Latest / Salt of the Earth / Ep 124: Rawnsley Park Station

Transcript

Ep 124: Rawnsley Park Station · Salt of the Earth

0:07
SPEAKER_01: Today we're heading to one of the most spectacular packs of the state training.
0:12
SPEAKER_01: One free package.
0:14
SPEAKER_01: One of the foot of the fleet is trying to use.
0:17
SPEAKER_01: It's a landcape that extract fitted from all over the world.
0:21
SPEAKER_01: After Navy Smith, the view from his backyard, two pointing away every day.
0:32
SPEAKER_00: And then some media from white.
0:34
SPEAKER_01: They've taken through the hard and loads of life on the station.
0:38
SPEAKER_01: From craft and tough time to his journey from uni and the world of finance.
0:43
SPEAKER_01: And now back to the family operation where he's CEO.
0:47
SPEAKER_01: We talk about succession.
0:49
SPEAKER_01: The gamble his grandfather took when he bought his first station.
0:54
SPEAKER_01: And the decision to build one cabin for tourists.
0:58
SPEAKER_01: That gamble has certainly paid off.
1:00
SPEAKER_01: Ronsley Park now welcomes more than 30,000 visitors a year.
1:05
SPEAKER_01: We talk about farming, tourism, sustainability and biodiversity.
1:10
SPEAKER_01: And how diversifying the business has helped Ronsley Park grow.
1:15
SPEAKER_00: The bluff, the pound, but the flinders in general is something that people from all over the world come to experience and just love it.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: Nev gives us a great insight into the station, the landscape, and the vision behind it all.
1:29
SPEAKER_01: This is Wransley Park Station with Nev Smith.
1:33
SPEAKER_01: Let's get into it.
1:39
SPEAKER_01: Morning, I'm great, thank you.
1:41
SPEAKER_01: Lots of rain here lately.
1:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was uh chatting to the team earlier this morning.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: Apparently, it's after last night.
1:49
SPEAKER_00: Now the highest annual rainfall we've we've ever had on record.
1:53
SPEAKER_01: That's what happened when a Victorian arrived in town, eh?
1:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you can't trust them, right?
1:58
SPEAKER_01: Can you tell us where we are now?
2:00
SPEAKER_00: We're sitting at Rosie Park Station in the central Flinders Ranges, so we're located on basically the southern side of Wolpina Pound.
2:10
SPEAKER_00: And Wolpina Pound is a natural, I'd say, mountain range amphitheatre that when you look at it from above, it actually looks like a crater, but it's uh definitely definitely not a crater, it's a it's uh kind of the evolution and an erosion over millions of years that has caused this very unique kind of landscape that unfolds.
2:34
SPEAKER_01: We climbed up there and had a peek over the edge there a couple of years ago.
2:37
SPEAKER_01: It's stunning.
2:38
SPEAKER_01: How does the water actually get out?
2:40
SPEAKER_00: Uh I think there's obviously there's a couple of there's two entrances into the pound, actually.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: There's one on the other side of the national park, and then one deep at the kind of northwestern end.
2:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, so those near the gorges is where in drier times, obviously not at the moment, but in drier times it's such a phenomenal kind of geological but also I'd say environmental area to see wildlife because that all congregates to where that water sits.
3:12
SPEAKER_01: Wow, stunning.
3:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, tell me about Ronsley Park station.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, so Ronsley Park uh is it's I'm third generation.
3:23
SPEAKER_00: My grandfather Clem, he purchased 3,000 hectares back in 1953.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: He was actually raised across the road on a neighbouring property.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: I think he acquired it when he was 24.
3:39
SPEAKER_00: Originally it was a sheep farming operation, right?
3:41
SPEAKER_00: So for the first call it 10 years, Clem toiled away.
3:46
SPEAKER_00: Well, 10-15 years, Clem toiled away running sheep on a what was really comparatively to other stations, quite small.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: And this is wool sheep?
3:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
3:56
SPEAKER_00: For wool, so merino sheep.
3:58
SPEAKER_00: That's changed now.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: We now run Dunny Merinos, which are a mix for the they're still wool producing in that sense, but they have really kind of high-quality meat, and that's a big part of now the offering here at Rawlsley.
4:14
SPEAKER_00: But over time it's now built through Clem's hard work and my parents' hard work, built into a definitely more of a tourist destination.
4:23
SPEAKER_00: Um, we still run sheep, but the tourism side has certainly by far and away started to take much more hold.
4:30
SPEAKER_01: And so for the boundaries, I believe, over those last 50 odd years?
4:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I think when Clem first bought it, I was saying, yeah, 3,000 hectares.
4:41
SPEAKER_00: Then I think he tacked on a small plot across the other side of the road, and then back in 2009, mum and dad bought uh the neighbouring property Arcapino and part of Prelina.
4:55
SPEAKER_00: So when I was growing up as a kid, it was about like 3,000 hectares, 7,000, 8,000 acres.
5:02
SPEAKER_00: And it's now we now hold 29,500 acres.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: We do leave some of it out now for another sheep farming family in the region.
5:13
SPEAKER_01: Looking at the window here, I look at that magnificent range and I feel like I could be in another country.
5:20
SPEAKER_01: Do you get that often?
5:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think um it's funny I was as I've come back into the kind of the family business recently.
5:31
SPEAKER_00: I think growing up, I I genuinely didn't appreciate it as much as I think I should have.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: And now that I've come back, every time I look at it, it it does, it still just blows me away.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: That mountain range, the bluff, kind of just staring you in the face, and and then so many different ways, like different parts of the days the way it changes over the course of the day.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I have a newfound appreciation for it over the last I'd say six months since I've come back in.
6:04
SPEAKER_00: I love that, and the colours change.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: Like I think um honestly, my favorite time to see it is actually in the morning.
