"It was important to show His Royal Highness ... what were we here for as traditional owners and what they were there for (and that is) protecting the same country," Aunty Nai Nai Bird told AAP on Monday.

Aunty Nai Nai cleansed Harry's bare feet as he was shown the crystal clear fresh waters of the island's sacred Lake McKenzie.

He spent quite some time talking to Aunty Nai Nai and Butchulla songman Aaron Henderson, who showed him around the white beach of the ancestral meeting place.

"It's going to be a day he will never forget," Aunty Nai Nai said.

"I think he was blown away ... the size of the timbers we took him to, the beauty of the lakes, you know, talking with our songman, our rangers, and hearing it from both points of view on things he had not thought about."

It was not the first time Aunty Nai Nai had shared her traditional knowledge with the royal family, having met Prince Charles during his 1994 tour.

After stopping at the lake the duke was then whisked through the bush to McKenzie's Jetty, stopping to shake hands with Butchulla dancers and land and sea rangers.

"To have a royal person here and to show respect to the royal family, and them coming to our country and showing respect, it means a great deal to me and it's beautiful," dancer Joe Gala said.

Mr Gala said the duke had told him the duchess "was a bit sick and that she had morning sickness."

Aunty Nai Nai said she would have liked it have met the duchess, who stayed behind to rest at the island's resort.

"At the end of the day, I'm a mother and anybody who has been, all the women that have been a mother, we understand because we've all gone through the same experience," she said.

"You cannot take that away from her and hey, she is just going to enjoy being in the environment and listening to what Harry has been through."

Australian Associated Press