Beltana and Parachilna, two tiny neighbouring communities in the
magnificent northern Flinders Ranges, are inviting visitors to
celebrate Outback Alive. The event, on 27 April, is a fantastic
opportunity to experience the warm hospitality of outback Australia
and to find out how remote communities can build stronger
futures.
The award-winning Prairie Hotel at Parachilna on the edge of the
Flinders Ranges National Park will tempt food lovers with a
delicious blend of traditional Aboriginal bush tucker and Flinders
Feral Foods.
Its Taste of the Outback banquet on the evening of April 27 will
feature mouth-watering flavours of the Australian desert, beginning
with a roving entree of bush-inspired Finger Food in the Prairie
Courtyard, combined with a tasting of selected wines of the
Southern Flinders Ranges and Fargher Lager ... especially brewed
for the Prairie Hotel.
A main course banquet will be served in the Parachilna Marquee
offering tasting platters with meats sponsored by the Beef and
Sheep Cooperative Research Centres. A grazing table will be
available for cheeses and locally produced bush flavoured gelatos.
Local singer/songwriter John O'Dea, who is widely acclaimed for his
heritage music, will provide the entertainment.
But Outback Alive is about far more than indulgence. Throughout
April 27 tourism operators, pastoralists, bush food growers and
manufacturers will get together at the Beltana race course to
explore how their industries can work with local communities to
make them more sustainable.
Research plays a big part in shaping the future of desert
communities. The Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre
(CRC), a nationwide research network, will present some exciting
innovations at Outback Alive.
Its 21st Century Pastoralism™ project, for example, is
coming up with some high-tech solutions for pastoralists. It will
showcase the time and money-saving Walk over Weighing system and
demonstrate how telemetry can boost their bottom-line by cutting
down on labour and water use. The national research network is also
finding out how to boost Aboriginal employment in the mainstream
cattle industry and how to strengthen Aboriginal cattle
enterprises.
It will showcase their bush produce research and demonstrate
brand new technologies such as the ‘kangaroo-hop
phone’, an innovation that offers affordable access to voice
and web communications to the Australian outback and other desert
regions of the world.
Desert Knowledge researchers are keen to hear from local people
what difference their work could make to northern South Australia.
Researchers from the Sheep and Beef CRCs will join them to show
pastoralists how they can beat the drought by managing their stock
more effectively.
In the lead-up to Outback Alive the Desert Knowledge CRC will
hold its quarterly research meeting at nearby Iga Warta, one of
Australia’s most successful Aboriginal-owned tourism
businesses. It’s a unique opportunity for research leaders
from around Australia to experience the local Adnyamathanha culture
up close.
Outback Alive is a great chance for regional organisations such
as local councils, government and industry to showcase what they
are doing for desert and regional Australia. We urge you to get
behind the event and get involved.
