An Indigenous tour guide hopes her hometown can one day be seen in the same light as Broome as a tourist destination.
The best weather on the planet, the most amazing sunsets, and striking transitions from desert dunes to sand dunes.
That is the glowing review Yinggarda woman Renee Turner gives to her hometown of Carnarvon.
It is a different view to the headlines usually plastered on news pages about the largest Gascoyne town.
“There is not enough time for me to tell you how much I love Carnarvon, but I'm pretty proud to be born here,” Ms Turner said.
Two years ago Ms Turner set up Wooramulla Eco Cultural Journeys, an Aboriginal tourism company which employs guides to run trips around Carnarvon and the Kennedy Ranges.
“A lot, a lot,” Ms Turner said when asked how much work goes into convincing drivers to stop in town.
“I am no longer surprised that people are surprised what's here.
“It is just that hard work of putting yourself out there, you know, making sure that you are being present.”
It is a big challenge in a town commonly portrayed in the media as one in crisis due to persistent crime issues, declining population, and service provision moving to Geraldton or Perth.
A conveniently placed service station on the outskirts of Carnarvon means drivers don’t need to go anywhere near town on their way north – they can simply pull off the side of the road, fill up, grab a bite, and keep driving.
The town’s accommodation stock is very old and outside of the pubs in town there are few places worthy of a sit-down meal.
That fact is hard to grasp for a region which produces an abundance of fresh fruit, seafood, goat and beef.
But there are green shoots.
Fresh produce grown with the waters of the Gascoyne River is a mainstay of the town’s tourism marketing, helicopter and helifishing tours attract the more adventurous souls, and Indigenous tourism is on the rise.
The Goonwarndu Mia Cultural Centre has opened a solid café serving native foods made by trainees and a beachside café has carved out a niche doing top-notch toasties.
And bees – yes, bees – have become a star attraction.
Every year from July to September thousands of large burrowing bees dig up a dirt road near town in an annual event which has become a must-see for tourists in the area.
Ms Turner said growing interest in Carnarvon came from another unlikely source too.
“I think COVID may have had something to do with that, you know, it came along at the right time,” she said.
“Everything had to stop, slow down, it gave Mother Earth an opportunity to heal a little bit.
“And people slowed down, spent time with their families, going back to doing things together and that's where I think that little gateway opened.”
Australian families and “sen-agers” – senior citizens – make up most of Ms Turner’s clients, and international visitors are apparently on the rise.
Ms Turner said the town’s Indigenous tourism scene could one day be as strong as Broome’s.
“It will be, just watch the space,” she said.
