Kyogle is the last point of call before access to several globally significant world heritage listed national parks.
The Border Ranges is part of the largest expanse of sub-tropical rainforest on Earth! So where is the Rainforest Information Centre to match our nature wonderland?
Further south outside Dorrigo township (population just over 1000 people) there is a world class Dorrigo Rainforest Centre which consistently receives 150,000 visitors per year. This place has recently received funding for a 56 million dollar upgrade.
To the north in Maleny is the Mary Cairncross Rainforest Centre – a place of ecological, cultural and artistic beauty which receives 200,000 visitors annually and is home to a tiny but significant remnant of 55 hectares.
A Kyogle based Rainforest Information Centre gives visitors and locals a way to plan their back country adventures, to learn about our unique and diverse bio-region from multiple worldviews and cultural perspectives.
A full sensory experience, soundscapes from our local forests infused into locally produced multimedia environmental education installation with guided bio-cultural information from indigenous perspectives, stories from the old logging days and the latest forest research science from ecologists.
As the Northern Rivers Rail-Trail nears completion, our bio-region is set to become a truly unique destination for bike-packing, back-country bushwalking, mountain biking, horse-riding, kayaking and extensive interconnected ridge walks.
This vision won’t just become a tourism information centre, but a way to instill a sense of pride in Kyogle being The Gateway to the Rainforest.