Welcoming back our long distance swimmers

The Minister for the Environment, Robyn Parker, launched the Wild About Whales campaign for 2011 on 1 June to celebrate the annual whale migration along the NSW coast. With a record number of sightings this year on the northern migration, we're ready to welcome back our annual visitors, the Humpback and Southern Right Whales, as they get ready to begin their southern migration with their new calves. Thanks to the dedicated support of enthusiastic volunteers, communities, tour operators and organisations such as ORRCA, we can raise the profile of these majestic underwater mammals.

So far this season we've seen a 50-year boom in Humpback Whales migrating along the coast, a 15% increase on numbers seen last year. During the month of June, volunteers at Kamay Botany Bay National Park's viewing platform at Cape Solander spotted more than 1,000 Humpbacks.

To further support the campaign NPWS is providing partners along the coastline with campaign toolkits for those wishing to get involved, as well as innovative point-of-sale display packs, including bookmarks, postcards and toy mobiles.

Whale watchers are once again encouraged to 'tweet' updates on whale sightings through the @WildAboutWhales twitter account and with the #whaleon hashtag. Sightings are also being syndicated to a new and improved whale sightings map on the website.

More online and offline promotional activity is being planned for the rest of the migration. To find out more about the partnership kits or the point-of-sale material, contact wildaboutwhales@environment.nsw.gov.au.

Partner sought to provide new experiences on the south coast

In July the NPWS invited Expressions of Interest (EOI) from operators to bring forward world-class ecotourism experiences along the Light to Light Walk and Green Cape Lightstation in Ben Boyd National Park on the Far South Coast.

Possibilities are available for operators to take advantage of the magnificent 30km walking track extending from Boyd's Tower to the Green Cape Lightstation featuring pristine beaches, ancient coastal forests, as well as Aboriginal and European cultural sites of significance. The site is the perfect backdrop for a relaxing weekend walk, spectacular coastal experience or a rejuvenating getaway far from the city.

The EOI also provides opportunities to develop tours and accommodation facilities at the Lightstation precinct or along the walking track. This would enable operators to provide their guests with memorable experiences in Australia's Coastal Wilderness, one of only a handful of National Landscapes recognised for their outstanding natural and cultural values.

This EOI closes on 23 September, 2011, and there is site inspection that interested parties must attend on the 18 August, 2011. For more information contact NPWS on businessprojects@environment.nsw.gov.au or visit the NSW Government eTendering website https://tenders.nsw.gov.au/deccw.

Get connected!

Get Connected is Tourism NSW’s online membership program, open to all tourism operators within NSW. It’s an ideal way to showcase your product to more than 300,000 potential customers each month - domestic and international - through the visitnsw.com, sydney.com and australia.com websites.

Another good reason to register with Get Connected is that it will mean you can tap into the marketing and promotion campaigns that NPWS undertake, including syndication of content from the STDW into our campaign sites like wildaboutwhales.com.au.

To take advantage of this service, which is free of charge, simply register on Get Connected and enter your product information, and your details will be listed on both the Australian and the State Tourism Data Warehouse, which are central databases that supplies product information to these and other websites.

Find out more at the Tourism NSW corporate website.

Climate change and the Blue Mountains

Fire researchers in collaboration with NPWS have released a new 74-page booklet, Vegetation, Fire and Climate Change in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, which summarises the area’s fire regimes and vegetation, and explores some of the possible impacts of climate change on its plant diversity. It's designed for natural area managers, educators and the general public, and contains a wealth of written information as well as many maps and photographs.

Funded by the NSW Environment Trust, it shows the first complete vegetation map coverage for the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, compiled from numerous pre-existing mapping studies, and outlines the region's vegetation diversity, plant ecology, fire regimes, and climate change projections.

A full copy of the document can be downloaded online DECCW20100941 (.pdf/10.6MB) or printed copies are available from the National Parks Heritage Centre, Govetts Leap Rd Blackheath.

Green Gully Track welcomes visitors

Following the launch of Green Gully, an intense 64km walking trail in Oxley Wild National Park , NPWS developed a targeted famil that approached both lifestyle travel journalists with a passion for hiking as well as a selection of niche adventure/outdoors journalists to tackle the challenging four-day bushwalk. Travelling along the remote wilderness of the Green Gully gorge, passing high-elevation forests and across pristine creeks, the full walk was accompanied by low key accommodation in heritage-listed stockman's huts.

Since the June famil, numerous pieces of editorial have been generated, including a three-page spread in Great Walks and a piece in the Saturday travel section of Sydney Morning Herald. This has resulted in an overwhelming demand that sees the October school holidays already booked out by keen adventurers.

NPWS is currently managing the numbers of walkers on this wilderness track at any one time, with no more than half a dozen walkers allowed to embark on the walk each day. Interested parties are encouraged to book well in advance of their travel dates by contacting the park office.

Global Eco: Seize the Potential

Ecotourism Australia’s Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism Conference will this year take place between 7 and 10 November 2011 in Sydney. NPWS is proud to be the major partner for this year’s conference, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Bringing together leading practitioners and experts from around the globe, the conference program is sure to inspire and inform all those interested in the latest on ecotourism, sustainability, cultural tourism as well as tourism in protected areas.

The theme, 'Seize the Potential!' will be incorporated throughout workshops, key-note presentations and networking events. Field trips will showcase some of the best nature and cultural tourism experiences on offer in and around Sydney. For more information or to register, visit the Global Eco website.

National Parks's new online booking tool

NPWS has set up online ticket sales for special events and tours in the iconic Sydney Harbour National Park. In December 2010, New Year's Eve and Boxing Day celebrations at Sydney Harbour National Park destinations were bookable online and over 80% of customers took advantage of this easy option to purchase their tickets.

This presented a significant improvement in the customer experience as large volumes of transactions were able to be serviced simultaneously and call volumes and waiting times were significantly reduced.

Currently, visitors can book online for Fort Denison Heritage Tours as well as other special events and tours happening around the harbour through Wild Wild World, and over the next 12 months, NPWS expects to expand on its bookable offerings.

Find out more about the online booking technology that National Parks uses and is potential application by contacting Julie McConnell, Manager, NSW National Parks Contact Centre on (02) 9253-0815.

Aboriginal discovery rangers recognised

Kosciuszko National Park recently hosted more than 60 Aboriginal representatives from around the state in a week-long workshop aimed at encouraging relationships with local Aboriginal communities and strengthening the Cultural Tourism sector.

Focusing on the NPWS Aboriginal Discovery program, delegates from Lake Mungo, Canberra and the North and South Coast held workshops with local representatives and also made site visits to Kosciuszko's cultural sites including the Yarrangobilly Caves, and Janey's Creek artifact site.

The gathering, funded under the Aboriginal Partnerships Program, follows from a 2009 visit to the South Coast and Mungo by Kosciuskzo's Aboriginal Discovery staff and local Wiradjuri and Wolgalu community as part of a tour guide training program. Since then 24 Aboriginal Discovery Guides have been trained through the program.

Smooth Operator

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Royal Coast Walks offers fully guided and catered experiences through national parks in Sydney's south. During winter the company operates a unique land-based whale watching experience that allows visitors to spot the majestic giants near the heart of Sydney's CBD. Royal Coast Walks currently holds a ten-year Parks Eco Pass.

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