Whitsunday Regional Council to consider Woodwark wildlife park and accommodation proposal
A Whitsunday couple with a passion for conservation is forging ahead with a vision for a unique tourist attraction showcasing native flora and fauna. See the plans.
Whitsunday
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More Whitsunday tourists will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in nature at an expanded Woodwark eco-retreat offering up-close encounters with Australian flora and fauna.
Airlie Beach Eco Cabins owners Kym Daff and Simon Purdell successfully sought council approval to turn their Paluma Rd bed and breakfast business into a nature-based tourism attraction, adding guided tours and six self-contained cabins to their existing offering.
The couple’s 1.58 hectare property adjoins Dryander National Park and forms part of Fauna Rescue Whitsundays’ release program, making it a prime location to experience animals such as the Agile wallaby, northern brown bandicoots, green tree frogs, and sulphur-crested cockatoos in their natural habitat.
Adding more accommodation and a wider range of tours such as bush tucker, astronomy, and night-spotting reflects the couple’s vision to “foster environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation” among domestic and international visitors.
“We believe education and connection with our flora and fauna is the most significant and lasting impression we can offer the general public moving into the future of conservation and rewilding our bushland,” they state in documents submitted to the council.
Established in 2017, the Eco Cabins business has two wildlife carers on staff and has facilitated the planting of more than 200 native plants and trees on site. The owners are also in talks with the council to make greater use of the national park.
The six new cabins and associated facilities are proposed to be built in four stages. Four existing onsite accommodation units will be retained.
Senior development assessment officer Matthew Twomey deemed the staged development consistent with the Planning Scheme and councillors unanimously supported the application at a November 24 meeting at Bowen.
No submissions were received during the public notification period.
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