Bush tucker in the context of "Settlement of Australia"

A watering hole or waterhole is a geological depression in which a body of water forms, usually a pond or a small lake. A watering hole is "a sunken area of land that fills with water".

Watering holes may be ephemeral or seasonal. Ephemeral rivers sometimes form waterholes in geological depressions or areas scoured by erosion, and are common in arid regions of Australia. In Australia, the term "billabong", often defined as a type of oxbow lake (an isolated crescentic pond left behind after a river loop is cut off when the river channel changes course), is also used to refer to other types of waterholes. While they exist in both wetlands and arid lands, they are of particular importance in desert areas of Australia, where they are often the only water source for native animals, people, and livestock, and provide critical habitat for a number of wildlife species. Their existence is being threatened by climate change. Desert waterholes are often found in dry hilly areas, sustained by discharge of groundwater, remaining for long periods after flood events or normal flows of rivers and creeks. Depending on the climate, they can be permanent or semi-permanent depending on climatic conditions. They are of particular importance to Indigenous Australians in desert areas, providing water to the local population as well as attracting animals which are used as food, and sustaining plants which can be used for food (bush tucker), bush medicine, tools, shelter, and clothing. They may also be of cultural significance, as places to conduct ceremonies, and are usually named and part of their jukurrpa (Dreaming) stories.

"The bush", a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, is largely synonymous with hinterlands or backwoods. The fauna and flora contained within the bush is typically native to the region, although exotic species may also be present. The word derives from Old French bos, and Old Norse buski, and related to Dutch bos and German Busch with the sense ‘uncultivated country’ coming directly from Dutch bos,

The expression has been in use in Australia from the earliest years of British settlement, and it has inspired many derivative Australian English terms, such as bush tucker, bush mechanic, bush ballad and bushranger. The term is also widely used in Canada and the American state of Alaska to refer to the large, forested portions of their landscapes.

Santalum acuminatum, the desert quandong, is a hemiparasitic plant in the sandalwood family, Santalaceae, (Native to Australia) which is widely dispersed throughout the central deserts and southern areas of Australia.The species, especially its edible fruit, is also commonly referred to as quandong or native peach. The use of the fruit as an exotic flavouring, one of the best known bush tucker (bush food), has led to the attempted domestication of the species.

Desert quandong is an evergreen tree, its fruit can be stewed to make pie filling for quandong pies or made into a fruit juice drink. The seed (kernel) inside the tough shell can be extracted to be crushed into a paste then be used on sore gums or an oral gum boil to ease the pain. Because it is one of the few drought-tolerant fruit trees in far-west New South Wales, it is popular to grow among many Aboriginal communities and the non-Indigenous Australians who are aware of it.

Marrong Reserve, also called Pemulwuy Lookout and Ridgeline Reserve, is a nature reserve, an urban park and a recreational lookout situated in Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. J-shaped, the reserve is located approximately 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) kilometers west of the Parramatta, and 33 kilometres (21 mi) north-west of the Sydney CBD. Due to its cultural and historic landscape importance, Mar-Rong Reserve was added to the NSW State Heritage Register on 17 October 2003. The reserve is visited for walking, exercising, natural scenery, picturesque views, birdwatching, ball games, and bush tucker.

Mostly aligned with Daruga Avenue at Pemulwuy and stretching to Lower Prospect Canal Reserve in the south, the reserve features a panoramic viewpoint that provides views of the Sydney skyline and the Blue Mountains. It is a popular vantage point for the New Year's Eve and Australia Day fireworks. Educational and interpretive information is present within the Reserve. Much of the reserve, excluding the parkland areas, is categorised as Natural Area-Bushland. Marrong Reserve and Prospect Hill are closely connected as a ridge, but are separated at a saddle by Butu Wargun Drive. The reserve features three precincts, which run from north to south: Marrong Reserve North, Marrong Reserve 'Saddle Bund' and Marrong Reserve South.

Macadamia is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia—specifically, northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland. Two species of the genus are commercially important for their fruit, the macadamia nut /ˌmækəˈdeɪmiə/ (or simply macadamia). Global production in 2025 was 344,000 tonnes (379,000 short tons). Other names include Queensland nut, bush nut, maroochi nut or bauple nut. It was an important source of bushfood for the Aboriginal peoples.

The nut was first commercially produced on a wide scale in Hawaii, where Australian seeds were introduced in the 1880s, and which for more than a century was the world's largest producer. South Africa has been the world's largest producer of the macadamia since the 2010s.