Abbie Webb loves Snapchat, hanging out with her friends and is obsessed with hair and make-up.

But the 15-year-old from outer-suburban Melbourne has questions about her family history that have led her to venture far from home.

Key points: The remote and sacred Lake Mungo acts as a backdrop for a new initiative with traditional landowners

The remote and sacred Lake Mungo acts as a backdrop for a new initiative with traditional landowners It is almost 900km from Abbie's Melbourne home, giving the teenager a chance to connect with a different country

It is almost 900km from Abbie's Melbourne home, giving the teenager a chance to connect with a different country One elder said the initiative was aimed at young Indigenous women who felt they were not black enough or white enough

Abbie's mum's side is Greek. On the other side, she's Indigenous, a Yorta Yorta woman.

But growing up alongside the sprawling green parks and shopping malls of Craigieburn, finding a connection to both lines of her ancestry has been complicated.

"I've felt more connected to mum's side being Greek, because we've always traditional events on," she said.

"So I grew up knowing more of the Greek culture than being Indigenous."

While Abbie is proud of her Yorta Yorta heritage, the rich stories, culture and traditions remained a mystery.

That was until she was invited onto the remote and sacred Indigenous lands of Lake Mungo as part of a new initiative with traditional landowners.

Now a World-Heritage-listed site, it was here the discovery of Mungo Woman in 1969, and Mungo Man in 1974, unearthed an Indigenous connection to country, stretching back 42,000 years.

The remains confirmed Australia's First Nations peoples owned the lands for almost twice as long as previously thought.

The Lake Mungo area provided a culturally significant backdrop for the girls' camp. ( ABC News: Sarah Collard )

Almost 900 kilometres from Abbie's home, it's a chance to connect with a different country — one far removed from her busy city life of school, family and friends.

At the camp she is joined by Georgia Capocchi-Hunter, a 19-year-old Wurundjeri woman from Melbourne who works at the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency.

Run by Anglicare's Baldau Yiooghen Youth Leadership Academy, the two teens were hand-picked to escape the city and connect to their Indigenous culture.

Under the watchful eye of Taungurungand woman Annette Sax, the pair drew their personal histories, totems and stories first with pen and paper, before using a special tool to burn their stories onto possum pelts.

The possum pelts created by Georgia and Abbie were a key part of the camp. ( ABC News: Sarah Collard )

Possum pelts were once an integral part of the culture of Indigenous peoples who lived and thrived in the country surrounding Lake Mungo.

Brush-tailed possums were once hunted and carefully collected, sewn and decorated to become cloaks worn for both warmth and ceremonial purposes.

They were then handed down through generations.

Now though, the marsupials are a protected species, meaning the girls' pelts have been imported from New Zealand.

For Georgia and Abbie, the ritual is all about reclaiming culture and heritage.

Before the camp Abbie and Georgia both questioned their place in the world. ( ABC News: Sarah Collard )

"For me, it represents decolonisation and us bringing back our practices and continuing them when people fought so hard for us to lose them," Georgia said.

"It's really powerful that we can still do this today — even if it's a more modernised version."

Living in 'two worlds'

The Australia Talks National Survey revealed 80 per cent of Australians felt they knew little about the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Academy manager David Law said this lack of understanding was felt by many young Indigenous people too — like Abbie and Georgia — who struggled to find their place in the world.

"Their journey is just as important," he said.

"And I believe [these] kids have been missed a bit. We are really proud that we are able to work with [these] kids because [their] culture isn't at the forefront of where they live."

Georgia has both Indigenous and non-Indigenous family, but said she grappled with reconciling, and appreciating, both.

The 19-year-old said the camp provided a rare opportunity to gain a greater understanding of her Indigenous heritage.

"Even though I grew up pretty strong in my culture, I questioned where my place was in the world," she said.

"I am a firm believer in the idea that culture will really fix everything.

"When kids are connected to their community and culture they have no reason to muck up — it really gives them a sense of purpose."

Georgia, with her possum pelt by her side, said the camp gave her greater understanding of her heritage. ( ABC News: Sarah Collard )

Kellie Hunter, Ms Capocchi-Hunter's aunt, works with young Indigenous kids growing up in outer-suburban Melbourne, having a hard time finding their identity

"You live in two worlds," she said.

"You don't feel black enough but you're not white, you are kind of in the middle; and that's a hard thing to do."

Back at the camp — with the sparse land of Lake Mungo in the distance — Abbie said the experience gave her a welcome respite from the pressures of life in the city.

"I feel like being around elders just blocks out everything and everyone else," she said.

"You just focus on the elders and yourself in that time and place."

The Australia Talks National Survey asked 54,000 Australians about their lives and what keeps them up at night. Use our interactive tool to see the results and how their answers compare with yours.

Then, tune in at 8.30pm on November 18, as the ABC hosts a live TV event with some of Australia's best-loved celebrities exploring the key findings of the Australia Talks National Survey.