An Australian Outback Day Trip Starring “Bush Tucker”

[EnLinea Media]

via Wandermelon.com

Like canoeing and exotic food? Or just raring to play Crocodile Dundee or Steve Irwin? (OK, maybe not Steve Irwin.) Have we got a soft adventure tour for you. With a starting point in Margaret River, 172 miles (277 km) south of Perth, in Western Australia, the Cave and Canoe Bushtucker Tour from local outfitter Bushtucker Tours (a Tripatini member) floats you into the Outback, with its unusual fauna and flora, aboriginal cave dwellings, and culinary offerings. Sure, kangaroo is on the menu, but that’s just for starters.

The groups meet at Surfers Point on the coast, where the Margaret River spills into the ocean. The guide fits everyone out with canoes, paddles, and life vests, and you start paddling upstream around 10:15 a.m. Now, this will raise eyebrows among certain outdoorsy types, who will wonder, why start so late instead of at, say, 7 a.m.? Answer: because this is Oz, mate.

Outback Cuisine

With no motorboats allowed on the river, this paddle is a peaceful meander past cliffs, mangrove creeks, and wildlife habitats. The old Bussell homestead makes you ponder what life was really like here almost two centuries ago; a crawl through caves where Aboriginals lived takes you back even further. But food, glorious food, provides the climax. Or depending on your perspective, the anti-climax.

The term “bush tucker” refers to wild plants and animals that aboriginal Australians have traditionally eaten for centuries, and it’s what’s for lunch. Come hungry, because the guide lays out a picnic that features smoked emu (a relative of the ostrich) with wild nut pesto and kangaroo with chutneys, jams, and dips made from stuff like quandon (desert peach) and Kakadu plum.

Witchetty Grubs — Yum, Just Like Peanut Butter

But surely, the pièce de résistance is the witchetty grub (above right), which is what it sounds like. Your guide will tell you that this fat white crawler is an excellent source of protein, and that it tastes like almond or peanut butter. Now, that’s a bit of a surprise. We’ve all always heard that weird meats are supposed to taste like chicken.

The Cave and Canoe Bushtucker Tour takes 4½ hours and costs AU$85* (AU$45 for children 3-12).

*For equivalents in other currencies, see Tripatini’s Currency Desk.