Of Billabongs and Boabs

Can we sum up our country with a tree and a waterhole? You won’t see billabongs and boabs on many postcards, but in many ways they carry our essence. Like Australia, they change with the seasons and flourish when nature is at her best.

The word billabong comes from the Wiradjuri language of New South Wales: bila meaning ‘river’ and bang meaning ‘continuing in time or space’. These isolated ponds, form when a river changes course. In the wet season they reconnect with the main river, flow with fresh water and teem with renewed life. On a holiday at home, you can also reconnect with your flow. When you feel dried up, our operatic landscapes, sunsets and seasons remind you the river is never far away.

You’ll only find the ancient boab tree - known for their massive trunks - in the Kimberley. But these giants embody a feeling stretching far beyond Australia’s wild north-west corner. Aboriginal Australians have used boabs as shelter, food and medicine for thousands of years and many Aboriginal artists carve and paint the nuts. The boab symbolises what our country offers - a natural sanctuary and a canvas for your creative energy. Like the billabong that changes with the seasons, boabs shed their leaves in the dry season and flower in the wet.

Billabongs and boabs are as Australian as beaches and big spaces, ancient rainforests and iconic red rock. What’s more they do carry our essence. Like this tree and waterhole, in Australia you can always change and realise who you are at your best.

Source: Come Walkabout - Of  Boabs and Billabongs