{"id":85447,"date":"2025-07-22T19:02:40","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T09:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?p=85447"},"modified":"2025-08-06T08:16:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T22:16:12","slug":"mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Mooks, the traditional Aboriginal healer and bush medicine man of Cape York"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On a trip through the Cape York Peninsula, travel writer Susan Elliott meets Harold \u2018Mooks\u2019 Tayley \u2013 a Kuku-Nyungkul elder, Traditional Owner, bush medicine expert and healer sought out by travellers from around the world. He is also called \u2018Kuku bugga\u2019. But no, he ain\u2019t cuckoo!<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travellers scoff schnitzels the size of their 4WD wheels, locals are dressed like extras on a Mad Max<\/em> set and pub staff stretch their vowels soooooo faaaaaar their sentences could lap Australia<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My smile couldn\u2019t be wider, nor my joyous roar louder at the Lion\u2019s Den Hotel south of Cooktown, an outback tavern that\u2019s a thirst quencher for those who have conquered the bumpy drive along the Bloomfield Track from Cape Tribulation, north of the Daintree<\/a> River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/figure><\/div>
\"The<\/figure>
\"A<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Watching from his favourite seat is Mooks \u2013 who, like a chameleon, is unseen until you spot him. Then he pops. His signature twirls of black hair loop behind his ears and curl down his chest, and with wisps of whiskers, he is a prize-winning portrait pleading to be painted. Mooks, however, is more into the art of walking and talking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Kuku bugga\u2019, I learn, is the local lingo for someone who likes to talk, and Mooks could probably do that underwater, as that is where he was born. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Explore Far North Queensland<\/h2>
Cape York & Torres Strait Explorer<\/a><\/div>
10 days<\/span><\/div>
View trip<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
North Queensland Adventure<\/a><\/div>
13 days<\/span><\/div>
View trip<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Daintree & Cape Tribulation Adventure<\/a><\/div>
6 days<\/span><\/div>
View trip<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

‘Mum was working in a cattle station in Laura, and when she couldn\u2019t get to the hospital, she called my grandad and grandma to the homestead and she had me in the Laura River,’ he says.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Mum needed to keep working and couldn\u2019t look after me, so I lived in a bark shelter by the river with my grandparents.’ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The town of Laura is 130 km from where Mooks now lives and works at Rossville Retreat, a property where you can camp, or \u2018glamp\u2019 in beautiful bush lodges. But not all who stay are simply passing through. Many people visit to spend time with Mooks, to walk his Country, learn about bush food and medicine and, in some cases, to be healed. Whatever the reason, everything starts with a smoking ceremony. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more: <\/strong>Back to nature: On a mission to protect Australia\u2019s Daintree Rainforest forever<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Susan
Susan and Mooks share a moment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

‘Get some smoke on you!’<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m on Intrepid’s Cape York & Torres Strait Explorer<\/a> trip, travelling overland from Cairns to \u2018The Tip\u2019, the northernmost point on mainland Australia. And meeting Mooks is an unforgettable stopover on the journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Smoking ceremony is like a barrier for you,’ he says. ‘So, once you go through that smoking ceremony, you become one of us.’ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doused in smoke, we ‘head bush\u2019 along a dusty, scrub-lined track that looks unremarkable, but is soon revealed to be a living supermarket and a free-for-all pharmacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘This is our bush shampoo,’ says Mooks, as he tears leaves from a scrubby bush, scrunching them in his hands and adding water to make a foamy, soapy froth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Mooks<\/figure><\/div>
\"Mooks<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

‘My grandma used to bathe me with this when I was a little baby. It\u2019s good for the skin, good for the water, doesn\u2019t harm the fish or anything, you can use the leaf for rash, sunburn, it does make your skin soft, like a sponge.’ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the same plant, the bark is used to relieve muscle pain, and from another tree, the leaves are plucked and crushed, releasing a menthol smell \u2013 and can be used to treat a variety of ailments. Next, we snack on lemony green ants with a snake weed chaser, a delicate purple flower that tastes like a mushroom. It\u2019s good and would be the star of a salad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch: <\/strong>A new approach to travel in Australia’s Red Centre<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"An
