Four years on from the devastating bushfires the slow rebuild of Kangaroo Island’s tourism infrastructure is still underway. A new visitor centre has just replaced the one destroyed in 2019, opening the gateway to the Flinders Chase National Park for tourists from here and abroad.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Two people killed and half of the bushland scorched.
00:05The 2019 Kangaroo Island bushfires still have a lasting impact on residents on the South
00:11Australian island.
00:12What's come out of that fire has been a lot of pain, a lot of suffering, but also rebuilding
00:16resilience.
00:17And this is a fine example of that resilience.
00:20Now four and a half years on, one of the final steps of the rebuild is complete.
00:25The government opening a new visitor centre at Flinders Chase National Park, after the
00:29old one at Rocky River was destroyed.
00:31For the government, this is the last major piece.
00:34We've finally got the visitor centre back, the park is looking beautiful and we're ready
00:39to welcome visitors.
00:41About 96% of the park was razed in the fires, but many think the opening marks a turning
00:46point for those still affected by the disaster.
00:49It is in a way another part of the healing process and a part of that recovery process
00:55four and a half years on from those devastating fires.
00:59The new centre boasts a cafe, a souvenir shop and interactive displays to help visitors
01:04learn about the unique nature and wildlife.
01:06But just across the way, a brand new research centre helping students study the local ecology.
01:12We have a lot of students that come here to the site to do a range of research work and
01:17we have 27 academics that actually work here on the island, so it's a hotbed for research
01:22for us.
01:23The centre will only add to the island's attraction for tourists.
01:27Kuru Island has already garnered plenty of international recognition and this year was
01:31named second in Lonely Planet's list of must-visit regions.
01:35KI is definitely what I call the arrowhead, particularly for our international marketing.
01:40And now the jewel of Flinders Chase is back open for business.