A Northern Territory tourism venture, much loved by grey nomads, is closing its gates to self-drive tourists after more than two decades, with its owners blaming red tape and bureaucracy.
Rhett Walker, the owner of Lorella Springs Wilderness Park, located in remote Gulf country on the edge of Limmen National Park, said in a social media statement that his ‘dream has unravelled’.
The ABC reports that Limmen National Park is a natural wilderness home to some of the NT’s spectacular waterfalls and ancient rock art.
Mr Walker said he had reluctantly made the tough decision to close the park to most visitors, except for a select number of guided tour groups. He did not give details on the red tape and bureaucracy he blamed for the struggles of his business.
The remote Lorella Springs Wilderness Park is now closed to self-drive tourists. PIC: Google Maps
“It is not just the bureaucracy or the feeling of being forgotten and less supported in our remote location,” Mr Walker wrote. “It is not just either the pressure from those who do not accept that I, too, have an attachment to this land and care for it. It is the above and more … the red tape has become too much for us to keep things as they are.”
Lorella Springs has previously been estimated to welcome 10,000 visitors each year.
“What started as my family and I opening up our backyard to the public to share the many beautiful wonders of our private property, I believe has turned into one of Australia’s favourite holiday destinations and the longest surviving tourism venture in the Northern Territory,” Mr Walker wrote. “At Lorella we have it all – for the nature lover, the bush walker, the bird watcher as well as the outback explorer, the remote camper and anyone keen to discover our unique Top End savannah region – a true wilderness sanctuary.”
NT Tourism Minister Nicole Manison told the ABC that the government was working with the Lorella Springs tourism business ‘through a raft of historic matters’.
“We’re trying to give them as much support as possible to work through those, from a range of different agencies,” she said. “I’ve met with them, I’ve certainly spoken to them myself, and tasked our agencies to sit down and work with them because it is an important tourism offering for people in that region.”
Fellow tourism operator Dani Walter, who runs the Big4 Hidden Valley Holiday Park in Darwin, told the ABC that the move to only partially open could have damaging flow-on effects for Territory tourism.
“Any blow like this, it makes a big difference,” she said. “For some people, this is their big bucket list item, and you take that away, they don’t come [to the NT].”
And Ms Walter said there could be a flow-on impact on surrounding businesses in the Gulf region.
“A lot of these places, without tourism, they’re nothing,” she told the ABC. “Just look at your roadhouses, petrol stations, small little cafes, probably little souvenir shops, little local shops that have just popped up for tourists.”
Tourism is a key industry for the Northern Territory, with visitors spending around $2.15 billion in 2021-22.
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Yes we visited Lorella Springs about 2014, we spent 10 weeks there. Loved the place, as it offered a lot for a broad range of experiences. The Secret Spot was the best place to go fishing and to be away from it all.
It was on our bucket list
We spent 1 month at Lorella Springs in 2018. Still the absolute best place we have ever stayed at and had hoped to go again one day.
Just gutted that it will be closed to independent travellers
The abrasive wheel of bureaucracy and red tape will eventually grind and wear down the toughest of businesses especially in rural and remote locations.
If only we could get the decision makers to actually visit and stay and play, maybe they would see a way through this current “one size fits all situations “ policy making. What might be right for capital city tourism should be carefully crafted for rural and remote situations. Visitors to these places don’t need all the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed! We just want the adventure not the cotton wool.
Have visited a few times over 15 years. I think there are other vested interests wanting to have control over this land and what are seen as better commercial opportunities. It seems that intentional obstructions have been set up to thwart the existing business. The Walker family respect and protect the land while running a low impact tourist business. Tread lightly on the ground. I hope Lorella Springs can reopen soon.
Bugger. That was one spot I wanted to visit in the next year or two. ‘through a raft of historic matters’ and ‘from a range of different agencies’ pretty much sums up what’s going on here. Bloody sad.
We’ve been twice to Lorella and we were intending to go AGAIN, so we’re DEVESTATED to hear that it will be closing to self-drive tourists. This is an absolute GEM of a place and offers the tourist a REAL adventure holiday like no other place. We need to support the Walker Family however we can to ensure this fabulous destination does not lose its place on the map.
No word can describe my disappointment .
From the bush tucker man to the new YouTube I have watched them all enjoy this remarkable place.
My retirement plans are shattered to say the least as this area is so unique.
Now starting a new club SOB sad old bastards