Where: Great Divide Tours is licensed in several NSW national parks including Blue Mountains, Kanangra Boyd, Gardens of Stone, Abercrombie, Barrington Tops, Werrikimbe, Morton, Deua, Kosciuszko, Willandra, Kinchega, Mungo and Sturt National Parks. And this is not an exhaustive list either – yes we go everywhere!

Nearest airport/ major town: We are based in Sydney but we operate all over NSW.

Head Honcho: Vic Widman

Position in company: Managing Director

What (the product): Great Divide Tours offers 4WD tag-along tours – which is a unique style of operation, catering for Australian and international clients. It is a very “hands-on” experience for our clients who drive their own or rented 4WD vehicle as we lead them into the amazing and beautiful locations in NSW national parks.

Great Divide Tours Pty Ltd

Contact:www.4wd.net.au & www.greatdividetours.com.au T: 02 9913 1395 E: info@greatdividetours.com.au

How long you’ve been licensed with NPWS: At least 15 years.

Who are you accredited with? Ecotourism Australia.

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ecopasswww.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au

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What’s the value in being licensed by NPWS?Our customers expect integrity from such a long established and respected business as Great Divide Tours.

Part of that integrity comes from running our business in a professional manner. This means our number one priority is ensuring that we have all the appropriate licences for the areas we access.

The reality is without the NPWS commercial licence and meeting the high standards set by the licensing system, we would not be able to operate in our national parks.

We have developed a good rapport with the park managers who provide advice and assistance to Great Divide Tours which ultimately means a better experience for our clients and therefore a higher satisfaction rate with the services we offer.

What do you love about NSW national parks? Our parks have been developed to protect the best natural, cultural and historic aspects of our state. Provided access is maintained to these protected areas,

we are able to share with our clients the beauty and history of the real Australia.

What keeps your customers coming back? Having been in operation for more than 15 years, Great Divide Tours has a strong customer base. Without doubt, the reason they keep coming back is the fun and enjoyment they experience, whilst being able to access areas of such fantastic natural beauty which they would not otherwise have the confidence to do so on their own.

What’s your favourite NSW national park/why? Given that Great Divide Tours visits so many of our great parks, from the outback in Sturt National Park to the temperate rainforests found in Barrington Tops National Park, this is truly a difficult question.

However, Deua National Park on the South Coast would be a stand out park for Great Divide Tours. It’s 4WD access only, has a large network of 4WD tracks, has fantastic bush camping in the Bendethera Valley, features a large wildlife population and has the pristine Deua River running

right past our campsites. This style of park is ideally suited to the needs of a 4WD tag-along tour operator.

All of this adds up to make Deua National Park one of our most popular destinations – not only for our customers but also for our guides.

One piece of advice to a newly licensed operator? Build a good relationship with your park managers so you can learn from their experience and in turn, pass on this knowledge to your clients so their experience is a learning as well as an enjoyable one.

Funniest story? On a recent trip into Deua National Park, one of the young children on the trip asked me if we would see any kangaroos, at which point I looked across the grassy flat and pointed out a small mob.

Suitably impressed with their guide’s ability to deliver, I was then asked, “Will we see any wombats?” As luck would have it, I looked to my right and sure enough coming out of the shadows of a small bush near the river was a wombat.

The younger sibling of this fellow then said, “What about a dragon, will we see any dragons?” Obviously the little fellow thought he had his guide stumped this time. But sure enough, as I looked around for a dragon I noticed a large lace monitor sunning itself just up the track and of course pointed and exclaimed “Look, up there, there’s a dragon!” Everyone thought it was pretty good how I could deliver on time, every time! No wonder I like Deua National Park so much!

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Postcards from the fieldwww.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au

Head Honcho:

Michael McCulkin

Position in company: Owner

What (the product): 4WD tours

Where: Depart Broken Hill

Tri State Safaris

Nearest airport/ major town:Broken Hill

Contact:www.tristate.com.au T: 08 8088 2389 E: tours@tristate.com.au

How long you’ve been licensed with NPWS:Around 15 years.

Who are you accredited with? Ecotourism Australia and Australian Tourism Accreditation Program.

