AusLeisure

The Olkola people of Far North Queensland, who recently welcomed the return of their traditional land, have entered into a partnership to support tourism in Australia’s newest protected area – the 269,830 hectare Olkola National Park on the Cape York Peninsula.

The newly created Aboriginal owned National Park will protect ancient cultural sites including newly discovered rock art, extensive wetlands and river systems rich in aquatic life, vast tracts of open savannah and rainforest pockets.

Adventure travel company Intrepid Travel has confirmed what it calls a “ground-breaking community partnership” to develop small group tourism activities in the National Park - working in partnership with Olkola Aboriginal Corporation.

As Intrepid Travel North America Deputy General Manager Christian Wolters explains “as a global tour operator on all seven continents we recognise the importance of supporting local communities in the destinations we visit.

“We’re thrilled to congratulate the Olkola people on the historic return of some of their ancestral homelands and Intrepid Travel fully supports Olkola plans for sustainable tourism in the area.

“Intrepid’s founders acknowledged the importance of distribution in our industry. We look forward to working with Olkola and supporting the sustainable future of the land and people.”

Welcoming the partnership, Olkola Aboriginal Corporation Chief Executive Amanda Hogbin adds “the Olkola people want to develop sustainable livelihoods on country.

“We’re in a remote area of Cape York, and so we recognise that we need to be smart about it.

“That means working with an established business while we develop our expertise and our business.

“We chose to work in partnership with Intrepid Travel because of the company’s investment in responsible tourism, and we’ll be looking to work with companies with similar values in the future.”

Intrepid Travel is part of PEAK’s Intrepid Group of companies, alongside leading small group adventure companies Peregrine, Geckos, Peregrine Reserve, Adventure Tours and The Adventure Company. 

For more information go to www.intrepidtravel.com/au

Image courtesy of the Australian Conservation Foundation.

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