Drive to explore at expo
Thousands get inspired for adventure in great outdoors
THOUSANDS of adventurous Far Northerners were left feeling revved up to be part of the drive tourism boom after soaking up a bonanza of bright ideas at Cairns Expo.
Close to 15,000 people checked out the event at Cairns Showgrounds over the past three days, dreaming of buying the gear they need to explore the great outdoors.
Mossman man John Hutton made the drive down with his family to check out gear for his next bush trip.
Mr Hutton had his eye on a 79 series LandCruiser ute tray package from Cairns-based manufacturer Norweld.
“I go bush a fair bit and my old Holden Colorado’s been shaking a bit so I’m after something built tough that’s not going to rattle to bits,” he said.
“I’ve been looking at some of the other stuff as well and it’s good to dream about it, but a good reliable 4WD’s the best thing to have when you’re out in the middle of nowhere.”
Australian Events spokeswoman Courtney Stephens said visitors checked out boating, camping and off-roading supplies from more than 130 exhibitors.
Ms Stephens said there had been plenty of sales, with 4x4 equipment, caravans and campervans proving popular.
“Other guys that have been doing well are the domestic tourism companies that have exhibits, since everyone’s itching to get out and about,” she said.
Norweld co-owner Isaac Edmiston said the expo was always a good opportunity for local manufacturers to boost interest in their newest gear.
“The show’s quite a good event for us to turn up to, for our returning customers to come and say g’day and new customers to come and have a look,” he said.
“The first one we did was back in 2013 and we’ve done quite a few since then.
“Business has been solid – we had some downturn when COVID hit but the domestic travel industry has picked up and now we’ve got more people travelling within our borders and in turn our business increased steadily over time.”
The Cairns Expo will be back next year, with an anticipated date of May 2022