New $19.5 million Flinders Chase National Park visitor centre on Kangaroo Island opens

ABC NEWS (Australia)

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.

Transcript

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.

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