Attached to the centre is The Wilderness Photography
Gallery, where visitors arrive for instruction on nature
photography followed by treks into the bush to practise the art.
Although ostensibly aimed at the international leisure market,
this kind of activity is perfect as part of a corporate retreat
weekend. Other tours arranged from Doherty's include horse
riding, fly fishing, canoeing and ATV (4 wheeler) driving
through the forest and bush.
If your group is especially large, accommodation can easily
be distributed around the area including to P&O's Cradle
Mountain Lodge. And for transfers, Doherty's is owned by the
Hadley's hotel group with two other properties in Launceston,
one in Queenstown and another in Hobart.
Cradle Mountain was already a well established visitor
destination on the visitor itinerary - but the real big
developments are in even remoter areas of Tasmania.The once
sleepy fishing village of Strahan, a 19th century settlement, has
been snapped awake from economic decline by a proactive
burst of energy from local travel professionals, especially by the
Federal Hotel Group of Tasmania.
The town's row of seafront shops and the historic Hamer's
Hotel have been bought up by Federal, along with several
cottages and also a hilltop site overlooking the village - basically
the whole town centre. The shops have been converted into
themed F&B and retail outlets, including a revived public bar.
Cottages have been upgraded into quaint stand alone
accommodation, interiors designed to fit the atmosphere of a
frontier town of the 1900s.And above the town, construction is
just about complete on the Hilltop Retreat section of this
project, collectively named Strahan Village Resort.The Hilltop
Retreat will feature a conference room plus 42 split level suites
offering uninterrupted views over Macquarie Harbour (five
times larger than Sydney Harbour, by the way!).
With such a variety of accommodation and F&B outlets,
Federal have a product they can push for the MICE market. In
terms of incentives and recreation available, Federal have also
begun to dominate the tour business of Strahan. Down on the
village pier, Gordon River Cruises is owned by Federal, and
their catamaran Lady Jane Franklin can take up to 120 visitors
for cruises (cocktail or otherwise) up the Gordon River to see
TASMANIA
54 mice.net
One day, this could all be yours. Federal's Strahan Village, Tasmania's new Incentive leader
Macquarie Harbour from Sarah Island Penal Colony. Available for
group events