What’s the value in being licensed by NPWS? As a licensed operator we are aware of the regulations that cover park usage during our activities.

Being licensed indicates to our customers that we provide a professional service and we place importance on compliance. Being licensed indicates that we care about the protection of the areas we visit. By working with NPWS we demonstrate our commitment to the protection of the areas we visit so that we can continue to visit unspoiled conditions. We also adopt minimal impact practices to ensure these areas remain pristine.

What do you love about NSW national parks?The diversity of landscapes, places of cultural and historical value and the amount of wildlife.

What keeps your customers coming back? The opportunity to experience nature.

What’s your favourite NSW national park/why?That’s very difficult to answer as all the parks I know are fantastic, but Mutawintji National Park is a very special place.

One piece of advice to a newly licensed operator?Talk to parks’ staff and establish an open relationship, assist where possible and report damage.

Funniest story? In outback NSW, we stopped to watch a pair of budgies that had landed in a nearby tree. I proceeded to tell our customers how fortunate we were to see them in the wild and so close. A passenger commented they looked really nice but that it was sad for the person whose cage they must have escaped from.

Head Honcho: Sam Maddock

Position in company: Program Director

What (the product): Action Learning Initiatives (or ALI as we are more commonly known) specialises in developing customised outdoor education programs for our client schools. ALI runs both summer and winter outdoor education programs which are safe, professional and educational. Activities which can be incorporated into our programs include: day/multi-day hikes, flat water canoeing, white water canoeing, rafting, archery, orienteering, rockclimbing, abseiling, mountain biking, downhill skiing, snow-boarding, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and raft building.

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Action Learning Initiatives (ALI)

www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au

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Where: All of ALI’s programs are run in Kosciuszko National Park in the beautiful Snowy Mountains.

Nearest airport/ major town: Canberra/Cooma

Contact: www.action-learning.com.au T: 02 6457 2788 E: info@action-learning.com.au

How long you’ve been licensed with NPWS:10 years.

Who are you accredited with? Outdoor Recreation Industry Council, NSW Waterways and Australian Canoeing.

What’s the value in being licensed by NPWS? The primary value is that you cannot commercially operate in a NSW national park without one. The Kosciuszko National Park staff run commercial tour operator meetings allowing you to meet other operators and national parks’ staff and discuss relevant issues. In addition, you can use it in marketing material – we regard the NPWS brand and lyrebird logo as highly recognised and credible, and we see benefit in being able to leverage our licence this way. Being licensed also helps keep your business accountable, especially in relation to environmental issues and ensuring minimal impact.

What do you love about NSW national parks? The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service protects some of Australia’s most unique and wild places for us to enjoy now and for future generations.

I also love the variety found within our national parks: from snow to deserts, mountains to oceans, there is just so much variety.

What keeps your customers coming back? Our flexible, all inclusive programs combined with the unique nature of Kosciuszko National Park. The winter season is also a big drawcard for school groups. We also have very modern facilities and equipment.

What’s your favourite NSW national park/why? I can’t nominate just one! I love Blue Mountains National Park for its amazing canyons and the Kanangra Boyd Wilderness area – how can something so stunningly wild be so close to Sydney?!

I also can’t go past Kosciuszko National Park – backcountry snowboarding on the main range and the western faces – it is a really wild and beautiful place.

One piece of advice to a newly licensed operator? National parks’ staff are the experts on their park so make sure you liaise with them regularly. Give yourself lots of time when notifying of your intention to run an activity in the national park. If you run activities in remote places, make sure you have good staff and good emergency procedures in place.

And finally, remember that prior preparation prevents poor performance (or in the outdoors, an accident!!!!)

Funniest story? On one of our trips I put a full-size fire extinguisher in one of my colleague’s back packs. I proceeded for the entire day to go on about how hot it was and that I hoped our group was fire-ready.

After hiking with it all day, he found the fire extinguisher whilst setting up his tent that evening. Needless to say he was not a happy camper!

