AusLeisure

NRMA Parks and Resorts has announced that it has secured the management contract for the Indigenous-owned Wilpena Pound Resort, which sits at the heart of South Australia’s Flinders Ranges.

The new management agreement has been signed after months of careful negotiations with the resort owners Indigenous Business Australia (IBA); Traditional Owners’ council, the Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association (ATLA) and the South Australian Government to create a mutually beneficial partnership for NRMA Parks and Resorts and the region’s Indigenous community.

Wilpena Pound Resort is the only accommodation set within the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, regarded as one of South Australia’s greatest natural assets.

The historic property, which became part of the NRMA Parks and Resorts collection as of 1^st April, is NRMA’s second holiday park in South Australia, alongside Victor Harbor Beachfront Holiday Park.

The move comes just weeks after NRMA Parks and Resorts made a successful bid for the management of Shellharbour Beachside Holiday Park on the NSW south coast and brings the number of NRMA-branded holiday properties to 35 across Australia.

Located 430 kilometres north of Adelaide, The Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park is a vast landscape best recognised by its natural amphitheatre, Ikara (Wilpena Pound) and is home to South Australia’s largest mountain range. The Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park dates some 800 million years and includes some of the most spectacular scenery and important ancient geology in South Australia.

Wilpena Pound Resort is steeped in history, with the first accommodation built in 1947.  Today, the resort comprises a 60-room hotel, Ikara Safari Camp with 15 glamping tents and a large campground with powered and non-powered sites and new state-of-the-art guest facilities. A hub for travellers to the Flinders Ranges, the resort conveniently offers food and beverage outlets, signposted nature walks, the Visitor’s Centre and IGA Express with a service station.

Wilpena Pound Resort offers visitors guests a first-hand, personal experience of the ancient landscape, delivered through the perspective of the region’s Traditional Owners, the Adnyamathanha people. Many Adnyamathanha people are employed at Wilpena Pound Resort, and each of the experiences on offer of the Flinders Ranges are led by an Indigenous guide. The Aboriginal guided tours are the best vehicle to both share and preserve the region’s Indigenous culture.

Work is already underway on a three-year strategic masterplan in partnership with the South Australian Government which is underpinned by significant capital investment. The project is designed to reinvigorate the guest facilities at the resort and to offer an even more rewarding experience of the Flinders Ranges.

Advising that the agreement was a major win for the company following extensive talks with the IBA, ATLA and the South Australian Government, NRMA Parks and Resorts Chief Executive, Paul Davies stated “we see the addition of Wilpena Pound Resort as a natural fit for NRMA Parks and Resorts which offers guests front row seats to some of Australia’s most important and astounding natural attractions.

“For us it’s a real chance to take this historic property into an exciting new era, while helping to safeguard the cultural heritage of the Adnyamathanha people.

“We’re looking forward to working with the regional community as well as local suppliers to deliver a new and exciting experience of the Flinders Ranges for our guests.”

Images: Wilpena Pound Resort (top) and the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park with Wilpena Pound in the distance (below).

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