Memberships

Araucaria Ecotours is a member of:

Ecotourism Australia (photo to left shows Ronda helping to man the Ecotourism Australia stall in Berlin 2007)
Wildlife Tourism Australia (Ronda is vice-chair)
Queensland Tourism Industry Council
Brisbane Marketing
Scenic Rim Escapes
Interpretation Australia
We have been members of ATEC, and will be again later this year, on left,

As individuals or family the Araucaria team also belong to the Ecology Society of Australia, the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland (Ronda is acting chair of the newly-formed Scenic Rim group), Bat Care Brisbane, Lamington Natural History Association (Darren is a former secretary), Logan and Albert Conservation Association, Mensa and the Rathdowney and District Historical Association)

Certifications

We hold advanced eco-accreditation for all tours.

Other certificates include:

completion of food safety course and subsequent updates
senior first aid course and subsequent updates
Aussiehost

plus of course all necessary permits and licences for operating a tour business and taking tours into protected areas

We are also now described as "Rough Guide Recommended" and included in their 2009 'Clean Breaks" guide to environmentally-friendly holidays around the world, with permission to use their 'Rough Guide Recommended' logo.

Testimonials

This is what some of our guests have said about us, reproduced with their permission:

Lois Evans, Manchester, UK:
Araucaria Ecotours offered me the opportunity to visit rainforests for the first time. We have a lot of rain in Manchester (UK), but no rainforests. Ronda and Darren proved to be excellent guides and I was very impressed by their extensive and expert knowledge. Thanks to them I was able to view wildlife and learn about the magnificent trees and plants which make up the various types of rainforest. I came away with great respect for the wonderful Australian ecological heritage and a renewed enthusiasm for conserving the few truly wild parts of the world that are left to us.

Ian Duncan, Ontario, Canada:
I want to thank you so much for the fantastic day we had birdwatching at O'Reilly's. It really was the highlight of my visit to Australia. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it - and seeing the Platypus at the end of the day was the icing on the cake! You can be sure that I'll be recommending you to anyone I know who is going to be visiting Australia.

June Wan , Hong Kong:
Thank you Ronda, for putting together a tour that is tailor-made to my many special requests!
I have enjoyed the magnificent scenery and wildlife as well as your company .†The kind hospitality and great food of Elizabeth and Hugh at Cougal Park is a once -in-a-lifetime experience too ! Thanks a lot

Matt Rynalski, Florida, USA
Fantastic tour, and I loved the platypus and the nature walks!

Nicola Holt, New Zraland
I am just back from Brisbane today and I wanted to write to thank you so much for a wonderful trip in the Binna Burra last Sunday. I enjoyed it enormously and really appreciated all the effort you had put in to make it such a special day. I was fascinated with everything, and I am looking forward to downloading my photos when I get a moment. Thank you so much for a very happy and memorable day.

Ron Mader, Mexico, editor of Planeta (www.planeta.com):
During my visit to Australia earlier this year, Ronda and her son Darren were superb guides. They knew where to find the wildlife, they knew how to make the approach.

Many other positive comments have been made both in writing and verbally from guests of many nationalities

Also see article by Dominique White, formerly of Tourism Queensland
(we have changed route since Dominique travelled with us but our basic activities and philosophies remain the same)

Awards Memberships Certifications Testimonials

Awards for Araucaria Ecotours

Memberships

Certifications

Testimonials