Bendleby Ranges

Being a pastoralist in the Flinders Ranges is tough work.

For Jane and Warren, living off the land was good, but they needed some extra income. Their property had long been used by friends who wanted to escape for a bush camping holiday, and so tourism was the obvious choice.

From its early beginnings as a scenic camping retreat, the business has grown to now incorporate station style accommodation with the Crotta Homestead, the Shearer’s Quarters and Gumdale Cottage. A camp kitchen has been added to cater for large groups of campers with bushwalking tracks, mountain biking trails and 4WD opportunities from beginner to expert.

‘By using what we already had – tracks through the hills for mustering, and the shearers’ quarters - it was easy to get started,’ Jane comments.  ’The tourism enterprise has enabled us to upgrade our accommodation to a point well beyond when it was used just for the pastoral enterprise, and it also gives us cash flow when it is not available from the pastoral business.’

The Southern Flinders Regional Development Board, and since amalgamation Regional Development Australia Yorke and Mid North, assisted Jane and Warren in many areas.

In the years since they initially commenced their tourism operation, they have also been assisted by the Southern Flinders Regional Tourism Authority (an initiative of Regional Development Australia, local councils, the South Australian Tourism Commission, National Parks and Wildlife and the local tourism operator association) in building dedicated mountain bike trails.

‘We were approached by the Tourism Development Officer to add a cycling event for the region, and we found that this was an area we could diversify into. We hold an annual 2 day cycling event; Tour Up Over, which is growing in popularity.  SFRTA have provided strong support in setting up and promoting this event.’

Jane and Warren diversified their business, adding tourism to their pastoral pursuits. The results have been excellent, and the Bendleby Ranges is set to continue this success!

For Jane and Warren, living off the land was good, but they needed some extra income. They diversified their business, adding tourism to their pastoral pursuits - the results have been excellent.

Business Unit: Tourism Development