6:13
SPEAKER_00: I just think it it it almost can glisten at times, but um the colours and the evolving colours of what the bluff, the pound, but the flinders in general is something that people from all over the world come to experience and and just love it, and it is a pretty phenomenal experience.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: And it's your backyard, yeah.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: It is, I'm very lucky.
6:36
SPEAKER_00: Um, I uh I was very, very lucky to grow up here.
6:41
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, probably didn't appreciate that or have the appreciation for it at the time, but yeah, incredibly fortunate that it is my backyard, and sometimes do pinch myself that I am that lucky.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: Nice.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: What are some of your earliest memories here growing up?
6:57
SPEAKER_00: Um it's a good question because there's there are a lot, and I'm really, really kind of grateful, almost proud of being able to have those unique memories in a sense.
7:10
SPEAKER_00: Um a lot of them are me probably doing dumb things.
7:14
SPEAKER_01: But uh I just asked the girls at reception there before for a bit of dirt on you.
7:18
SPEAKER_01: They were very tight-lipped.
7:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think you know, I'll probably try and hold a few of these things close to chest.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: Uh one of my one of my first memories, I think I was about four years old, and we used to run guided horse tours on the property, and Tony, my dad, obviously wanted me to learn how to ride a horse early.
7:39
SPEAKER_00: So one of my first memories is out there at the old stables being chucked on the back of a horse and basically left to fend for my own devices at four.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: At four, and uh and then um he had neglected to think that what letting all the other horses out to feed with hay out in the uh paddock was gonna create an issue.
8:08
SPEAKER_01: Um we've got a UHF in the background, mate.
8:10
SPEAKER_01: Is this some of your uh farm managers having a yarn?
8:13
SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, probably probably a yarn.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: I think it's um given how regional we are, right?
8:20
SPEAKER_00: We've always found like the over time cell service has become actually has definitely become better, but it can still be patchy at the best of times.
8:29
SPEAKER_00: So we've we've run UHFs to communicate throughout the property.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: Uh so going back to the horse riding, because the other horses were feeding, this one just took off and I fell right off the back.
8:39
SPEAKER_00: And uh that stopped me from riding horses for a long time, and then I think I went back and gave it another crack when I was about 10.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: And my brothers, my dad, we all loved it, but I think over time, from a tourism perspective, it was it just became too challenging because of the risks to to keep offering it.
9:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and the insurances I think.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: I think the insurance was a big one, right?
9:07
SPEAKER_00: Like that was just became cost prohibitive.
9:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
9:10
SPEAKER_01: Did you then uh I suppose you started using motorbikes then to muster sheep?
9:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so uh ever since like the since I can remember was was motorbikes growing up wanting to jump on those.
9:23
SPEAKER_00: We use quads a lot.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: I've got a lot of stories of again me being a bit reckless on those.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the sheep aspect was always using the quads to muster those around up.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: So, how many sheep would you be running now?
9:36
SPEAKER_00: Now on the property is about 2000.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: When I was growing up, it was a lot less because we didn't have the other side.
9:44
SPEAKER_01: So, how have you got this set up, Neb?
9:46
SPEAKER_00: You're the CEO, and then I guess you've got a farm manager, and then yeah, so over the years we've always had so I'm I'm pretty much predominantly now focused on the tourism side.
9:58
SPEAKER_00: We run, like I said, there's 2,000 sheep on the property.
10:01
SPEAKER_00: Some of those would be now the farming family that we've leased it out to that they run it on.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: We run our own sheep that one of the managers here, that one of our kind of jack of all trades managers looks after, and that's predominantly for the meat side now with the restaurant and sourcing and providing lamb for the guests that come here.
10:22
SPEAKER_01: I tried some last night, mate.
10:24
SPEAKER_01: Lamb shank, sensational.
10:26
SPEAKER_01: I was meant to ask, yeah.
10:28
SPEAKER_01: What's the sensational and Leona, my partner, she had uh cutlets.
10:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, very nice lamb.
10:34
SPEAKER_01: And um, we've looked at the list there, and we've we'll go and buy some to take with us as well.
10:38
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna say you should take some before you go.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it's increasingly from the the sheep operation, what has become increasingly important or popular has been what's being able to you know locally source the lamb and feature it, which it always will be a strong feature on that menu because it it provides guests with like I think it provides everyone with a really unique local experience.
11:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'll get to the tourism a bit more in a sec, but um Rosley Park, like they would have gone through you know droughts and floods and some really tough times and some really good times.
11:19
SPEAKER_01: Is there stories that perhaps a lot of us wouldn't know about?
11:23
SPEAKER_00: From from my perspective, I was growing up here probably sheltered from a lot of it.
11:28
SPEAKER_00: But I think if you came back oh six to oh nine was a really really dry time and found it really tough from the from the sheep side, but then also when it's when it's that dry, it impacts the other side, and then the tourism side the tourism side, if it if it when it really gets that dry, but also even 2016 to 2019, I think, we go through these waves where and that one I can remember much more vividly from my time.
12:02
SPEAKER_00: It just one day it's kind of just it eats away, right?
12:06
SPEAKER_00: Like I think it's impacted my parents much more than it's impacted me.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: But Tony will tell you that you know, all of a sudden like it creeps up on you, and all of a sudden you're just like, oh geez, like it's it's really really barren and and really negative out there and hard and tough, quite frankly.
12:30
SPEAKER_00: But yeah.
12:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you've explained that well because when there's no life out there, it's it can be very depressing.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely, and and like for me back in that kind of late teens, I was kind of back and forth a bit from working.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: Uh um I was in Adelaide at the time, come back in the middle of summer and kind of gobsmacked and shocked in the in a really abrupt, not a good way, of just just how harsh it had become.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: And then that flows through, right?
13:06
SPEAKER_00: Tony and Julie, my parents have been here for 40 years, and there's those sorts of times when because it's it's completely out of your control, of course.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing you can can really do except hope that it's gonna turn.
13:21
SPEAKER_01: Then even last year, South Australia in general, that was very, a very dry year.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, I think Flinders wasn't perhaps as impacted as other regions.
