Date : January 1, 2023
After a long separation from family overseas, we’re coming back together!
The gorgeous gumnut babies are excited to show their passport-toting foreign fairy kin the magic of the Australian bush and wild places.
If you’re on the hunt for some unforgettable, authentic Australian experiences to share with your loved ones, here are our top recommendations.
Three unique Aussie experiences to delight foreign guests
Forage for strange and delightful native bushfoods
You may look at the average Australian bushland scene and see no food in sight, but Aboriginal communities lived off the native bounty of the bush for many thousands of years.
Strange, aromatic, and delicious – these are some of the words that come to mind when taking a foraging tour through our wild landscapes.
Photo by Michelle Leech
You’ll have the chance to learn about and taste some of the ancient foods that sustained life on this continent back through the ages.
Foraging tours and native bushfood cooking classes are available across the country, so choose an experience that suits your group.
Hunt for opalised fossils in Lightning Ridge
Ready for adventure?
Take budding palaeontologists for an unforgettable journey into Outback Australia and the distant past.
Here you can journey underground to search for an elusive rainbow sparkle that might indicate the remains of some ancient creature turned – as if by magic – to gleaming opal!
Photo by Michelle Leech
A drive through town reveals glimpses of quirky bottle houses and cactus gardens. And after a long day fossicking, take a soak under the stars at the Lightning Ridge Bore Baths. The ancient hot waters of the Great Artesian Basin are just the thing for achy muscles.
But be forewarned – Lightning Ridge isn’t the easiest place to get to, with a cool eight hours of road-tripping from either Sydney or Brisbane.
This authentic Aussie experience will take a few days out of the agenda, so if you’re keen to take an underground treasure hunt, be sure to plan accordingly.
An Aussie classic: spotlighting!
Finally, round out your adventures with some good old bush spotlighting. Take a flashlight on a night walk in any patch of Aussie bush and you’re sure to come across some unique creatures.
Photo by David Clode
Depending on where you are, you could spot possums, kangaroos, platypus, echidnas, quolls, or tawny frogmouths.
Best served with a night camping under the stars!
Don’t forget to stock up on delightful authentic Australian souvenirs for family and friends across the oceans.
Professor Michelle
Professor Michelle has a degree in Geography and a gypsy soul. She shares her love of culture and the natural world as a writer, traveller and mum to three gumnut kids growing wild in the bush in regional Australia.
www.thepaperbarkdiaries.com