Mooks regularly meets travellers from all over the world<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The gift of healing<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At 15, life changed for Mooks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘My grandfather always said to me, “One day you\u2019ll be helping many people”. I looked at him and said, “No, I don\u2019t help anybody. I don\u2019t want to help people.”‘ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fifteen-year-old Mooks wasn\u2019t interested, but teen spirit couldn\u2019t fight it. Young Harold had been born into a family of healers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘I knew that I had the power. And then one day, my grandfather and uncle said, \u201cWe\u2019re going to take you to the ritual.” I ended up going bush with them and passed the healing.’ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years on, there’s a long list of people who have sought out Mooks for his treatments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘I helped a young girl from Belgium, a nine-year-old,’ says Mooks. ‘She had a brain tumour and from what I have heard, she is doing well. There was a young girl from Sydney with cystic fibrosis, she\u2019s 21 now, a young boy from Texas with autism and a young girl in England had a brain tumour. I\u2019ve been working on her for a few years, and she\u2019s doing really well. I think she\u2019s almost 20 now.’ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Healers harbour their secrets, though Mooks does share that he uses his hands and his didgeridoo to draw illness from people. I suspect his kind eyes and soft voice are also an integral part of his treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more: <\/strong>A trip in my home country felt as inspiring as any trip overseas<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Mooks<\/figure><\/div>
\"Mooks<\/figure>
\"Mooks<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Lost for words<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mooks is one of the few who speak Kuku Nyungkul, a dialect that is endangered. UNESCO has listed it in its Atlas of the World\u2019s Languages in Danger, but Mooks is doing what he can to keep his language alive. A single dad of four children, he is teaching his 18-year-old son Aziah their dialect and believes he will be the next in their family line of healers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘If I\u2019m healing someone who is family, I\u2019ll get Aziah to place his hand on that person, but I\u2019ll hold one of his hands, and I send my energy through him. He\u2019s going to be powerful, he speaks my dialect, he knows about plants and he\u2019s doing really well. His ritual is coming soon.’ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We learn to throw boomerangs and handle artefacts that Mooks has made: a hook woomera (spear-throwing tool), clapsticks, a stone axe, but most surprisingly, a \u2018laptop\u2019. Well, that\u2019s what Mooks calls it. It\u2019s the shape and the size of a laptop, but a seemingly solid block of wood, with nothing but two open holes on one edge. Mooks challenges me to find the \u2018on\u2019 button, but I\u2019m stumped. He picks it up and blows into one of the holes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘That\u2019s my didgeridoo!’ he says. ‘And if it doesn\u2019t work, it\u2019s a didgeridon\u2019t.’  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re laughing as we board our Intrepid 4WD truck to leave Rossville Retreat, and if laughter is the best medicine then we have overdosed with Mooks.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smiles are wide, laughter is loud and after two days in Rossville, my vowels are definitely longer. The place slows you down, and it feels good. Back at the Lion\u2019s Den I don\u2019t scoff but savour my schnitzel and lean back into my chair for a long yarn with my new friend, \u2018Kuku bugga\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susan travelled with Intrepid on the <\/strong>Cape York & Torres Strait Explorer<\/strong><\/a> trip. Find out more about <\/strong>First Nations experiences<\/strong><\/a> in Australia with Intrepid and book an <\/strong>Australia adventure<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Travel writer Susan Elliott slows down for a walk on Country in Rossville, Queensland, with local healer and chatterbox, Mooks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16391,"featured_media":85470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3109],"tags":[26,2754,161,2772],"class_list":["post-85447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-good-trips","tag-australia","tag-first-nations","tag-queensland","tag-tropical-north-queensland","ipf_region-australia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCape York Aboriginal Healer & Bush Medicine Guide | The Good Times by Intrepid<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore Cape York with Mooks, a renowned Aboriginal healer, and learn about bush medicine, culture and traditional healing practices.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet Mooks, the Aboriginal elder inspiring travellers in Cape York\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Travel writer Susan Elliott slows down for a walk on Country in Rossville, Queensland, with local healer and chatterbox, Mooks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Good Times by Intrepid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/intrepidtravel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-22T09:02:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-05T22:16:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Rossville-Kuku-Nyungkul-cultural-experience-Mooks-hut-spear-3367.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Susan Elliott\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Meet Mooks, the Aboriginal elder inspiring travellers in Cape York\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Travel writer Susan Elliott slows down for a walk on Country in Rossville, Queensland, with local healer and chatterbox, Mooks\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Rossville-Kuku-Nyungkul-cultural-experience-Mooks-hut-spear-3367.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Intrepid_Travel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Intrepid_Travel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Susan Elliott\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/\",\"name\":\"Cape York Aboriginal Healer & Bush Medicine Guide | The Good Times by Intrepid\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Rossville-Kuku-Nyungkul-cultural-experience-Mooks-hut-spear-3367.