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ecopasswww.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au

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Head Honcho: Anita Menhofer

Position in company:Founder/Owner

What (the product): Extended walking tours (five day tour with day walks and accommodation outside parks as well as a full-package three week trekking tour) in small groups of two to 10 people with a focus on expert interpretation of ecology, geology, flora and fauna.

Where: National parks of the World Heritage Gondwana Rainforests of Northern NSW.

Hinterland Tours

Nearest airport/ major town: Coffs Harbour/Bellingen

Contact:www.hinterlandtour.com.au T: 02 6655 2957 E: info@hinterlandtour.com.au

How long you’ve been licensed with NPWS: Since 2000.

Who are you accredited with? Ecotourism Australia.

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What’s the value in being licensed by NPWS? Recognition of good operator practice (a bit like an accreditation).

I feel operators have an amazing resource in our parks and it seems fair that NPWS receives some of the commercial income made by using this resource.

What do you love about NSW national parks? The amazing number and variety of national parks in NSW. I love that most of them are unfilled and can be enjoyed in solitude.

What keeps your customers coming back? Our small groups (on average four participants); our unique environment; that we visit many parks which are “off the beaten track” and our personalised service and high standard of interpretation.

in the forest, I had checked it out beforehand and tied a ribbon marker where I left the track.

On my return, I found a better route and left another marker where I hit the track. My partner suggested I take the first marker down but I decided to leave it, knowing that a few hundred metres down the track would be the “real” marker.

To cut a long story short, I forgot all about it and left the track at the first marker with my clients. We got into a very steep gully, and decided to turn back when one client lost a contact lens in the dense thicket.

And, guess what, coming back up I found the easy route and hit the track exactly where the correct marker was. Much to the astonishment of my clients, who thought “someone” put the wrong marker and thus led their experienced guide astray.

Still, they loved the “adventure” and probably think to this day that walking off-track means negotiating extreme terrain!

What’s your favourite NSW national park/why? New England National Park: for its vast wilderness area, its rugged terrain and spectacular landscape, and its incredible diversity due to the steep topography.

One piece of advice you’d, give to a newly licensed operator? Expert interpretation is important, as opposed to incessant talking by the guide – get your clients to experience NSW national parks with all their senses and walk or sit in silence at times.

Establish a good relationship with the rangers of the parks you visit.

Funniest story? Once I took two clients on a special day tour in New England National Park for a trackless walk. As orientation is always a challenge

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Hinterland Tours

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Head Honcho: Tim Tranter

Position in company: Owner, head guide, marketing expert, receptionist, accountant.

What (the product): An ecological bush guiding company, providing Advanced Ecotourism Accredited bush walks and 4WD eco tours. We offer minimal impact touring, operate from a carbon neutral office and use a carbon-reduced vehicle when taking visitors to the World Heritage Blue Mountains National Park.

Where: World Heritage Blue Mountains National Park

Nearest airport/ major town: Katoomba in the Blue Mountains/Medlow Bath ‘International’ (1km dirt strip!) or Kingsford Smith Airport in Sydney for bigger planes.

Tread Lightly Eco Tours

www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au

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What do you love about NSW national parks? Finding places that mass tourism operators don’t go to, and that still offer a special experience for small groups.

What keeps your customers coming back? The quality ecological experience and tailor-made tours off the typical tourist beaten track.

What’s your favourite NSW national park/why?

I can’t choose just one! It’s a toss up between the Blue Mountains and Kosciuszko National Parks. I enjoy the tranquillity and remote wild areas of both parks, they still have quiet places that suit the style of touring we do with niche clients, and they both provide easy access.

One piece of advice to a newly licensed operator? To ensure high standards, make sure you get accredited.

Funniest story? The look on a couple’s face from Florida USA after we headed out on a bush walk at 8am and a temperature of 20 degrees, and finished the walk in snow at 4pm. All I could say was ‘welcome to the Blue Mountains’! It was priceless.

Contact:www.treadlightly.com.au T: 02 4788 1229 E: ecotours@treadlightly.com.au

How long you’ve been licensed with NPWS: 12 years.

Who are you accredited with?

Ecotourism Australia.

What’s the value in being licensed by NPWS? It gives consumers a sense of confidence and reassurance.