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The bush is a term used for rural, undeveloped land or country areas in many places, such as Australia, New Zealand, Sub-Saharan Africa, Canada, and Alaska.
It is a major distinction of definition of landscape, of cultural context and even political framework for many people in these countries, with strong cultural feelings from the earliest days of European settlement.
Australia
In Australia it can include agricultural areas and regional settlements, and is more than a simple urban/rural contrast definition. The term is quite specific and does not include the even more remote areas that constitute the outback.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, the term has a more specific connotation - that of isolated, heavily forested countryside, as opposed to the open coastal plains and tussock-covered high country. Bush always refers to areas of native trees rather than exotic forests.
Areas with this type of land cover are found predominantly in the South Island, especially in the West Coast region stretching from Fiordland to Nelson, with the east coast having mainly been deforested except for parts of Kaikoura and the Catlins. Much of Stewart Island/Rakiura is bush-covered. In the North Island, the largest areas of bush cover the main ranges stretching north-northeast from Wellington towards East Cape, notably including the Urewera Ranges, and the catchment of the Whanganui River. Significant stands remain in Northland and the ranges running south from the Coromandel Peninsula towards Ruapehu, and isolated remnants cap various volcanoes in Taranaki, the Waikato, the Bay of Plenty and the Hauraki Gulf.
South Africa
In South Africa, the term has specific connotations of rural areas which are not open veldt. Generally it refers to areas in the north of the country that would be called savanna. "Going to The Bush" often refers to going to a game park or game reserve. Areas most commonly referred to as The Bush are the Mpumalanga and Limpopo Lowveld, The Limpopo River Valley, northern Kwa-Zulu Natal or any other similar area of winderness.
Alaska and Canada
The Bush in Alaska is generally described as any community not "on the road system," making it accessible only by more elaborate transportation. For more on Bush Alaska, see Bush Alaska. Usage is similar in Canada; it is called La Brousse in Canadian French.
Related terms
The term "to go bush" has several similar meanings all connected with the supposed wildness of the bush. It can mean to revert to a feral nature (or to "go native"), and it can also mean to deliberately leave normal surroundings and live rough, with connotations of cutting off communication with the outside world — often as a means of evading capture or questioning by the police. The term bushwhacker is also used in Australia to mean someone who spends his or her time in the bush.
Another related term used in Australia is "Sydney or the Bush", which equates with such terms as "Hollywood or bust" to mean staking total success or failure on one high-risk event.
In addition, some Vietnam War Veterans refer to Vietnam as "The Bush".
See also
Australian culture | New Zealand culture | South African culture | Geography of Alaska
"The Bush"