Kangaroo tourism the way of the future, experts say
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Playing up for the camera: there are dozens of roo species. (www.sxc.hu: Dennis Bale)
A conservation group is predicting that kangaroo tourism in Australia could become as popular as big game tourism in Africa.
The group has developed a guide to show the best places in Australia to view kangaroos.
The book was written by a kangaroo expert from the University of New South Wales, who wants to see tourists coming to Australia with the specific purpose of viewing all 50 roo species.
Dr David Croft has spent a career studying kangaroos and is keen for others to share his passion.
"Perhaps because I study their behaviour I saw them as individuals and personalities and I wanted people to share that and to share my information about how to do that," he says.
Dr Croft has launched his guide The Kangaroo Trail, a project that has been developed with the Australian Wildlife Protection Council and funded by the animal rights group Voiceless.
The guide isn't just aimed at international visitors but also domestic tourists. Dr Croft says there's little appreciation in Australia of the diversity of the kangaroo population.
"You can take the map in hand and you can see all of Australia, so it's showcasing our protected areas, our national parks, it's showcasing the diversity of our wildlife," he said.
"And hopefully as people go map-in-hand to these areas they'll reward the local communities through their economic activities who've protected this wildlife."
Dr Croft has outlined the 50 best places in Australia to see kangaroos.
"It depends on which species you want to look at. If you want to look at red kangaroos, which of course are widespread, then the best place in New South Wales is Sturt National Park," he said.
Not everyone's so keen on kangaroos though; some see them as a pest. But Maryland Wilson, the president of the Australian Wildlife Council, won't hear any of that.
"It's passed on from generation to generation that kangaroos are pest and vermin and they need to be killed," she said.
"If you teach children to learn to love and respect our wildlife, I think that we could turn this into another serendipity like in Africa where huge mobs are wildebeest are seen as something miraculous and wonderful that people go to see and encourage.
"Here you see 20 kangaroos and people say they're a plague. So it's extremely important that we make this a success."
According to Dr Croft, the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism has found that international tourists want to see wildlife when they come Australia.
He's hoping his trail will change the course for many of those who come here.
"What we're saying is, here's 50 species of kangaroos. You could take a hop just into the hinterland of a major destination like Sydney or Brisbane or Melbourne or you could go right into the heartland of Australia to Alice Springs, Top End," he said.
"Or you could make it your mission to see the whole 50 species, just as twitchers go around and tick off their birds."
Based on a piece by Sara Everingham first aired on The World Today on August 21, 2008.