13:36
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I think we were we were quite fortunate last year.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: I think Lake Air actually filled up.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: Oh, it did again last year.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: Last year, right at the back end.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and for us, when things like that happened, it's a really good flow-on effect from a tourism perspective because people come through and part have kind of come through this this way and then go up and and check out Lake Air, which is obviously phenomenal.
14:03
SPEAKER_01: Going back to your career, mate, you've had some time in banking, finance, business advisory, and now back as the CEO.
14:10
SPEAKER_01: Can you tell me where'd you start after school?
14:13
SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, I it's probably a sign I didn't really know what I wanted to do.
14:18
SPEAKER_00: I went to school in Adelaide after from year eight onwards.
14:22
SPEAKER_00: Coming out went to uni and just kind of picked an economics and a law degree because I done okay at school and seemed like it would be a good thing to go into.
14:33
SPEAKER_00: A couple of tough ones there.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: Well, I didn't really, yeah, I can tell you I might have gone into them and might might look like I knew that I had a plan.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: I definitely didn't.
14:43
SPEAKER_00: Um off the back of that, then went into an accounting firm in Adelaide and then moved into kind of a finance role helping smaller businesses when they were looking to exit.
14:55
SPEAKER_00: And I kind of fell into that through a mate.
14:59
SPEAKER_00: He said, Look, I know you hate what you're doing right now, so why don't you come and try and do this with me?
15:05
SPEAKER_00: And went into a small boutique firm there, and and that's where from a professional sense, I think it opened things up for me in terms of learning, being able to work with business founders every day, uh, learn what they've done to be successful, and and then help them, usually was on the kind of helping them on the exit, so being able to help them realise their exit, and then over time doing that for Colbert.
15:36
SPEAKER_00: Eight years, I think, incrementally was still still on the family board for Bronze Lee, so still close to it from afar, so to speak.
15:47
SPEAKER_00: I knew mum and dad were pretty keen to uh the right time work towards retirement, um, and it just kept eating away at me that I wanted to come back, and eventually, only beginning of this year, didn't we make that decision as a as a family for me to step back in?
16:05
SPEAKER_01: This all sounds like the imperfect ingredients though.
16:07
SPEAKER_01: You you know, you grew up on the farm, on this farm in this homestead, and then gone off to study and learn all about various businesses, and now bring that knowledge back to run quite a big business here now.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, I'd hope so, right?
16:21
SPEAKER_00: I think I think that's what I believe I can bring now is different perspectives, definitely have learnt a lot from so many successful businesses, really successful businesses, um, and really successful people, that hopefully I can bring some of that formula and be able to bring that into my toolkit to help to help our business grow and and develop further.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: I guess you've also seen what not to do.
16:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I we we were talking about this the other day.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: I think um honestly, like a lot of the businesses I've worked with were the ones that have done quite well, and you kind of can look across the fence and see some of their competitors and some of the things that they do that don't work so well.
17:10
SPEAKER_00: But I think more importantly, where a lot of the businesses that I work with that something that really stuck with me and was talking to Dad about it the other day, is and I think we've actually done hopefully well is when it's a succession type approach, like we're transitioning at the moment, it's not avoiding those kind of tough dynamics, those tough conversations that we we've been having.
17:38
SPEAKER_00: You want to avoid them, obviously, because it's difficult, but the biggest kind of issues I've seen arise in my time when I've been working in finance.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: So in Adelaide and Sydney is is when they get pushed down the road, kick can get kicked down the road, so to speak, um until the very end, and then it has to come to a head, right?
17:57
SPEAKER_00: And then there's problems.
17:59
SPEAKER_00: And then there's problems, and there's problems that potentially from what I used to do would turf the deal almost, torpedo it because it hadn't been spoken about or addressed early enough.
18:11
SPEAKER_00: Have you got siblings?
18:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've got two brothers, uh, both of them in Sydney.
18:15
SPEAKER_00: One's a we call them the hotshot lawyer, and uh the other ones in in finance, similar to what I did.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: Okay, are they on the board?
18:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:24
SPEAKER_00: So the family board is is is literally the five of us.
18:28
SPEAKER_00: So mum, dad, three brothers, and that's probably been in place now since I was in various iterations since I was probably 20.
18:36
SPEAKER_00: So I think 15 years ago we started pulling that together, and these days it's certainly a lot more, I'd say, sharply run than what it had.
18:48
SPEAKER_01: Nice, but that's what it takes.
18:49
SPEAKER_01: Um, now you said before tourism is a big part of this business now.
18:54
SPEAKER_01: When did that start to come into play?
18:57
SPEAKER_00: It's it's been 58 years.
19:01
SPEAKER_01: With having tourists?
19:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
19:03
SPEAKER_01: Well, the start of the horses, I suppose, yeah.
19:05
SPEAKER_00: It actually started with sheep shearing demonstrations.
19:09
SPEAKER_00: Clem grandfather, he for, like I said, 15 or so years, he ran sheep, and then he took a a bit of a gamble and decided to build the first cabin.
19:22
SPEAKER_00: And it was build the first cabin, but really the the main foray into tourism at the time for him was running sheep shearing demonstrations and a quick kind of station run for the guests that were staying up at Wapina.
19:35
SPEAKER_00: And then over, like I said, yeah, 58 years, uh it's incrementally been developed and and now is is is the main revenue generator of the business.
19:46
SPEAKER_01: And it's massive, mate.
19:47
SPEAKER_01: We had a walk around last night.
19:49
SPEAKER_01: Like this is you've got a lot of visitors here right now.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think kids, um, even for me, like growing up here in the 90s and early 2000s, it's a lot different now to what it was then.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: Um, and what's men developed.
20:04
SPEAKER_00: We now probably have we'd have over 30,000 guests a year.
20:09
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
20:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, compared to yeah, I think those early days with that single cabin.
