Friday, 12 February, 2021
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Playground pushes forward
Boom time on the Discovery Coast
Fenna De King is a Pacific princess
40-page liftout Property Guide
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PR OP ER TY
Living big in a small space While property prices skyrocket and rentals become less affordable or available a growing number of people are casting off their shackles, investing in mobile homes and taking to the roads in search of a different way of life. Noosa Today visited Pomona Showgrounds this week and found a number of van travellers who were happy to discuss their lifestyle choices.
Whittler Wayne Bibby with his staff and his van. Picture: ROB MACCOLL
Eco-trail on track By Phil Jarratt A year behind schedule, the realisation of Queensland’s first commercial eco-tourism trail, right on Noosa’s doorstep, is getting close. The development of the Cooloola Great Walk as Queensland’s first state-sponsored commercial eco-tourism trail is poised to begin its construction phase, with a consumer roll-out projected for the end of this year or early 2022. And for once, all of the stakeholders, from developers to eco-warriors, from tourism bodies to First Nations, seem to be on the same page. Symptomatic of this is an apparent softening of the Noosa Parks Association’s hard line on “do-it-yourself” camping only along the 102-kilometre wilderness trail, revealed in a letter sent to members last week. The letter stated in part: “Our management committee’s preference has been for the Co-
oloola Great Walk to remain a fully DIY experience. We believe the greatest threat to the natural values of Cooloola are ever-increasing visitor numbers and resulting impacts in three areas - along Teewah Beach, the Upper Noosa River and the Cooloola Sand Patch. With another million people predicted to live within a one-hour drive of Noosa-Cooloola within 20 years, clearly these threats are not going to go away.”But, the letter continued: “At the same time, we are aware that commercially supported multi-day national park walks are becoming increasingly available and popular around the country, including with our own members. We believe that what is required is a systematic and concerted government commitment to manage visitor numbers and impacts in an integrated fashion, making sure that the impact on the environment is low.” After outlining NPA’s participation in confidential negotiations with state government,
the successful tenderer, South Australian company CABN, and the Kabi Kabi, the letter concluded: “From NPA’s perspective, significant positive progress is being made, significant improvements to the siting of accommodation have been achieved, and several matters of concern are yet to be resolved.” NPA’s new position on Cooloola is significant because no other organisation has been more invested over such a long period in the creation and protection of Cooloola and the Great Sandy National Park. NPA’s founders were at the forefront of a decades-long battle to save this beautiful and fragile wilderness from over-development and sand mining, and subsequent generations of management have remained invested. In 2019, under its Queensland Ecotourism Trails program, the government called for expressions of interest to design, build and operate a supported Cooloola Great Walk. There were three short-listed applicants, including
Tourism Noosa, and in late February, 2020, the tender was awarded to Adelaide-based CABN, a company specialising in “eco-friendly, offgrid, nature-based accommodation”. A source close to the process told Noosa Today: “The thinking seemed to be, Tourism Noosa has the ideas but no money, while CABN has money but no ideas. So they went with the money.” If that was ever the case, there is ample evidence today that founder Michael Lamprell’s company is riding high in eco-tourism precisely because of its total understanding of the sensitivity attached to the environments it uses and to the rights and needs of the traditional owners. When the announcement was made a year ago, Lamprell said that CABN was excited to propose a world class eco-tourism, nature-based walk experience, working with the Kabi Kabi. Continued page 3
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