Community
4 December, 2023
New city rafting centre
THE new lessors of a Cairns Regional Council property at Lake Placid plan to spend $500,000 and base their Barron River rafting operations in the former Italian restaurant and associated buildings.
The council has approved a five-year lease plus a further five years to Cairns Adventure Group (CAG) to operate a restaurant, outdoor dining area, caretaker’s residence, public toilets and carpark.
The group runs white water rafting in the Barron as well as Tully rivers, jet boat tours in Trinity Inlet and rainforest and other activities.
CAG owner Roderic Rees said the Cairns Rafting Centre would open mid-next year after $500,000 was spent completely upgrading the property.
He said a lot of renovations were required as well as a fit-out and it would become the base for their Barron River rafting operations with between 10-30 staff involved.
Mr Rees said it would give the company, staff and customers a proper base to work from, a training facility, as well as home to the world champion Aus Crocs under-23 white water rafting team.
A council report said the group was the only tender.
“The owner, Roderic Rees, is a well-known local advocate for Cairns tourism. It was assessed that CAG’s proposal would benefit the premises, reactivate the Lake Placid area, and actively engage the local community and tourism to the area for recreation purposes in an eco-friendly manner,” the report said.
“The existing building will undergo significant upgrades to ensure it is fit for purpose for the recreation activities proposed by CAG as part of its tender.”
The council has waived four years of rental income of about $400,000 in return for CAG upgrading the buildings.
Cr Rhonda Coghlan (division 8) said it was “a really good outcome” and the company and owner were well known in the hospitality and tourism sectors.
She said this would help the company handle the estimated 20,000 rafters a year at the lake.