20:15
SPEAKER_01: So it is a big that's over 500 a week.
20:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we do.
20:19
SPEAKER_00: It's really become more centered on.
20:23
SPEAKER_00: I think like so.
20:24
SPEAKER_00: The Flinders probably used to be it's it's getting more and more recognition, absolutely, and and I deservedly say anyone that speaks to me will have to listen to me but bang on about how I think Flinders is just prime to explode even further.
20:40
SPEAKER_03: Right.
20:41
SPEAKER_00: Um, but it used to probably be more of that kind of spring destination for like SA locals to come come up to the to the Flinders when it's spring season, but now it really has become a year-round destination.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: With winter being the peak or not?
20:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I'd say the peak is April to October.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, August is bloody cold, so sometimes there's a little dip there, understandably, for the for the bush campers.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: On a year like this, it's been busy right through because it's just such a unique year with all the rainfall and the landscape and how it's transformed.
21:22
SPEAKER_00: But um, summer is actually quite popular with internationals.
21:27
SPEAKER_00: The international market has grown and grown over the years, and summer's a great time to experience, I'd say, the wildlife in the Flinders rather than maybe the landscape and the and the flora is obviously better in the winter, but also that outback kind of experience for the international guests, and it's only it's not far from it's probably one of the closest outback experiences you can get to a capital city in Australia.
21:54
SPEAKER_01: I was chatting to some people in the restaurant last night, they were from America, I think.
21:58
SPEAKER_01: And um, they've been over here eight.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Times and they were like in their late 80s driving a four-wheel drive.
22:04
SPEAKER_01: They've hired one at Adelaide, and they were going up to Mare, I think, and stopped here for a few nights.
22:09
SPEAKER_01: Fascinating.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: Fire out, that's good.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: I didn't know that we had an eight-time repeat guest from the US.
22:15
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
22:15
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I think that speaks to what we're just talking about.
22:19
SPEAKER_00: Like the international recognition for the Flinders is only growing, and it's only gonna, and like I said, anyone who listens to me will hear that.
22:26
SPEAKER_00: I think it's only gonna grow further.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: But yeah.
22:29
SPEAKER_01: Uh infrastructure is huge around here just for the tourists alone, like all your tracks and your cabins and your powered sites, and we've all got water, and you know, there's the restaurant and a couple of receptions.
22:40
SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's not just powered caravan sites, you've got villas as well.
22:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, all of that that you've mentioned is is kind of incremental over time, right?
22:50
SPEAKER_00: And I think it's just continuing to almost the way I'd say put strings to the bow, um, in the sense of it all started with that one cabin and then put the caravan park up where it's located now, and continuously expanded that kind of caravan park offering, both from a powered and unpowered perspective.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: Then really look to expand on the holiday units for kind of families travelling to the Flinders.
23:21
SPEAKER_00: But the villas in 05 was probably one of the biggest developments and game changers that our properties had, in the sense that it wanted to bring a standard of accommodation that wasn't really available in the Flinders Rangers and introduce that to introduce the Flinders to uh I'd say you know higher-end guest cohort.
23:44
SPEAKER_01: Wonder what Clem, your grandfather, would be saying looking down now.
23:47
SPEAKER_01: He'd probably say that's too fancy.
23:51
SPEAKER_00: Just fair enough.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: But I think you know it's it's a different way to experience it, and that's another way I look at it is creating different ways for people to experience the flinders.
24:03
SPEAKER_00: And so whether it's the bush camping right through to the villas, right through to the new villas that we're building, which is another level in itself, I think it's all about creating various ways to experience the flinders.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: Any secrets to this success?
24:18
SPEAKER_00: Well, none that I can take credit for, that's for sure.
24:21
SPEAKER_00: Um they're not here.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: Um no, I think reflecting on it uh probably comes down to maybe three things.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: I'd say and the very high level, like the opportunity seeing the opportunity in itself, which started with Clement Allison, and then Tony and Julie continued to understand and and kind of see that opportunity and grow upon it.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: I think risk appetite, like they really clem, especially, but obviously mum and dad as well, over time.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: Like I'd say the build-up of where we are today is is an accumulation of of uh incremental risks taken.
25:07
SPEAKER_00: That first cabin was a big risk.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: That's that's the biggest one, I'd say, if I if I reflect on it.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: Like I was thinking about this the other day.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: Uh, the first cabin, when all you know is being a sheep farmer and kind of diving into like tourism and hospitality.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: Like, I was trying to compare it to what it would be like if I talked to some of my mates in the city.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: I was like, well, think about it like I don't know, you're a you're an accountant, and then all of a sudden you just go home and walk in the next day and want to be a lawyer.
25:44
SPEAKER_00: Like it is just such a fundamental shift in what you're trying to do that I found like to have taken that risk is pretty, I'm pretty proud of what they've done there.
25:54
SPEAKER_01: Farmers need diversity, don't they, nowadays?
25:57
SPEAKER_00: And that was the third one I was gonna say was diversity, is it's not a secret, it's what we should all we should all pursue.
26:03
SPEAKER_01: And I was thinking too, with your cheap being for meat and wool, that's diversity.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
26:08
SPEAKER_01: Your your tourism now is got diversity armed in that too, because you've got your unpowered sites and your tents and so forth, caravans, some fancy villas.
26:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and a fancy restaurant.
26:20
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think it does come back to the diversity is in the offering of what this what Ronsley's become now is what has led to a lot of what I would call the success of it.
26:32
SPEAKER_00: Like, again, we talk about the the range of accommodation and the ability to cater to all types of guests.
26:39
SPEAKER_00: That's diversity in itself.
26:41
SPEAKER_00: We still have, like you said, the sheep operation, which it again isn't, is I wouldn't say is the main moneymaker, but it gives us the flexibility and diversity in many ways to then feed into the tourism business with the restaurant, which isn't in itself a sizeable operation these days.
27:02
SPEAKER_00: It never never used to be, it never used to do that well.
