Tangalooma’s Wild Dolphin Provisioning Program has achieved a 100 per cent survival rate of bottlenose dolphin calves.

Tangalooma Marine Education and Conservation Centre Director, Mr Trevor Hassard said he was pleased but not surprised with the results.

“From the inception of our program, Tangalooma Resort has been determined to create a sustainable dolphin feeding program and has strongly supported the scientific community and other experts to achieve this goal,” Mr Hassard said.

Co-author of the study and one time Dolphin Care Supervisor Bonnie Holmes said there had been much speculation over the years concerning the benefits of provisioning feeding programs. “Human intervention in the lives of wild animals should always be something we question,” Ms Holmes said.

“However, since working with the program and conducting additional research, I have come to understand that Tangalooma’s management arrangements for the program have been thoroughly researched over the past 16 years, and implemented accordingly.

"I have witnessed the feeding when a mother first brought in her calf, only two days after the birth. Given the bond between mother and calf is so strong, it was unbelievable to see them both so soon after the birth, indicating that the mother must have felt safe bringing her calf to the provisioning program.”

Tangalooma’s dolphin feeding provisioning program is conducted each evening with over eight regular dolphins participating in the program.

 
Melbourne-based day tour operator Go West Tours has been declared the best tourism operator in its field, winning the Best Tour & Transport Operators category at the 2007 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards.

After last year being inducted into the Victorian Tourism Awards Hall of Fame for winning this category at the state level three years in a row, Go West is now recognised of one of the Australian Tourism industry’s leading lights.

Operating small group tours from Melbourne to the Great Ocean Road and to Phillip Island for the famous Penguin Parade, Go West Tours was established in September 2000 and has stamped itself as one of the nation’s most innovative businesses.

Go West founder Terry Smit said “We’re absolutely thrilled to have been recognised in this way. After being runner-up for the last two years at the national level, to finally get across the line and take home the trophy is a fantastic reward for our amazing team and a real buzz for us as directors. There’s no higher honour in our industry and this caps off what is a truly exciting period for our business.”

In 2006 Go West Tours introduced the world’s first on-tour personal translation service for non-English speaking customers, and this year continued its pioneering use of technology by providing the world’s first in-coach personal video service.

For more information please visit  www.gowest.com.au

AWARD-WINNING RESTAURANT RE-BRANDS IN SOLID COLOUR

Just four weeks shy of its 14th birthday, one of Cairns’ local dining institutions is gearing for change. In a re-branding campaign introduced this week, Red Ochre Grill will become “Ochre Restaurant and Catering”.

Red Ochre Grill is a name everyone knows –as well known for its award-winning restaurant as its prestigious off-site catering.  However, a long and tedious battle to win the right to trademark his restaurant’s name inspired owner, Director and Executive Chef Craig Squire, to create a new identity.

In Cairns, Queensland and indeed Australia, Craig is a well-known and admired chef who has enjoyed a long term association with the name.

“We have worked very hard to establish ourselves as one of the region’s leading restaurants in and have gained a reputation for quality and service - locally, nationally and internationally.  Naturally we have wanted to own our own business name and determine our own destiny.

According to Craig, “Ochre Restaurant and Catering” is a brand he wants people to associate with freshness and modernism. 

“We were certainly bored with our old logo and felt the word ‘gill’ no longer applied to the style of food we were cooking.  We are satisfied Ochre Restaurant and Catering has a look and feel that achieves all our objectives.  The design is progressive while the name reflects our current business model where catering accounts for 30 per cent of annual revenue.

Red Ochre Grill is a multi-award winning restaurant with accolades that include:

• Mietta’s “Top 100 Australian Restaurants”      
• TTNQ Tourism Awards – Hall of Fame
• RCQ restaurant awards – best modern Australian 2006, best tourism 2007
• Caterer of the year – 2004 – 2005 – 2006 - 2007