Australia walking vacation in the Red Centre

Planet

We raise money for conservation projects within Australia by asking our walkers to donate 10cent per km walked on our booking form and we match their donation. These funds are used to assist with conservation on various projects. We are one of the few license holders on the Larpinta and an integral part of the Larpinta and donate money to the upkeep of the track. They use volunteers to help keep the track in tip-top condition. We have advanced Eco Tourism certification. Auswalk has led the conversation to do with the environment and tourism for nearly 30 years now.

Minimal impact walking: We lead by example and encourage others to follow. We believe that we are doing our job well when our customers leave a tour having had a fabulous, fun-filled vacation but also come away with a broader appreciation of and respect for the natural environment. Ideally, they come to walk and leave as ambassadors for the environment. We stay on formed tracks, avoid trampling vegetation, insist that all rubbish is carried out, and pick up rubbish left by others. Group sizes on self-guided trips are usually only two. On group-guided trips, the maximum size is 15 but there are two guides so we can split into smaller parties, limiting our impact.

We encourage people to only take photos of plants and animals, they must look after the environment wherever possible. We plan our walks to utilize toilets wherever possible and if not available, we provide clear instructions on burying waste and carrying out any sanitary items. We view wildlife from a distance and never feed native kangaroos, wallabies or any other native animals. We do not light fires in the bush and we do not allow people to smoke on walks. Our motto is “Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but photos and a piece of someone else’s rubbish”.

Our office is environmentally friendly with double glazing, rainwater tanks, solar hot water, evaporative cooling, green power and a worm farm for sewerage waste. We adopt a reduce, reuse then recycle policy wherever possible.

People

On this tour, we employ local guides and drivers. All guides undergo our comprehensive training program and this is tailored to each individual’s needs. It covers areas such as safety, first aid, group management, minimal impact techniques, environmental interpretation, cultural considerations. We carry sat phones and Epirbs on all of our walks, so even in a remote area like this we can still get in contact with emergency service, god forbid, if we need to.

We regularly donate money in the form of trips or vouchers to various charities, including the Prime Ministers 1000 steps, the Drought relief fund, and the Epworth Hospital.

On our trips, we stay in comfortable local accommodation properties with lots of character. Each one has been personally selected by the owners. We stay in a historic guesthouse, a resort hotel and a country motel. The motel is a small, family-run place in an attractive location. Remote locations mean that the only accommodation available is simple like the outback cattle station we use. The ambience more than compensates for star ratings. On this trip, we even stay at an Indigenous-run old cattle station.

Good food is an important aspect of all our trips. Meals are plentiful, nutritious, wholesome and, wherever possible, offer local ingredients including roo and emu or other specialties. We always use local restaurants and encourage clients to stay longer and make the most of the area and what it has to offer. We recommend that our clients do one of the day trips that this area has to offer, like visiting the East MacDonalds or the Larapinta from Alice Springs.

Wherever possible, we incorporate quality local tourism experiences into our walking vacations. Examples include bush tucker walks with local indigenous people, Our guides have all passed the Uluru course so are well positioned to provide interpretation in the area. We try to buy and use local produce and use local people as much as we can to support local communities that are struggling. This helps the local community, the grassroots of tourism. Money going to where it is most needed.