you to Ngarrindjeri Sea Country, made up of 18 clans from the Lower River Murray, the Lower Lakes, the Coorong, and the Southern Ocean," he begins. "There is much food, water and medicines in the Coorong. We have emu and kangaroo, and 278 species of plant."

Crewmember and tour guide, Jess, points out samphire, which tastes like salty asparagus. We also sample the sweet white berries of coastal beard-heath. The antioxidant-rich purple berries of coastal boobialla (native juniper) dot the undulating 800-metre trudge across the dune that leads us to the wild Southern Ocean.

Back on the cruiser we lunch on salad garlanded with Coorong spinach. We see the 1866 cottage of the Dodd family who grazed sheep and cattle nearby (with little success). Their home was built with ballast bricks from English sailing ships. We then pass the beach where the remake of Storm Boy was filmed.

At Cattle Point, we disembark, following Mark to a significant area where his ancestors lived until the 1890s. Scaling the steep sand hill, we walk single file to protect midden sites. Mark talks through his art-adorned walking stick. Decorated by his family, it depicts how his family lived in harmony with the land and water.

Rupert pulls out a shovel and digs a hole, one-metre deep. Freshwater appears. Pulling cups from his rucksack, he fills them. One by one, as each cup extracts the water, the hole quickly replenishes the next.

"There is a lot of ancient water beneath this sand we stand upon today." Says Mark. "It could be 800 years old, and may have been flowing for 10,000 years." The more the water is excavated, the clearer it becomes. But it's the taste of purity that none of the group have experienced before.

"We are at the top of the lens effect here," says Mark. "Add some boobialla to your cup, and you've got a gin and tonic!" Standing upon the ever-shifting sands of time, we all chink to that.

The writer was a guest on the cruise.