Kangaroo Island’s Winter Honey Season Brings Rare Boobialla to 2026 Release

Kangaroo Island’s Winter Honey Season Brings Rare Boobialla to 2026 Release

KINGSCOTE, South Australia, June 23, 2026 — The Kangaroo Island Ligurian Bee Co. a certified-organic family producer based in Kingscote, has released its 2026 rare varietal honey range as Kangaroo Island’s winter flowering season reaches peak production. The season’s centrepiece is Boobialla Honey — a delicate, herbal variety produced exclusively from the blooms of coastal winter flowering plants that are only available during June and July — making the current window the one period in the calendar when this variety can be harvested.

“These jars are not planned on a production schedule,” said Verity Hayman, Managing Director, The Kangaroo Island Ligurian Bee Co. “They depend on what blooms, when, and how strongly. Winter is Boobialla season. When the coastal plants are flowering and the bees are working them, we capture what the hives can spare and leave the rest. It happens once a year, for a few weeks, and that is it until next winter.”

The release comes as Kangaroo Island’s Ligurian bee population faces its most significant external biosecurity threat following the spread of varroa mite across five Australian states and territories, with the national eradication program formally concluded in February 2026. The island’s 140-year-old bee sanctuary status and strict ferry biosecurity measures remain the primary protection for a population that no longer exists in a pure genetic form anywhere else in the world.

Winter Varieties and the Conditions That Produce Them

The 2026 release includes five rare single-varietal honeys, each dependent on specific environmental triggers rather than a managed production calendar. Boobialla Honey draws its delicate herbal sweetness from the coastal boobialla plant, which flowers only in winter and only along specific sections of the island’s coastline. Remota Honey carries warm notes of burnt sugar and candied pecan from the remote mallee scrub that produces this nectar during particular seasonal conditions.

Yacca Honey is among the rarest in the range, produced only when bushfire triggers the grass tree’s tall flowering spikes — meaning harvests can be separated by years between suitable fire events. Eucalyptus Cosmophylla Honey is smooth and mellow, drawn from a South Australian endemic species that produces nectar intermittently rather than on a predictable annual cycle. Karkalla Honey presents a fresh, grapefruit-like bitterness from the coastal pigface plant, suited to cheese boards and charcuterie pairings. Several of these varieties produce harvestable quantities only every two to four years.

Core Range, Mead, and Gift Collections Available Online

Alongside the rare single-varietal releases, the company’s online store carries its core certified-organic raw honey range, traditional honey mead produced from the company’s own honey, and beeswax candles poured from pure organic Kangaroo Island beeswax with a cotton wick and no synthetic additives. All honey is 100 per cent raw and unprocessed, with no additives or blending, handled with minimal intervention to preserve natural enzymes, aroma, and the seasonal flavour profile shaped by the island’s native nectar flows.

Curated gift collections including the Rare and Remote Honey Hamper are available through the online store. Orders over $125 qualify for free standard delivery Australia-wide. All production is certified by NASAA, with additional accreditations through B-QUAL, HACCP, and Dairy Safe.

The Kangaroo Island Ligurian Bee Co. was founded in 2001 by Peter Davis and is now led by Brenton Davis and Verity Hayman. The company manages over 800 hives seasonally placed across the island according to flora and bloom cycles, producing up to 90 tonnes of honey per year. It is a double winner at both the 2023 and 2025 SA Premier’s Food and Beverage Industry Awards. The Island Beehive shopfront at 59 Playford Highway, Kingscote is open daily from 9am, offering guided tours, honey tastings, and hands-on beekeeping experiences. The full range is available through kangarooislandbeeco.com.au.

About The Kangaroo Island Ligurian Bee Co.

The Kangaroo Island Ligurian Bee Co. is a certified-organic, family-owned honey producer based in Kingscote, South Australia, established in 2001 and operating under the direction of Brenton Davis and Verity Hayman. The business manages over 800 hives across Kangaroo Island, producing up to 90 tonnes of honey per year from the only remaining pure-strain Ligurian bee colony anywhere in the world. It holds NASAA organic certification, B-QUAL, HACCP, and Dairy Safe accreditations, and is a double winner at both the 2023 and 2025 SA Premier’s Food and Beverage Industry Awards. Products are available online with free delivery on orders over $125, and in person at the Island Beehive shopfront at 59 Playford Highway, Kingscote.

Media Contact

Verity Hayman
Managing Director, The Kangaroo Island Ligurian Bee Co.
08 8553 0080
Contact – The Kangaroo Island Ligurian Bee Co.