Darngku Heritage Cruises/Mowie Enterprises
Artists view of the world famous Geikie Gorge Cliff face
A mid range view of Geikie Gorge
First listed Yawuru Trading Floor<p>
Darngku Heritage Cruises is an established and reliable core business of the Fitzroy Crossing Bunuba community. Darngku is the Bunuba name for Geiki Gorge. Owned by a traditional owner and her family, Darngku Heritage Cruises works in cooperation with the Darlgnunaya Aboriginal Corporation and the Department of Conservation and Land Management, and creates a range of employment opportunities for young Indigenous people as well as bringing in much needed economic turn-over into the micro family levels of the Fitzroy River community.<p>
Darngku conducts 2, 3 hour and half day tours of the world famous Geikie Gorge from April to November each year. People who do the tour never forget it. The Gorge is presented through the eyes of the Aboriginal traditional owners. Young Indigenous guides Anthony, Ranginyi, Yarragugi, and Rene share the Bunuba knowledge of the park, its flora and fauna and some of the traditional stories of the area.<p>
The turnover from the tours is as much as half a million dollars over a 35 week period depending on seasonal variations and tourist numbers. The number of visitors taking the tours has steadily increased from about 640 to over 8,500 per annum. Keeping up with the growth in demand is one of the challenges of the business over the short term. There is not yet signs of a plateau in numbers.<p>
Mowie Enterprises the umbrella or mother organization of Darngku is now looking to expand into new areas of business and to explore complementary enterprises. It has established a successful fishing business, demand for the supply of camping, fishing gear and souvenirs is growing. In addition the only nursery in Fitzroy Crossing has been established to supply plants and gardening goods. The demand for the nursery products is expected to grow a strongly as tour numbers as there are approximately 1000 houses in Fitzroy Crossing without immediate access to gardening supplies.<p>
In order to expand Mowie is looking at a range of operations and is looking for the best ways to finance and develop these concepts.
Project description:
Indigenous Australians have lived in the Fitzroy region of the Kimberley for tens of thousands of years and place special significance on Geiki Gorge National Park and the surrounding country. Darngku Heritage Cruises is a unique Indigenous business that brings visitors to the Gorge and shares with them the unique flora, fauna and Indigenous culture of the area.
Lead Organisation:
Mowie Enterprises
Lead WWW:
Mentor Type:
Contact Name:
W. Aiken
Contact Phone:
08-9191-5355
Contact Mobile:
Contact Fax:
08-9191-5085
Contact Email:
darngku@bigpond.com
WWW:
http://www.darngku.com.au
Support Type:
Current Partners:
Currency Type:
AUD
Funding Amount:
Subject(s):
Region:
Western Australia - Kimberley<br>Western Australia - Kimberley - Fitzroy Crossing