Case Studies

Local Aboriginal guides interpret and share the area's culturally significant heritage and environmental management practice with visitors to the Esperance area. This is achieved through various tours ranging from 2 hours to half a day, private charters are also offered to meet individual needs. In these tours clients are driven in the Kepa Kurl Eco-Cultural 4WD (a 14 Seater) to visit areas of Aboriginal significance including:

Mandoowernup/Mandoboornup (Cape le Grande/Frenchman's Peak) – half day tour

Marbleerup (Mt Ridley) - half day tour

Tailored Tours/Charters

These are tours or charters tailored to meet the needs of various groups. For example:

Esperance Eco-Discovery Tours

Esperance Eco-Discovery tours share knowledge of local European history and touch on Aboriginal history. Customers have the opportunity to swim, sandboard and view wildflowers when in season. Customers are also taught safety rules and procedures around the coast and how to enjoy themselves whilst being aware of the fragile environment. Tours include:

Cape Arid - full day tour

Cape Le Grand - half day tour

Great Ocean Drive – two hour tour

Tag-along tours– two hour tour

Spectacular and mostly unseen beaches, tracks and sand dunes

Charters

Aboriginal Art Gallery & Gift Shop

The Kepa Kurl Art Gallery/Gift shop is located in Esperance's Museum Village in the original Esperance Courthouse, a historic building dating back to 1898. The retail operation sells Aboriginal products ranging from:-

Kepa Kurl Consultancy

Gail Reynolds-Adamson had the responsibility of developing and delivering Kepa Kurl's cross-cultural training programmes. By sharing a deeper insight into Aboriginal culture, Gail is working to increase the awareness and interest of non-Indigenous Australians in Aboriginal history and culture. This has the flow on benefits of increasing domestic participation in cultural tourism activities.

Kepa Kurl Local Charter

The Gabbie Kylie Foundation has been established by Kepa Kurl's Directors to conserve and interpret the Indigenous heritage values of the south coast region of Western Australia. The Foundation allows Traditional Owners to re-establish connections with country.

Core Marketing Strategies by Target Market

Promoting Culture

Kepa Kurl was set up to promote Indigenous culture, traditions and customs. As Traditional Owners, Kepa Kurl's guides give visitors an insight to what it was like for an Aboriginal family growing up in Kepa Kurl (Esperance) and the traditional practices and stories that have been passed down from local their elders.

Visitors are introduced to a number of activities where they are given the opportunity to experience traditional Aboriginal culture through hunting and gathering, sharing of stories/customs and learning of past and present cultural land and sea management practices.

The Aboriginal Art Gallery aims to expose visitors to local Indigenous art and crafts and demonstrates how art played pivotal role in passing down the cultural dreamtime stories.

The Cross Cultural Awareness Training has been developed to create a better understanding of Aboriginal people and culture. This course has specific components that expose clients to traditional lifestyle and practices and share how these have affected outcomes in history and contemporary society.

Kepa Kurl has adopted a holistic approach to sharing culture and educating visitors. Not only do they provide clients with the opportunity to learn about traditional practice and art, through our tours and art gallery, but they also educate people through consultancy, charter services and Eco-Discovery tours.

Kepa Kurl's Distinctive Difference

Both Kepa Kurl Eco-Cultural Discovery Tours and Esperance Eco-Discovery Tours differentiate themselves by specialising in small tour groups, therefore creating an intimate customer focused experience. Being family owned and operated, clients are given a personalised experience on every tour. With the immense local knowledge combined with a wealth of traditional knowledge, tour participants receive a comprehensive insight into the local area and culture. Kepa Kurl tours go where no other tour company goes, and share knowledge that cannot be learnt from books.

Key Business Goals and Strategies

Challenges and tips

In a frank discussion with co-owner of Kepa Kurl, Gail Reynolds-Adamson provided the following advice and comments with regards to the challenges of running a successful family owned tourism business:

Gail Reynolds-Adamson

We were very starry eyed when we first went into it, we didn't necessarily realise the hard work, long hours and time away from our families that it would involve. One of our biggest challenges has been balancing the many different demands on our time, we are constantly busy and it is very tiring.

Owning a business within a close knit family has meant that we have had to be very clear and open in our communications. When there is a lot of pressure on everyone, our awareness and recognition of each other's contribution to the business can get clouded. It is important to continually readdress each other's strengths and acknowledge their value. We have had to focus on not letting business issues affect our family relationship, and to not let family matters affect our business decisions.

We have had a strong business mentor who we all respect, he has been there from the start and he guides us to ensure we separate personal decisions from business decisions. He sits outside of the business and can offer clarity to assist us make the right decisions.

It is important to make sure if you are going to employ family members to work in the business, that they are aware of the expectations and that if they are not productive, the business cannot afford to pay them. Sometimes people assume that because we own a business, we have plenty of money. They don't understand that if we are not careful with the money, then we won't have a business for long.