Bush foods and campfires yarns with Uncle Ken on Boandik Country on the Limestone Coast

 

If you listen, watch and take a moment to understand, Boandik Country on the Limestone Coast has plenty to say. Observer and teacher, Uncle Ken Jones, is attuned to its secrets, sharing them with guests via his Bush Adventures tours.

From a young age, fishing and foraging with his family, the NAIDOC Boandik Elder nurtured a deep connection to this country to a point where he can sense the rustle of the swamp skink or the scent of the crabs kilometres away–an awareness he sees growing within his own children.

“The observance, it’s an edge you have as an Aboriginal guide. That’s a great privilege, we can share these [observations],” Uncle Ken explains.

 

 

Marvellous Muntries

In an accelerating world, the clues around us are easy to miss but “people are curious” says Uncle Ken, who has a real knack to draw them in.

With Bush Adventures, guests can join Uncle Ken foraging for fruits and bush medicines on the family-friendly 2-hour Coastal Adventure or on the Coastal Day Trip.

Depending on the season, guests have the chance to taste bush foods like wild peaches, pig face, to wild pepper, which Uncle Ken says tastes a little like wasabi–reactions can be mixed but they’re always memorable and engaging.

“…then there’s the muntries, quite unique to South Australia, they’re like grapes but there are so many variations, white to cream, lemon to almost black. The morning harvest they’re zinging, later in the day they tend to be sweeter with more exposure to the sun.”

 

 

 

Turtle Rescue

While sharing freshly-prepared damper cooked over coals during the Coastal Day Trip, Uncle Ken delves deeper, revealing traditions passed through the generations and sharing stories from his youth like when the community banded together to rescue a leatherback sea turtle.

“It was such an emotional moment, it was 55 years ago but it felt like yesterday, one of those unique experiences,” the Boandik Elder explains.

Although following familiar formats, each tour is influenced seasonally and by the guests themselves. To Bush Adventures, Uncle Ken has welcomed all kinds of people to Boandik Country, from international travellers active in the medical field, to local kids and teens.

The trick is to “match the intense curiosity,” says Uncle Ken. “If we have a kid looking deeply at a moth, I call everyone over ‘let’s take a closer look at this’. That’s the challenge.”

The Coastal Day Trip also takes in significant Boandik sites, including a traditional fish trap if conditions allow as well as the chance to experience traditional song and dance.

 

 

 

Southern Splendour

Through his Bush Adventures, Uncle Ken also has the distinct pleasure to share deep love of the Southern Ocean “the most beautiful best air-conditioner in the world” as the sun sets during the Traditional Net Fishing and Cook tour.

Taking only what they need with a traditional drag net under special licence, Uncle Ken also uses the opportunity to introduce guests to some of the marvellous sea creatures within the fertile waters like leafy sea dragons and Bango fiddler ray–a unique experience and incredible honour indeed.

 

Bush Adventures