book.eastcoast - Flipbook - Page 10
10 - MAY 2021
Maria walk in
caring hands
MARTINE HALEY
AWARD-winning, family-owned tourism business, The Maria Island
Walk, has been acquired
by the leading Australasian adventure travel
company,
Experience
Co.
Founder and owner of
the Maria Island Walk,
Ian Johnstone, said his
business was joining the
Experience Co premium
nature based group.
Mr Johnstone said his
decision to sell to Experience Co was easy as
both companies shared a
common vision of high
quality, environmentally sensitive tourism.
He said he was proud
in having successfully
developed and operated the walk on Maria
Island over the past 19
seasons.
“We have provided
wilderness guiding opportunities for over 200
wonderfully passionate
guides, many of whom
are graduates from the
local Drysdale TAFE,’’
he said.
“As a team we have
run more than 1400 trips
with 12,000 guests from
all corners of the globe.
“This hard work and
excellence was recognised with the busi-
Maria Island visitors
meet a local resident
wombat.
ness receiving 16 state
and five national tourism
awards including most
recently Best Ecotourism
operator in Australia,”
As he contemplates retirement from the industry, Mr Johnstone said he
had thoroughly enjoyed
being an active member
of the local tourism community.
“It is fantastic to see
the rich and immersive
wilderness experience
our guests can enjoy on
our four day walks and
I look forward to the
business and staff continuing to flourish under
the guidance of the new
owners,” he said.
Experience Co offers
“mild to wild” adventures.
It has also acquired
Wild Bush Luxury – operator of experiences in
South Australia and the
Northern Territory.
Experience Co CEO,
John O’ Sullivan said in
the past year the company had focused on simplifying business as part of a
strategic plan announced
to
manage
through
COVID-19.
“Now that we have recommenced all our operations, we are growing
a strong business base
and we are ready to start
looking at what’s next,”
Mr O’Sullivan said.
“These
acquisitions
allow us to extend our
current portfolio into the
premium adventure segment of the market which
we believe will provide
strong growth opportunities both from Australian
travellers and also international visitors when
the borders eventually reopen.”
“This acquisition (Maria Island Walk) also allows us to extend our
company’s geographic
reach into SA, NT and
Tasmania and grow our
customer base into the
50 plus age group,’’ Mr
O’Sullivan said.
Drought
projects
win funds
FARMERS and communities on the East Coast
will have access to two programs to improve
natural resource management and agricultural
landscapes.
Tasmanian Liberal Senator Claire Chandler
said funding would enable farmer groups and
agricultural organisations to adapt their practices and enhance their farming systems to increase drought resilience.
“While many people may not associate
drought with Tasmania, our island state is prone
to drought conditions – particularly on the East
Coast and parts of the Midlands,” Senator
Chandler said.
“Effective risk management at the farm, regional and national scales
can help to mitigate the
impact of future droughts.
“This funding will support projects which aim
to address issues associated with drought, increasing drought resilience and
supporting local communities.”
The two funding recipi- Senator Claire
Chandler
ents are:
• Southern Tasmanian
Natural Resource Management Association Inc. - $317,394
Increasing farmer capacity and responsiveness for managing more resilient feed-bases in
drought-prone areas in Tasmania, with a focus
on the midlands and east coast regions.
This project will test a locally innovative
method for responsively managing ground cover in the dryland and irrigated grazing sectors;
and
• Rockpool Land and Water Services Pty Ltd
- $194,375
Regenerative grazing trial on Tasmania’s east
coast aimed at improving ground cover, pasture
persistence, and pasture reseeding.
Pasture recovery rates in the trial areas will
be monitored on the ground via satellite.
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