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Making lives
'happier, healthier and safer'
Businesses set
to battle in finals of
Queensland's Grey Nomad awards
Have your say
FIVE Queensland attractions and seven
Queensland stay options from across the state have been named finalists in
the Grey Nomad Awards, cementing the Sunshine State's reputation as a
bucket-list destination for mature age tourists.
The winners in each of the seven categories will be announced on March 2
at a celebratory event on the Sunshine Coast.
Awards director Kim Morgan said the awards fostered a better lifestyle for
the over 50s by providing verified information that will guide
their decisions on where to travel safely and what to experience along the
way.
"The COVID situation has meant that some older Australians felt uneasy
about travelling in 2020, with health and safety becoming an even greater
factor in their decision making," she said.
"That is why the 2020 Grey Nomad Awards criteria focussed on the actions
that tourism operators, caravan parks and campground managers took to make
the lives of grey nomads happier, healthier and safer."
QLD Finalists for 2020 Best Attraction or Tour:
Barramundi Discovery Centre & Hatchery Karumba - Karumba, QLD
Mareeba Heritage Museum and Visitor Information Centre - Mareeba, QLD
Mary Valley Rattler - Gympie, QLD
Miles Historical Museum - Miles, QLD
Paronella Park - Mena Creek, QLD
QLD Finalists for various 2020 stay
categories:
"Charlotte Plains Outback Magic" - Cunnamulla, QLD – Best Farm or Station
Stay
Charters Towers Tourist Park G'day park - Charters Towers, QLD – Best
Small Caravan Park
Dirranbandi Retreat & Caravan Park - Dirranbandi, QLD – Best Small Caravan
Park
Groper Creek Caravan Park - Groper Creek, QLD – Best Small Caravan Park
Mt Larcom Tourist Park Mt Larcom, QLD – Best Small Caravan Park
Nindigully Tourist and Visitor Area - Nindigully, QLD – Best Council
Freestay
The Wellshot Hotel - Ilfracombe, QLD – Best Pub Stay
The Barramundi Discovery Centre & Hatchery Karumba: A
world-class interpretive and visitors centre, which includes the only
hatchery in the world to breed the Southern Gulf strain of this iconic
fish, is free and explains the history, stories and habits of these
sought-after fish.
The Mareeba Heritage Museum and Visitor Information Centre:
Includes interactive exhibits, a café, giftshop, booking office and
function venue, features 6000 artifacts over 47 exhibits, with six
artefacts being of national significance and another eight of state
significance.
Gympie’s Mary Valley Rattler: Includes a museum dedicated to
sharing the stories of the century-old Mary Valley Railway line and its
people, a giftshop and the Rusty Rails Café, together with a daily
heritage rail experience through stunning sub-tropical country Queensland
passing heritage-listed railway stations.
The Miles Heritage Village Museum: Includes the Visitor
Centre, booking office, Ludwig & Will Specialty Coffee van in peak times,
and retro Red Rose Café group catering. It features more than 30 original
and reproduction buildings positioned to faithfully recreate Miles'
colonial main street.
Paronella Park: A leading Cassowary Coast multi-faceted
heritage attraction which includes a café, giftshop, museum, caravan park
and cabins, Queensland's first hydro-electricity plant and picnic areas.
Charlotte Plains Outback Magic: Is a Cunnamulla station that
has been shortlisted in the 2020 Best Grey Nomad Farm or Station Stay
category. The 27,000 hectare sheep and cattle station slightly east of
Cunnamulla township on the Explorers Way provides grey nomads with an
opportunity to stay on a property half the size of Singapore. Powered and
unpowered sites, shearing shed showers and shearers quarters camp kitchen
form the foundation of the camping experience.
The Charters Towers Tourist Park: A G'Day park only five
minutes to the gold rush town centre along the Overlander Way. It offers a
large array of options with grass or slab powered sites, ensuite powered
sites, and unpowered grass sites. It offers a full social program with
daily bush poet performance, weekly heritage talk by a local historian and
meals at least three nights a week in grey nomad season. It is fully
licensed for the convenience of guests.
The Dirranbandi Retreat & Caravan Park: It offers powered
and unpowered sites with views across the southern Queensland outback
plains, roomy amenities, laundry and free wifi.
Groper Creek Caravan Park: Located just out of Home Hill, it
has been one of North Queensland's best kept secrets. Operated by the Home
Hill Boat Club under a land lease arrangement with Burdekin Shire Council,
the caravan park is the heart of the tiny eight-hectare Groper Creek
township which celebrates its centenary this year.
Mt Larcom Tourist Park: Is conveniently located on the
national highway west of Gladstone, offers nearly seven acres of manicured
lawns, stunning gardens or bush in a multi-tiered setting. It a member of
the nomad-friendly Kui Parks group.
The Nindigully Tourist and Visitor Area: Situated in the
Balonne Shire Council area and has been shortlisted in the 2020 Best Grey
Nomad Council Free-Stay category. The Nindigully campground offers free
non-powered camping on the banks of the Mooney River adjacent to the
Nindigully Pub, Queensland’s oldest hotel.
The Wellshot Hotel: A finalist in the Best Pub stay category
and only 20 minutes from Longreach on the Matilda Way. It provides grey
nomads with an opportunity to stay at a pre-1890 outback pub. Guests enjoy
a boutique collection of pet-friendly powered and unpowered sites, access
to quaint amenities and potable water all available immediately adjacent
to the pub’s themed beer garden while fully fenced to the external roads.
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permission of Dennis Amor.
Copyright 2005
Dennis Amor All Rights Reserved
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