For a holistic approach to visiting Kakadu you need to do as the natives do and go bush. Not walkabout exactly, but go hunting for bush tucker.

Aboriginal people have been literally feeding directly off the land here for about 30 thousand years, eating a lot of what most of us would call grubs, bugs, ants and berries, and taking a tour with a local guide can be a very revealing look at local tribal life. Your guide will lead you through the scrub and onto the flood plains pointing out the good and bad tucker and other useful plants as you gradually collect enough to have a sunset cook off complete with billy tea and damper. Your meal will depend on both the time of year, how squeamish you are and how good your hand eye co-ordination is - not everyone is up for a dinner of fresh turtle, grubs and moths and not everyone can catch it. Information about good eating is passed down from generation to generation through stories of the Dreamtime, which are mythology, history and religion for Aboriginal people, so one of the most important parts of your experience will be listening to stories and understanding a bit more about tribal life here.

As well as eating the local flora and fauna you’ll also see some worth admiring, water buffaloes, dingos, snakes (highly edible), wallabies, wild pigs, birds and maybe even a croc. (they taste better than you think.). This is a unique opportunity to get an insight into local culture and fauna - via eating it.

Go in the dry season between May and October.

Animal Tracks Site with Information on Bush Tucker Forages.

Written by  Kat Mackintosh.

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