27:04
SPEAKER_00: But I think it's so important to Ronsley being able to have an on-site restaurant that the guests can trust to go and time out and have a great experience.
27:13
SPEAKER_00: And then the last thing at the moment I'd say is activities and touring, being able to get out there and show guests the Flinders in the way that we feel there are parts to be shown, whether it be uh four-wheel drive tour into the national park, into the gorges, take them up to Prairie Hotel through Wodner.
27:33
SPEAKER_00: There's just so many great local businesses to showcase through the touring as well, and then like building on that experience as piece is another perhaps another part of the diversity of the scenic flights, the helicopter flights, guided walking tours.
27:48
SPEAKER_00: Like it's all about building on that experience and diversifying that experience to cater for as many people as possible.
27:55
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and getting recognised too, I believe.
27:57
SPEAKER_01: You've won plenty of tourism awards.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: Uh again, Darren, that's well before my time.
28:04
SPEAKER_00: I think, yeah, I uh Tony and Julie, mum and dad, like they've really done a phenomenal job on the tourism side of the business.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: On the whole business, but on and won a number of awards in the late 90s for the holiday units, and then again went after it after building the eco villas, so from the luxury, and they've won a number of state and I think gone quite well in the national awards as well.
28:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then after that, I think they found the award submissions just too hard.
28:37
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, fair enough.
28:38
SPEAKER_00: They've won a couple, they've done they've done their dash.
28:41
SPEAKER_01: And you said before about the things you can do.
28:43
SPEAKER_01: There's lots to do here.
28:44
SPEAKER_01: I think this afternoon you were gonna send us up to the waterfalls for a hike.
28:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, now's the best time ever to go do that hike.
28:52
SPEAKER_00: It's just yeah, I think hiking's one of the best ways to see it, obviously.
28:58
SPEAKER_00: We've had so much rain this year that that and we've had some more last night.
29:01
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure they'll be the falls will be running, which is not always the case.
29:05
SPEAKER_01: Well, then tomorrow we're gonna pick another one for a bit longer, maybe a four-hour hike, and uh have a look around.
29:10
SPEAKER_01: Where's your favourite spot?
29:13
SPEAKER_00: Tony would tell me to say, which it is phenomenal, Ronsley Bluff.
29:18
SPEAKER_00: Bluff, yeah.
29:18
SPEAKER_00: And I try to do that like every now and then when I can, and I'm fortunate to do it with dad like a month ago.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: Oh, beautiful.
29:28
SPEAKER_00: Got up there.
29:28
SPEAKER_01: That's a four-hour hike or more.
29:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's probably as a kid I used to take the motorbikes halfway up and cheat.
29:35
SPEAKER_00: But um it gets you to the climb, which is you know, I think you probably do it in two hours.
29:41
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, I think it's about four to five hours.
29:44
SPEAKER_00: I think it's just a phenomenal hike.
29:46
SPEAKER_00: It's one of my favourite hikes in the region.
29:48
SPEAKER_00: It probably probably is my favourite hike, and when you get up the top on the bluff, the view back is kind of over the horizon, you'd be looking 50 kilometers down south.
29:57
SPEAKER_00: I can see the ranges over to Chase Range.
30:00
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
30:01
SPEAKER_00: To the east, it's it's it is just a great hike.
30:04
SPEAKER_00: But I've also got some little known spots that I really like, uh and I'd like fond memories from me as a kid was there's a little place across the road called Prulina Hut, which has a little waterhole, and going yabbying there is one that really sticks out for me.
30:22
SPEAKER_01: Nice.
30:23
SPEAKER_01: You also offer scenic flights?
30:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, scenic flights and and helicopter flights, heli flights.
30:29
SPEAKER_00: If someone asks me what's the best way to see the Flinders, I really struggle with that question because there's so many great ways to see it.
30:40
SPEAKER_00: But if you can do the hike, one of the hikes onto the pound, Ronsley Bluff, St.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: Mary's Peak, hike into the pound, that's obviously one of the great ways to see it.
30:49
SPEAKER_00: The other way is to see it from the just to see the sheer scale of Wapina Pound and such a unique mountain formation, like uh the scenic flights.
31:00
SPEAKER_00: And the heli flights again is a different way to see it because you get right up to the kind of cliff faces and and see it in a different way.
31:07
SPEAKER_00: So, do you contract pilots in?
31:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so we have relationships with uh with a scenic flight provider and a helicopter provider.
31:15
SPEAKER_00: And they they provide the pilots and uh obviously the aircraft.
31:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, we provide the infrastructure on the ground.
31:22
SPEAKER_01: I believe you and Mum and Dad were also uh quite passionate about protecting the country.
31:28
SPEAKER_00: Definitely.
31:29
SPEAKER_00: Conservation and like sustainability, sustainable practices is is a few years ago.
31:36
SPEAKER_00: We came up with some values as a family board, and that's one of the four in the sense that there is so much that we can do.
31:44
SPEAKER_01: Can you tell me about the heritage agreement?
31:47
SPEAKER_00: So the heritage agreement was entered into in I think it was 2009, and that was a real kind of for us to work, do our bit to kind of help with the conservation of the Flinders region where we could, and so we've essentially blocked off an area for from any sheep grazing, and that's at the foot of the pound, kind of from our property up to the top there, where we've um where we don't run any sheep or or really do any sort of uh development or anything outside of hikes for the for the guests to go visit.
32:32
SPEAKER_00: So what's the area that you've fenced off?
32:35
SPEAKER_00: It's about a thousand hectares that we've fenced off up near the foot of the bluff.
32:40
SPEAKER_01: Well, can tourism actually help protect landscapes?
32:43
SPEAKER_00: I definitely think so.
32:45
SPEAKER_00: I think it's about how you foster the message for guests coming to see a region and and pass on the history and importance of the kind of conservation of the region.