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-22T09:02:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-05T22:16:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/48811e2cfee943d72b2d289f716392e1\"},\"description\":\"Explore Cape York with Mooks, a renowned Aboriginal healer, and learn about bush medicine, culture and traditional healing practices.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Rossville-Kuku-Nyungkul-cultural-experience-Mooks-hut-spear-3367.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Rossville-Kuku-Nyungkul-cultural-experience-Mooks-hut-spear-3367.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Aboriginal man Mooks demonstrating how to use a spear in Rossville, Queensland\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Meet Mooks, the traditional Aboriginal healer and bush medicine man of Cape York\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/\",\"name\":\"The Good Times by Intrepid\",\"description\":\"adventure news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/48811e2cfee943d72b2d289f716392e1\",\"name\":\"Susan Elliott\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cropped-Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Daintree-Ecolodge-croc-cruise-experience-guide-Alex-traveler-Susan-2475-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cropped-Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Daintree-Ecolodge-croc-cruise-experience-guide-Alex-traveler-Susan-2475-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Susan Elliott\"},\"description\":\"Susan is an award-winning travel writer who was born with itchy feet. She'd travelled 30 countries before the age of 30 and has now ticked off close to 50. She is the 2024 winner of the Best International Story (under 1000 words) for her feature story on the Galapagos Islands for MiNDFOOD Magazine, awarded by Australia's prestigious Australian Society of Travel Writers.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/author\/susan-elliott\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cape York Aboriginal Healer & Bush Medicine Guide | The Good Times by Intrepid","description":"Explore Cape York with Mooks, a renowned Aboriginal healer, and learn about bush medicine, culture and traditional healing practices.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meet Mooks, the Aboriginal elder inspiring travellers in Cape York","og_description":"Travel writer Susan Elliott slows down for a walk on Country in Rossville, Queensland, with local healer and chatterbox, Mooks","og_url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/","og_site_name":"The Good Times by Intrepid","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/intrepidtravel\/","article_published_time":"2025-07-22T09:02:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-05T22:16:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Rossville-Kuku-Nyungkul-cultural-experience-Mooks-hut-spear-3367.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Susan Elliott","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Meet Mooks, the Aboriginal elder inspiring travellers in Cape York","twitter_description":"Travel writer Susan Elliott slows down for a walk on Country in Rossville, Queensland, with local healer and chatterbox, Mooks","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Rossville-Kuku-Nyungkul-cultural-experience-Mooks-hut-spear-3367.jpg","twitter_creator":"@Intrepid_Travel","twitter_site":"@Intrepid_Travel","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Susan Elliott","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/","name":"Cape York Aboriginal Healer & Bush Medicine Guide | The Good Times by Intrepid","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Rossville-Kuku-Nyungkul-cultural-experience-Mooks-hut-spear-3367.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-22T09:02:40+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-05T22:16:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/48811e2cfee943d72b2d289f716392e1"},"description":"Explore Cape York with Mooks, a renowned Aboriginal healer, and learn about bush medicine, culture and traditional healing practices.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Rossville-Kuku-Nyungkul-cultural-experience-Mooks-hut-spear-3367.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Rossville-Kuku-Nyungkul-cultural-experience-Mooks-hut-spear-3367.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Aboriginal man Mooks demonstrating how to use a spear in Rossville, Queensland"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/mooks-aboriginal-elder-cape-york\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Meet Mooks, the traditional Aboriginal healer and bush medicine man of Cape York"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/","name":"The Good Times by Intrepid","description":"adventure news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/48811e2cfee943d72b2d289f716392e1","name":"Susan Elliott","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cropped-Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Daintree-Ecolodge-croc-cruise-experience-guide-Alex-traveler-Susan-2475-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cropped-Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Daintree-Ecolodge-croc-cruise-experience-guide-Alex-traveler-Susan-2475-96x96.jpg","caption":"Susan Elliott"},"description":"Susan is an award-winning travel writer who was born with itchy feet. She'd travelled 30 countries before the age of 30 and has now ticked off close to 50. She is the 2024 winner of the Best International Story (under 1000 words) for her feature story on the Galapagos Islands for MiNDFOOD Magazine, awarded by Australia's prestigious Australian Society of Travel Writers.","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/author\/susan-elliott\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Intrepid-Travel-Australia-Queensland-Rossville-Kuku-Nyungkul-cultural-experience-Mooks-hut-spear-3367.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4OQMK-meb","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85447"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85507,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85447\/revisions\/85507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}