TOURISM PROFILE: DANIEL & SIMONE HACKETT
Tasmania’s remote wilderness conjures images of tranquility.
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ut that perception has been shattered for one couple with a dream of combining conservation with highend tourism. Daniel and Simone Hackett have been thrust into the political and legal spotlight as they fight to develop a small ecotourism business in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park, alongside an historic hut that they are custodian of. Never did the couple think they would be subject to death threats and intimidation on their quest to expand their successful tourism business. From the pinnacle of Australian Tourism Awards glory just a few years ago, to facing financial and emotional ruin, the Hackett’s say they’ve been vilified for using the State Government’s “Expression of Interest” process for tourism development in Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Areas. Their vision seemed simple enough. Daniel, who is now a director of the TICT, had fished since he was three, learning the intricacies of the sport in the Snowy Mountains with his parents. He met Simone while studying aquaculture at University and she soon fell in love with the pursuit, eventually becoming one of only four females in the Southern Hemisphere to achieve International Federation of
Fly Fishers casting instructor qualifications. They started their business RiverFly in 2004 when the tourism industry was in decline - taking the punt with a one page website and 250 business cards, initially offering fly fishing day trips around the Northern Midlands. In 2012 they were given a licence to establish a wilderness camp at Skullbone Plains, named after the dead bushrangers and escaped convicts found at the location, 10km northeast of Lake St Clair. A standing camp was erected on the former Gunns land, now owned by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy. Their four upmarket huts were used 10 times a year by anglers as a base to fish Lake Ina and surrounding areas. It was deemed a flagship product for Tourism Australia, used as a Signature Experience Program for marketing and in 2016 was awarded the Australian Tourism Award for a Specialised Tourism Service. “It was the pinnacle of our business careers because it recognised our innovations, and we proved that a small tourism business operation could coexist comfortably with a World Heritage Area,” Mrs Hackett says. The business boomed with never a whisper of discontent or dissatisfaction. But there
