Queensland’s Gulf Country has been enjoying a massive grey nomad boom.
Barramundi-seeking older travellers are largely being credited with a 50% rise in visitor numbers to Normanton in the past year. The town’s Visitor Information Centre recorded that a total of 15,000 people stopped in during 2012 … up from 10,000 in 2011.
The co-ordinator of Normanton and Karumba centres, Chris Knol, told the Cairns Post that, despite the looming wet season, tourist numbers in December had almost quadrupled compared to the previous year.
Mr Knol said some grey nomads stayed for up to five months in Karumba fishing while others spent an average of three to four days at Normanton. The peak month last year was July with 5,400 visitors and about 90% of those being grey nomads.
“The rest we get are internationals doing the big Australia trek … we get a few families as well and Karumba is booked out every year,” Mr Knol told the Cairns Post. “In Normanton, we have rivers with barramundi fishing, Burke and Wills’ last camp, a historic town walk which takes a good two to three hours to read the history and there are two caravan parks.”
More attractions are also being added in the area. A $2.5 million Normanton Monsoon Centre development, which will show tourists how the Gulf of Carpentaria is affected during the wet season, is awaiting funding approvals from the Federal and State governments.
Have you been part of the Gulf boom? Why is the area so good for grey nomads?
Comment below
we free camp as much as possible because the people are more friendly [the unwritten law is every body is equal!!]