32:59
SPEAKER_00: I actually think it's a it's a great way to again, if you pass on the right ethos and people take the same approach as we take as locals, I think it's a great, it's a great opportunity to to improve the biodiversity of the region, quite frankly, by doing it in a sustainable way.
33:17
SPEAKER_00: And then we've also, as part of the new villa build, we've kind of carved off um a new re-vegetation area below that to assist with conservation.
33:28
SPEAKER_00: And then I think the other side of it is sustainability, where the biggest builds that we've done in recent times have been the villas and the new villas, and and how we've gone about that is to make them as eco-friendly as we possibly can.
33:43
SPEAKER_01: The thousand acres that you've locked up, what have you seen come back?
33:46
SPEAKER_01: Are there you know some wildflowers that we haven't seen or some new animals?
33:51
SPEAKER_00: The biggest thing, the most amazing thing for me that we've seen in that area is if you you won't always see it, but if you go do a hike around the foot of the bluff now, we do what's called kind of a daybreak loop.
34:06
SPEAKER_00: If you're lucky enough, you might actually see like a yellow-footed rock wallaby there.
34:11
SPEAKER_00: 20 years ago, well, 25 years ago when I was a kid, there you never would have seen them, but you even in the gorges in the national park, you would have been lucky to see one.
34:23
SPEAKER_00: Well, even up at Acarula?
34:25
SPEAKER_00: Uh up at Acarulla, you probably still back then you would have been lucky to see them as much as you do now.
34:32
SPEAKER_00: Like now they have bounced back, and that's a great testament to what the national parks have done.
34:38
SPEAKER_00: And we just try and help with our small little conservation bit where we can.
34:43
SPEAKER_00: But they it is just so phenomenal how those uh that wildlife and that species has bounced back, and it's actually called the bounce back program with a bunch of other introduction animals they've reintroduced, like the quals and the possums and things, and you see that like rarely they come out at night, but in the national park, they've been starting to get a lot of traction there as well, which is just so great to see.
35:05
SPEAKER_01: You could sit and watch the little rock roll bees forever, can you?
35:08
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I I love them, they'd be my favorite, favorite animal here.
35:12
SPEAKER_00: Uh and I think everyone loves them.
35:14
SPEAKER_00: But there's one went into the gorges not that long ago on one of the gorges, there's one literally just sitting right up the top.
35:22
SPEAKER_00: Looked like he was just perched on a cliff on the cliff face, just have it look looking down at me, just having a laugh.
35:28
SPEAKER_01: But um yeah, phenomenal.
35:31
SPEAKER_01: So to protect the country, do you have to drop sheep numbers or not?
35:34
SPEAKER_01: Or is it just managing them differently?
35:37
SPEAKER_00: Uh it's probably a bit of both.
35:42
SPEAKER_00: I think you can we haven't had to materially drop our numbers.
35:46
SPEAKER_00: We've it's managing the plots and making sure that we're not, you know, overgrazing in certain areas.
35:53
SPEAKER_00: That's the biggest one.
35:55
SPEAKER_00: And having the ability we're fortunate we've got the ability to do that.
35:58
SPEAKER_00: We're fortunate that we can carve out that conservation area, and then we do have enough.
36:03
SPEAKER_00: I'd say we don't run such high numbers that we aren't able to kind of rotate them around the various paddocks and make sure that we're doing our bit.
36:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
36:15
SPEAKER_01: And you've got solar bores?
36:17
SPEAKER_00: Yep, we've got solar bores.
36:19
SPEAKER_00: Wouldn't be able to tell you when we introduce those, but yeah, we've like solar power here is and that's through Tony, would like where we can, we have introduced that in as many ways as possible.
36:33
SPEAKER_00: The villas that run off of have a solar, a small f solar installation set up.
36:38
SPEAKER_00: The new ones will be almost entirely off solar, like it's it's a big part of naturally in this area.
36:45
SPEAKER_00: You can you can really utilize it.
36:48
SPEAKER_01: Can you move sheep by turning off water points and turning on water points?
36:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you can well you you can.
36:55
SPEAKER_00: We'd we'd move them.
36:57
SPEAKER_00: Like we typically would only have one water point in a paddock.
37:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
37:02
SPEAKER_00: Maybe two.
37:04
SPEAKER_00: But if you turn off one water point and move them into another one, that works just fine.
37:09
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's completely fine.
37:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
37:11
SPEAKER_01: Pest animals, goats, pigs, what have you got?
37:15
SPEAKER_00: No pigs, thankfully.
37:17
SPEAKER_00: Um, goats.
37:18
SPEAKER_00: That's a big part of the conservation effort, I think, is trying to get that number down as much as possible.
37:24
SPEAKER_00: And the national parks again do a great job.
37:27
SPEAKER_00: We have done our bit in the past where we can there.
37:31
SPEAKER_00: Rabbits, rabbits were a massive collet for 40 years ago, would have been they were rampant.
37:38
SPEAKER_00: I think naturally there's been the introduction of viruses that have done have had their impact, but also their immunity has bounced back.
37:47
SPEAKER_00: So we've worked with the national parks to kind of kind of tear up the rabbit warrants and do our bit there where we can to fill those in.
37:56
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, goats and rabbits are are probably the biggest pests, and then running sheep actually helps on that front in the sense that if you run a set number, it's harder for the others to kind of approach.
38:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right.
38:12
SPEAKER_01: And I mean, in some ways, the goats, like in western New South Wales, have saved a lot of farmers during some droughts.
38:19
SPEAKER_00: Definitely, I can I can appreciate that.
38:21
SPEAKER_00: I think coming back, I was probably blown away up near Blinman, just how many goats there are once you get past the national park, and speaking to one of the families there, goats have actually been something that's been really helpful for them.
38:37
SPEAKER_00: And even I can remember like not to not to make it trivial because it is a big issue, and they need to, it's a way for them to diversify, so to speak, have a different income source.
