Forbes names Alup as one of the ‘best places in the world’ in 2023

BY CHRISTINE HOWES

Golden win for ‘deluxe’

Cape York Peninsula Lodge at Australian Tourism Awards

Indigenous-owned Cape York Peninsula Lodge has added a new accolade to its growing list of titles, winning Gold in the 4-4.5 Star Deluxe Accommodation category at the annual 2022 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards, held in Sydney last week.

The Lodge is operated by Bamaga Enterprises Limited (BEL), a First Nations, community-owned organisation that reinvests its profits into scholarships, sponsorships, and community infrastructure.

Cape York Peninsula Lodge was selected as a finalist for the Australian Tourism Awards following its multiple-award win at the 2022 Queensland Tourism Awards in November 2022, winning Gold in the 4-4.5 Star Deluxe Accommodation category, and Silver in conjunction with BEL in the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Tourism category.

Manager Harrison Mylrea and BEL Director (Company Secretary) Mark Lewis attended the Awards ceremony, held at Sydney’s Doltone House on Darling Island.

BEL Chairperson Robert Poipoi said the new accolade recognised the Lodge’s outstanding hospitality and unique cultural experiences it offered guests.

“We are fortunate to be located in a special part of Australia where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures live side by side,” Mr Poipoi said.

“Our guests can experience an interactive cultural performance illustrating the story of how we came to the NPA, our history, languages, musical instruments and dances through local groups such as the award-winning Naygayiw Gigi.”

In 2022, the Lodge added unique, Indigenous-guided tours to its array of guest experiences on offer.

“Our tours to Pajinka and Fruit Bat Falls to the south offer guests a rare opportunity to learn even more about the region as they journey through the natural wonders of Cape York and the NPA with an Indigenous guide,” Mr Poipoi said.

Guests can also enjoy traditional Torres Strait Islander dishes alongside modern Pacific-rim cuisine at the on-site Paperbark Restaurant.

The Lodge features 44 guest rooms, event facilities, a restaurant, hire car services, a pool, garden walks, Indigenous tours and other guest services.

All guest rooms are appointed with quality fittings and furnishings that perfectly suit the hot and tropical climate of Cape York.

In 2022, BEL invested in and opened two significant tourism developments including a new 18-seater bus with 4x4 conversion, enabling Indigenous-owned and operated cultural tours to explore the NPA, and 15 motel-style units, providing much-needed midrange accommodation to the region.

Cape York Peninsula Lodge also upgraded its five onsite cabins to include ensuites and a kitchenette.

For more see www.cypl.com.au

A boutique accommodation experience owned and operated by Traditional Owners on Badu Island has been named by American media company Forbes as one of the best places in the world to travel to in 2023.

Described in the article as “a beautifully curated beach shack on one of the most stunning beaches in the world”, the magazine’s visit to Alup, looked after by Nancy Nona for her son Amelio Fraser, was made on the recommendation of Strait Experience, who hosted and organised the trip.

Strait Experience co-founder Fraser Nai said they were “stoked”.

“We’re stoked for the fact that we can enable the world to find Torres Strait, and find what we value in our part of the world,” he said.

He said it spoke to the essence of what they did, which was to connect Torres Strait to the world.

“That’s what we do,” he said.

“We want to make it easy for people around the world, who don’t know much about what’s available in the Torres Strait and our culture, to find us.

“We’re a conduit between the market and our potential customers, and the products and experiences.”

He said they had steered the Forbes journalist to Nancy’s venture.

“We thought it was worth telling a story about,” he said.

Caretaker Nancy Nona said when she got an email telling her they had made the list she thought it was a scam.

“It’s a lot of hard work building, and it’s a hundred times hard because we don’t have electricity or water,” she said.

“The place is my daughter’s memorial, it’s a tribute to her and I built it while I’m on this earth so my son has a home to come to.

“It was his idea, he said, ‘you should get some clients, you’re really good at cooking, weaving, just show your skills, your culture’.

“It worked out really good, I did get bookings but I’m going to just keep two bookings per month.

“It won’t change because I know how it is and I’m just going to keep it like that.”

She said she was grateful to Tupoa Ahmat, Tupoa Sebasio, Tala Nona, Ryan Tibett, and all the families who had helped her build Alup.

“Because without them it wouldn’t be there,” she said.

Strait Experience co-Founder John Palmer told Torres News Strait Experience was also recognised last week by the Travel + Leisure Global Vision Awards, as one of only three global businesses making strides in bettering their communities.

“This builds on Qantas Magazine in December 2022 naming the region and our business as one of the top 23 things to do in 2023,” he said.

Fraser also said the exposure wouldn’t change their core business.

“It doesn’t shift,” he said.

“The only thing that shifts is the potential number of people seeing and finding us, right?

“This is about us having a conversation and telling our story so families and young people can read it and go, ‘man, I wanna be a part of that’.

“So we are just trying to be an enabler to them, to use our network, our leverage to make it easy for people.”

See https:// www.forbes.com/ advisor/credit-cards/ travel-rewards/bestplaces-to-travel-2023/ Pics supplied.