Island Hopping takes out national honours

On Thursday 7 October, Sydney Harbour Island Hopping was awarded the title of 'Best New Event' at this year's Australian Event Awards for its inaugural 'hop' last year.

Cambridge Events in collaboration with NSW NPWS was recognised for this unique new event, which saw Sydney-siders and visitors alike, exploring four harbour islands in one day.

Sydney Harbour Island Hopping is on again this October, with Goat island now added into this fun family experience. For more information visit www.harbourislandhopping.com.

Experience this award-winning event for yourself! This weekend only, Explore readers will receive 25% off full price Island Hopping tickets, simply by visiting the Ticketmaster website and entering the promotional code "EXPLORE" when buying tickets for Saturday the 23rd or Sunday the 24th of October.

Extraordinary conservation tours

National Parks is running two unique one-off tours this November that take visitors on a 'behind the scenes' look at our national parks. Featuring park rangers in the know and recognised experts in the field, the tours blend conservation knowledge with extraordinary overnight nature experiences.

The first tour to kick off will be the two-day Highlights of the Hawkesbury , taking place through the stunning Muogamarra Nature Reserve, Marramarra National Park and Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, and includes enjoying the native wildflowers in bloom, stargazing with Aboriginal guides, bat surveying with national park rangers, and even a canoe journey down the Hawkesbury.

Q-Station features in the second experience, the four-day North Head Nature Escape , which see visitors enjoy the history and luxury of one of the most stunning properties within NSW national parks.  Guests will work side-by-side with park rangers and wildlife experts in pioneering conservation projects such as weighing & micro-chipping bandicoot populations and installing state-of-the-art cameras at fox baiting stations.

Bookings and inquiries can be made through 13 PARK (13 72 75).

Goat Island transformed into "Rock Island"

Sydney Harbour National Park's Goat Island recently hosted a major film shoot for the upcoming independent Australian telemovie Panic on Rock Island featuring well-known actors Vince Colosimo, Grant Bowler and Damian Walshe-Howling, and directed by Tony Tilse, Director of Underbelly.

Producers Goalpost Pictures Australia took advantage of the new Film Friendly Policy in order to showcase Sydney Harbour in a way that is unmatched by any other Sydney location. In this instance, no site location fees were charged by national parks in accordance with the new Filming Approvals Act.

Stretching over nearly two weeks, the filming at times saw more than 350 cast and crew congregate on the harbour island, well-known through other productions such as Water Rats and music performances of Midnight Oil and Green Day.

Wanda on Wheels heads to the Riverina

Rising water levels due to recent rain along the Murray, Edward and Niemur Rivers has seen the River Red Gum region welcoming a much needed soak. And while this means several parks are temporarily closed, activity in the region continues.

A highlight of the school holiday program saw NPWS mascot Wanda the Wombat, along with her helpful Discovery Ranger friends Symony Wright and Barb Allgaier (pictured), touring the area to bring to local communities news and information on the best ways to continue to enjoy the newly-created river red gum parks. Along with her bandwagon, Wanda has travelled through some ten townships on her Riverina Road-trip.

Planning for the waters to recede, the region continues to expand its team of staff, with 20 new positions progressing since July.

Imeson Cottage upgrades

Erected in the early 1900's by George Imeson for 'the kids to use as a holiday house', Imeson Cottage in Byron Bay has recently completed extensive renovations that have seen modern luxuries blended with the colonial building. The beach cottage takes advantage of uninterrupted views of 'The Pass' as well as its premium location on one of Australia’s premier surf beaches.

Imeson Cottage is now once again available for families to have the same sort of holiday beachside experience as the three generations of Imesons enjoyed.

Holiday rental bookings for Imeson Cottage or any of the beach or Lighthouse Cottages contact Byron Bay Professionals phone: (02) 6685 6552 or email: holidays@byronbaypro.com.au.

Global Eco Conference

Local and international ecotourism bodies will meet this month at the Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism Conference under the motif that "Experience is Everything". Focusing on sharing knowledge as well as highlighting best practice case studies, the conference aims to drive the future of ecotourism into the next decade.