38:47
SPEAKER_00: I know I certainly, as a kid growing up, used to try and muster up goats as some extra money because like you often can get um some decent income from them, but what I would say is that from a conservation perspective, they are pretty well they do quite a bit of damage.
39:04
SPEAKER_01: I could see what they could do to this range.
39:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
39:06
SPEAKER_01: It was a good bit of cash money though a weekend, wasn't it?
39:09
SPEAKER_00: Oh, it used to be the best pocket money I could find.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: Get 30 goats and you might get a might end up with a grand.
39:16
SPEAKER_01: 30, that's not bad.
39:17
SPEAKER_01: Good weekend's work.
39:19
SPEAKER_01: Having so many tourists come through, you must have met some fascinating people.
39:24
SPEAKER_00: So personally, or maybe I've just been kept in the in the back room.
39:29
SPEAKER_00: Tony and Julie over the years definitely have met some pretty interesting characters.
39:34
SPEAKER_00: I think one that really stuck out for them was the late Sam Neil and Brian Brown and Rachel Griffiths visited and stayed in the Eco Villas when they were filming the movie Beautiful Kate Up here.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: That was one that they really have fond memories of.
39:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they got to mingle with them.
39:52
SPEAKER_00: I think they kind of met with them down at the restaurant, but I I'm not entirely sure how much time they spent with them.
39:59
SPEAKER_00: Probably tried to spend more time than they should have, but no.
40:02
SPEAKER_00: Three fascinating people there.
40:04
SPEAKER_00: The Flinders has over the years kind of done a few film productions naturally, and sometimes we were lucky enough to house some of the people that are in those movies or in those shows.
40:17
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it's we're lucky in that sense.
40:19
SPEAKER_01: You also manage Barossa Shiraz Estate.
40:22
SPEAKER_01: Whereabouts is that, and what's that about?
40:24
SPEAKER_00: Well, the the impetus behind that one was so Barossa Shiraz Estate is is just outside of Lindock, um, in the Barossa Valley.
40:33
SPEAKER_00: For any South Australians now who are all mad footy fans, it's literally a 10-minute walk from the new stadium that's been built, built in Lindock for Gatherown.
40:44
SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
40:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was this phenomenal that that now that's happened.
40:49
SPEAKER_00: That's a stroke of luck for us.
40:51
SPEAKER_00: And these are luxury cottages.
40:53
SPEAKER_00: They're like five luxury cottages.
40:55
SPEAKER_00: Like it's a small operation, but the real impetus for us to kind of acquire that back in 2017 was to be able to package up another destination on the way to the Flinders, so to be able to give people a place to stay and break up their trip and at a level that kind of works and marries up to the Eco Villas.
41:19
SPEAKER_00: I'd love to expand at the Barossa at the right time if we can, because it's one of my favourite regions.
41:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, at the moment it's it's a really small operation, but five cottages really I'd say luxury high-end to cater for those that don't want to do a four to five hour drive in one hit.
41:35
SPEAKER_00: Sounds stunning.
41:36
SPEAKER_00: Uh surrounded by various wineries.
41:39
SPEAKER_00: The property itself is kind of a collection of cottages just nestled in the middle of a vineyard.
41:47
SPEAKER_00: In the Barossa, there's there's a number of great wineries just around the corner from us.
41:51
SPEAKER_00: I think one that's a stone's throwaway is Keys Winery.
41:55
SPEAKER_00: It's a really family-friendly, great place to visit.
41:58
SPEAKER_00: But any in the Barossa, you can go five minutes down the road and you'll find a great winery to try something new.
42:05
SPEAKER_00: What's next for Radsley Park Station?
42:08
SPEAKER_00: The main one on the cards at the end of this year is we are, I think I've alluded to it, but we're building new Oasis Eco-Villas with some support from a government grant.
42:19
SPEAKER_00: They say government.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: We're building six new ecovillas which leverage the design of the existing ones, but then take it one step further with uh outdoor kitchens and private plunge pools and things like that.
42:35
SPEAKER_00: So we're really, really excited about what that might open up from a customer perspective as well, particularly for the high-end market.
42:44
SPEAKER_00: And um they should be opening, they're slated to open one November.
42:49
SPEAKER_01: Oh wow.
42:50
SPEAKER_01: Whereabouts?
42:51
SPEAKER_00: Uh just up on it.
42:53
SPEAKER_00: Used to be called Station Hill Lookout.
42:55
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna have to find a new lookout.
42:57
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but I think um, yeah, just on the northern side of that lookout.
43:02
SPEAKER_00: We you can't see them when you come in, which is obviously by design.
43:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, they're all facing Ronsley Bluff on the on this, and they're all located on the side of the hill.
43:12
SPEAKER_01: Oh, this is exciting.
43:13
SPEAKER_01: That's is what is next for Ronsley Park.
43:15
SPEAKER_01: But what is next for Nev Smith, mate?
43:17
SPEAKER_01: I've got an inkling last night on the phone chatting to you.
43:20
SPEAKER_00: Oh uh well, I'm uh it's been a busy year, so I've come into the business, I've moved kind of back to SA, which I'm really excited about, and then to add to it, I'm expecting in in early October with my wife.
43:38
SPEAKER_00: So, and that'll be the first one.
43:40
SPEAKER_00: So we're really, really excited, but decided to jam it all into one year, I think, which is uh how it always seems to happen.
43:46
SPEAKER_01: Well, congratulations to you both, and uh that's only a month or two away, perhaps.
43:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so probably expecting in the next like expected to be in the next kind of four to six weeks.
43:57
SPEAKER_00: So Well, I hope that wasn't her ringing you just before.
44:02
SPEAKER_00: I didn't look at the phone, I just turned it off.
44:05
SPEAKER_01: I hope not too.
44:06
SPEAKER_01: Well, then what excites you most about the future?
44:09
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it is becoming a father.
44:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, from a personal perspective, absolutely.
44:15
SPEAKER_00: Like that is the number one most exciting thing happening in my life.
