Imagine a serene retreat in the West Australian wilderness where you can escape your emails and phone calls and discover rare plants and animals right outside your cottage.
Perup Nature’s Guesthouse, near Tone Bridge in WA’s South West, provides this special opportunity to reconnect with nature, as well as the chance to see threatened mammals such as numbats, woylies, tammar wallabies, phascogales, western ringtail possums and chuditch.
Under new management by the Blackwood Basin Group (BBG), Perup is drawing locals, tourists and school groups with a keen interest in critter spotting, bird watching, wildlife and landscape photography, local Aboriginal culture, wildflowers and even stargazing.
BBG program manager Dr Katie Hill said the group’s guiding objective was to foster a greater understanding and appreciation in every visitor of the region’s unique flora, fauna and Aboriginal culture, and a desire to help ensure long-term environmental conservation.
“Perup is in the middle of the 56,000 hectare Tone-Perup Nature Reserve and captivates visitors with its isolation, serenity, and abundance of unique plants and animals,” Dr Hill explained.
“Perup is one of only a handful of places where you can see numbats in the wild during the day, or you can grab a torch and spotlight in the dark for several nocturnal species – either way your senses will be awakened by the experience.”
Perup Nature’s Guesthouse is one of several emerging nature-based tourism ventures in the South West that is receiving support through a South West Catchments Council (SWCC) project funded by the State NRM Program and Royalties for Regions.
The project aims to help South West Landcare groups develop nature-based tourism experiences that will ultimately generate more capacity and investment in conservation of the region.
SWCC acting chief executive officer Lisa Potter said the pairing of BBG with Perup was a perfect example of how the Landcare sector can lend a unique interpretation of the natural environment to educate and inspire locals and visitors.
“The local Landcare sector and Traditional Custodians know the landscape intimately and are well-placed to offer nature-based tourism experiences and perspectives that are unlike anything else in the world,” Ms Potter said.
“We congratulate BBG for its vision and dedication to Perup Nature’s Guesthouse and look forward to seeing this incomparable venture thrive in future.”
For more information or bookings call (08) 9765 1555 or visit https://www.perupnaturesguesthouse.com.au/
