The book Jane is shown reading in bed, "The Perfumed Garden" (or more completely "The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight" by Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nafzawi) is a work of Arabic erotic literature (and art sex manual) from the fifteenth-century.
There are several mentions made of a 'bunyip/ bunyips'. A bunyip is a mythical Australian creature, like a 'sasquatch'.
Filmed on location in Woods Point, Victoria, Australia. Woods Point is and would be considered a rural mining town that hasn't changed a lot in the 30 years since the movie's making. The surrounding terrain does look quite like a national park.
DVDs of this film are available online under its original title, "Frog Dreaming."
The main water scenes were filmed at Moorooduc quarry Mt Eliza.