44:22
SPEAKER_00: From a business perspective, from here on the station, I am just like I think quite frankly, so excited for what is happening in the region and where it's going and the recognition it's getting.
44:36
SPEAKER_00: I think, like I said, the Flinders is obviously it's a popular destination, but I think it's got even further to go.
44:45
SPEAKER_00: We've got a there's a World Heritage nomination that's been submitted.
44:49
SPEAKER_00: It's been listed in the top 20 destinations in the world to visit by Lonely Planet.
44:54
SPEAKER_00: Like the Flinders is getting so much momentum.
44:57
SPEAKER_00: So my vision is, you know, let's nail these new Oasis Eco Villas, but also protect what we've got at the moment, whether that be from the sheep operation to the existing tourism offering, and and then thoughtfully kind of grow in areas that we can.
45:16
SPEAKER_00: You've got a lot to think about.
45:18
SPEAKER_01: A little bit.
45:30
SPEAKER_00: I really mean this.
45:32
SPEAKER_00: I I'm really lucky that we've got a great team here.
45:35
SPEAKER_00: They take a lot of the day-to-day and a lot of the areas, you know, they escalate things where they need to, but they they are the ones that honestly keep the operation running day to day and do such a fantastic job doing it.
45:50
SPEAKER_00: And without them, I'd be I'd be stuffed.
45:53
SPEAKER_01: Well, we've uh we're having a great experience here, and I recommend to our listeners to uh yeah, come and stay at Ronsley Park Station.
46:00
SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it if they do.
46:01
SPEAKER_00: I'd love to see them.
46:03
SPEAKER_01: Alright, Nev, some off-the-wall quickfire questions.
46:06
SPEAKER_01: Are you up for it?
46:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, all right, let's go.
46:09
SPEAKER_01: We'll see how it goes Ronsley Park, sunrise or sunset?
46:12
SPEAKER_01: Sunrise.
46:14
SPEAKER_01: Lamb roast or lamb chops?
46:16
SPEAKER_01: Chops.
46:17
SPEAKER_00: Favourite lookout.
46:20
SPEAKER_00: Used to be Station Hill, we don't have it anymore with the new build, so Pugeless Hill across the road is stunning.
46:26
SPEAKER_00: Um stunning in sunrise.
46:28
SPEAKER_00: Looking back at the rain table.
46:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
46:30
SPEAKER_00: Right.
46:31
SPEAKER_00: Best month to visit.
46:33
SPEAKER_00: Probably May, in my mind.
46:36
SPEAKER_00: I think everyone would guess would say, you know, September, October, but May, when it's really come out of some of the summer rains and the weather starts to be a bit more mild, it's always a special time to come in.
46:50
SPEAKER_00: Favourite local wine?
46:52
SPEAKER_00: Not in the Flinders, but in Grossa Keys.
46:55
SPEAKER_00: Keys?
46:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
46:55
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
46:56
SPEAKER_00: So anything from Keys goes down well.
46:58
SPEAKER_00: Campfire or a restaurant?
47:00
SPEAKER_00: Campfire, definitely.
47:01
SPEAKER_00: Although when you want a restaurant fix, there's a nice one right here.
47:05
SPEAKER_00: Oh well, I think you know, when it's middle of August, I might switch on that and go sit in the nice restaurant.
47:12
SPEAKER_00: One word that sums up Flinders.
47:15
SPEAKER_00: I would say dynamic.
47:19
SPEAKER_00: It can just change in so many different ways, and there's so many different ways to experience it.
47:24
SPEAKER_01: One place every Australian should visit.
47:28
SPEAKER_00: Do you have any tips for me, Bob?
47:31
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to say that.
47:32
SPEAKER_01: I'll say it for you.
47:34
SPEAKER_00: No, I think I love it here, but there's so many great places and so many great regional destinations in Australia.
47:42
SPEAKER_00: And I think they've all got their own, you know, special quirk or special thing that they offer.
47:48
SPEAKER_01: Nev, after all these years, when visitors drive out the front gate and head home, what do you hope they take home with them?
47:55
SPEAKER_00: A pack of lamb chops, probably.
47:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no idea.
47:57
SPEAKER_00: And some memories.
47:58
SPEAKER_00: And some memories, definitely the memories.
48:01
SPEAKER_00: Like for me, it's about people are choosing to spend their holiday in the region and and at Ronsley.
48:10
SPEAKER_00: I want them to leave with with great memories at last.
48:14
SPEAKER_00: But if they take some lamb chops, that's good too.
48:17
SPEAKER_00: And you didn't know this question was coming, but if you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
48:22
SPEAKER_00: I'd just love being here.
48:24
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I'd I'd split my time.
48:25
SPEAKER_00: I'm not here every single day, but I love I just love being here.
48:30
SPEAKER_01: Well, I've loved learning about Rawlsley Park Station.
48:34
SPEAKER_01: There's a lot going on here.
48:35
SPEAKER_01: And it's a credit to all your team.
48:37
SPEAKER_01: It's a very successful family operated business, and really nice knowing that it's your family that's uh board members, and that's really nice.
48:45
SPEAKER_01: And made all have a great time, Leona and I, so um thank you very much, and thanks for this chat.
48:52
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Darren.
48:53
SPEAKER_00: Appreciate the time.
48:57
SPEAKER_02: But we never miss a chance to have to.
49:01
SPEAKER_01: Nev Smith's story is a great example of how a family operation can evolve, adapt and diversify while staying true to its roots.
49:13
SPEAKER_01: From cheap and sustainable farming to tourism, accommodation and adventure, Rontley Park Station has certainly come a long way from that first little cabin.
49:24
SPEAKER_01: And with the Flinders Rangers gaining recognition around the world, it's deemed this remarkable part of Australia has an exciting future ahead.
49:33
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for joining us on Salt of the Earth.
49:36
SPEAKER_01: And remember, keep your hands dirty and your spirits alive.