Have the ultimate Bush food experiences in Western Australia. Photo / Tourism Western Australia
Have the ultimate Bush food experiences in Western Australia. Photo / Tourism Western Australia
Kambarang is the season of birth in aboriginal culture, running from October to November. With it comes an abundance of new blooms, colour and delicious indigenous foods.
In a semi-circle, we sit in near silence. No, not silence — it’s a state of reverence. This is unlike any food tasting we’ve ever done before.
At the centre of the room stands our host, who slices up fruit and nuts for us to try. The only time we interrupt her is by accident, when our reactions pop out unbidden.
“Wow” is said a lot. But for the most part, we’re speechless. We don’t have the language to describe what we’re tasting. Even our host samples everything with a look of careful consideration on her face, before handing a bowl around to us.
“This must be what it’s like to be a baby tasting ice cream or feijoa for the first time,” I think.
Every bite and texture is a new discovery — but this scene isn’t taking place in some far-flung locale, where dragon fruit is more common than apples. Instead, I’m sitting in an art gallery in Western Australia’s Swan Valley, having an audience with Dale Tilbrook, widely regarded as the “bush tucker queen”. Originally from the Margaret River region, the Wardandi Bibbulmun woman has travelled around the world sharing the story of native edibles and their importance to Australia’s Aboriginal people. Today though, she’s sharing them with us here.
Dale Tilbrook, widely regarded as the “bush tucker queen.” Photo / Tourism Western Australia
My personal favourites are the finger limes and the smell of the strawberry gum. But it’s the wattleseed that captures my imagination the most. Although I’ve had wattleseed — the nutty flavour frequently making its way into Australian cuisine — I’ve never seen it in its raw form.
“It’s called acacia cyclops — and you can see why,” says Tilbrook, handing me an eye-like seed, encircled in a ring of red.
I’d arrived in Western Australia two days earlier for Perth’s inaugural EverNow Festival, a contemporary Indigenous celebration dedicated to the arrival of Kambarang. One of the six seasons recognised by the local Indigenous people — the Noongar — Kambarang marks the arrival of the wildflower season. It’s internationally renowned as the time when Western Australia’s 12,000 wildflower species — 60 per cent of which are endemic to the state — start to bloom, transforming everything from parklands to roadside ditches into a sea of reds, purples and pinks, with the golden wattle taking centre stage.
What’s less well known is that it’s also the season of abundance of food; a time to indulge in gilgie (freshwater crayfish), warrine (a native yam) and native fruits, including quandong, a sour fruit that’s among Tilbrook’s offerings. Kambarang, quite simply, might be just one of the best times to try Australia’s native foods, thousands of which can be found across the country.
Kambarang, quite simply, might be just one of the best times to try Australia’s native foods. Photo / Tourism Western Australia
Colloquially called “bush tucker,” Australia’s native foods aren’t just having a moment. After decades of investment, research and marketing, they’re poised to explode as the next superfoods — with the industry expected to double in size by 2025 — thanks to their nutrient-dense profiles. A quandong, for example, is a powerful antioxidant packed with more Vitamin C than an orange and iron. Wattleseed is an incredibly rich source of protein. Kangaroo is incredibly lean and contains as much — if not more — iron than beef.
They’re also delicious. As if Tilbrook’s introduction lesson wasn’t enough, that’s the conclusion I reach at Woodcutters, a new restaurant situated at Australia’s second-oldest winery, Nikola Estate. With a view to the nearly blooming jacaranda trees outside, I tuck into a meal for the books.
Woodcutters is a new restaurant situated at the country’s second-oldest winery, Nikola Estate. Photo / Supplied
Tenderly seared kangaroo fillet is served with quandong marmalade, while barramundi comes with wattleseed and macadamia, a nut native to Queensland. As I polish off the last traces of dessert (roasted white chocolate with Davidson Plums, a fruit native to Australia’s tropical rainforest), I’m having difficulty determining whether it’s this meal — or the one I had at Wildflower in Perth’s CBD — that truly elevates bush tucker from “superfood” to “super tasty.” My menu at Wildflower included local asparagus with duck egg and Geraldton wax, the latter being one of the hero wildflowers of Kambarang. However, it’s their leaves — not their blooms — that provide an unexpected lemony zing.
Woodcutters, located at Nikola Estate, serves dishes incorporating native ingredients like kangaroo, quandong marmalade, barramundi and wattleseed. Photo / Supplied
But it’s not until I arrive at the EverNow Festival grounds later that I realise my crash course in bush tucker wasn’t just an introduction to Australia’s native foods — it was an introduction to the Noongar people and their way of life. I pass one of the festival’s posters and see the logo as if for the first time. Those rings surrounding a black dot? For the first time I recognise what they are: The wattleseed, the very symbol of the season’s arrival.
Kambarang may be a season of transformation, but Perth has proven to me that transformation can take place any time. In just a day, you can be transformed into a child, tasting the world for the first time.
Checklist
Perth, Australia
GETTING THERE
Air New Zealand operates non-stop flights from Auckland to Perth.
Eat: You don’t need to visit during Kambarang to experience Western Australia’s native foods. Wildflower, in Perth’s CBD, changes its menu with the seasons, while Dale Tilbrook offers bush tucker tastings through an Indigenous lens year-round. Don’t leave the Swan Valley without visiting Old Young’s to taste the distillery’s Six Seasons gin, named for the Noongar calendar. Tilbrook helped develop it.
Stay: A boutique hotel on the edges of the Swan River, the Wonil is named for the Noongar word for Western Australia’s native peppermint trees. Its rooms are just as refreshing, with river views and a lobby filled with First Nations Artwork.