For four days from the 25th to the 28th of October, operators like Gap Adventures, Singita Game Reserves and Kaikoura Whale Watch will share their stories and advice with the industry.

Speakers at the Noosa conference this year represent some of the leading ecotourism operators from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, USA, UK and France. For more information visit globaleco.com.au.

Legislation commencement

Following a busy period of implementation, the National Parks and Wildlife Amendment (Visitors and Tourists) Act 2010 commenced on 1 October 2010, and focuses on facilitating opportunities for people to appreciate and enjoy our parks as a means of fostering an understanding of and support for conservation.

Over recent years much hard work has been undertaken to develop new and wonderful visitor experiences to showcase our parks and to support people's enjoyment of nature and culture. The recent legislative changes support this by “demystifying” the process involved while at the same time significantly raising the bar in terms of environmental standards for those leases and licences.

To learn more about the changes a website has been set up to address common questions, and if you’re interested in partnering with us to deliver sustainable, nature-based tourism in national parks, you can contact the Business Development team within the Tourism and Partnerships Branch at businessprojects@environment.nsw.gov.au.

NPWS finds it and fixes it

The brand new Find it and Fix it Conservation Initiative is bringing fresh funds to 16 targeted small-scale projects around the state. The $500,000 program sees Rangers and Field Officers put forward their suggestions to noteworthy initiatives that just need a little more focus in this International Year of Biodiversity.

These are projects where 'a stitch in time can save nine' and tackle issues as far ranging as controlling bitou bush spreads, restoring habitat for the mountain pygmy-possum, reintroducing the green and golden bell frog into Ben Boyd National Park, and protecting the endangered weeping paperbark along the north coast.

Action has already begun on several of the projects, with staff working quickly to move on immediate needs. Project funding is spread around the state, with projects taking place along the coast, in western NSW, Kosciuszko NP and around the Metropolitan area.

Community volunteering in your local park

Volunteering is set to receive another boost with the announcement of small grants for 16 innovative volunteer projects. Projects stretch from the River Red Gums of the Riverina to the water off Byron Bay and enables NPWS to increase community involvement in the conservation of NSW's natural and cultural heritage as well as promote innovation in volunteering.

A great example of a local community volunteer group can be found in the 'Friends of Yanga' organisation that was established in October last year through the 2009 grants program. Working in Yanga National Park, the group is made up of eight dedicated individuals who meet every Thursday morning to work in the heritage homestead garden.

Restoration works have been undertaken by the group on garden beds and infrastructure such as arbours, stairs and compost bays. Garden equipment and materials have been purchased and the garden is now attracting extra visitors to the precinct.

More information on projects including other volunteer groups in your region, visit the volunteering website or contact your local NPWS office.

New heritage opportunities for Dharug

A 7.5km section of the Old Great North Road in Dharug National Park has recently been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site of cultural importance for its careful preservation of old colonial and convict sites.

The recognition sees new potential for commercial operations within the region’s national parks to create new and innovative tourism products to attract both domestic and international tourists alike.

Further promoting its tourism credentials, the Central Coast Hunter Range Region office has recently hosted members of the Central Coast Tourism organisation for a tour of the area to showcase potential sites of interest.

Sustainable Mountain Biking

Cycling is currently one of the most popular activities taking place in our national parks, and a new discussion paper is looking at how the NPWS will be able to develop a more sustainable mountain biking strategy for the future.

Comments from the public and interested parties have been requested through various channels, and the deadline for submissions has now been extended to 25 October.

So far NPWS has received more than 1,500 submissions on the discussion paper through our online forum, as well as email and mail submissions. In addition, around 350 people have attended public forums around the state to hear about the plan and provide their comments.

Smooth Operator

Each edition, we profile one of our fantastic Parks Eco Pass tour operators and find out a little about what makes them tick!

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Waratah Adventures has been offering natural and experiential tours around Australia since 1986. Specialising in small group tours with multi-lingual guides, the company currently holds a three year Parks Eco Pass.

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