When The Amazing Race Australia premieres on February 1, it will begin with a Welcome to Country ceremony for the contestants given by the Kuku Yalanji people of far north Queensland.

Cousins Dwes Wiggan-Dann and Katherine Dann have said its important the show recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of the sacred land where the competition was filmed. As Aboriginal people themselves, they felt their deep sense of belonging really showed when the ceremony took place.

The Welcome to Country we received was literally a time for us to ground ourselves in our country and really be accepted by the traditional owners of the area we visited, Dwes told HuffPost Australia.