Responsible Travel

By engaging local Alice Springs producers, suppliers and service providers, Trek Larapinta creates strong social and economic ties with the community. We believe that by increasing local capacity building, our ecotourism business can be effective as a vehicle for empowering the local community.

 

Here are some of the ways that Trek Larapinta focuses on the well-being of our community:

 

Our Guides use engaging and interactive interpretation on our tours for guests to be more aware and inspired on socio-cultural issues.

 

Our tours connect guests to Central Australia, creating lasting bonds and return visitation to the region.

 

We facilitate and expose our guests and staff to the local Arrente indigenous culture to grow understanding and awareness.

 

We work collaboratively with the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Service and liaise closely with Traditional Arrente Owners, who have lived and connected with this part of the world for a long time.

 

We include the local Alice Springs Desert Park as part of some of our tours.

 

Our Alice Springs business partnerships inject significant expenditure into the local economy and build positive community relationships.

 

Wherever possible we buy locally and support local business.

 

We are actively involved in sponsoring local sports and volunteer groups.

 

We work with the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Service in delivering a robust and important Volunteer Program on the Larapinta Trail each year, which enables us to connect more deeply with land and community.

 

We actively support the Friends of the Larapinta Trail volunteer organisation. This is done through financial donations and also through time and resource donations.

 

By creating a profitable and environmentally sustainable company Trek Larapinta will be able to further promote and share true wilderness experiences. We aim to deliver economic benefits and lasting ecological sustainability to the areas and communities that we operate in. We believe in putting back more than we take out, both in an environmental sense and a human sense.

 

Click here for a list of organisations we support.

We are truly privileged to work in one of Australia’s most amazing desert wilderness areas and we have a very strong commitment to preserving and protecting the West MacDonnell’s National Park. Our guests are given practical firsthand experiential learning experiences every day they travel with us, for example using our waterless composting toilet systems.

 

These are some ways that Trek Larapinta ensures that negative impacts are kept minimal and we proactively work towards protecting this special country:

 

We operate with small groups – having a small group leads to personal group management and a softer environmental footprint.

 

All our treks have been continually accredited as Advanced Eco certified for tourism in natural areas focusing on optimal resource use, conservation practices and their help to support local communities.

 

Trek Larapinta adheres to minimal impact bushwalking principles and a ‘leave no trace’ policy.

 

A portion of our permit and licensing fees actively contribute to conservation of the West MacDonnell National Park.

 

Our collaborative volunteer projects work on trail maintenance and other environmental issues connected to the Larapinta Trail.

 

We avoid purchasing disposable materials trying as much as possible to buy in bulk to avoid excess packaging.

 

We are aware of food mileage and think critically when it come to our menus and food quality supplied on tour.

 

All our eco-campsites are established to minimise water wastage and highlight this precious resource in the desert environment we travel through – on average, each person consumes 8 litres of water per day – This includes drinking water, bathing and dish washing and is the equivalent of flushing a domestic toilet once.

 

We use biochar and sand filtration systems in combination with high quality biodegradable cleaning products to minimise negative impacts to our camp environment.

 

We have designed and installed waterless composting toiles, which provide a smell-free and sanitary toileting system.

 

Our campsites operate energy neutral. We have installed solar panels at all our semi-permanent campsites and on our trailers which power our lights and refrigeration systems.

 

Solar cooking systems are used to heat water and cook food.