G’day Group expands its Western Australian network with Carnarvon acquisition

Australia’s largest regional accommodation provider, G’day Group, has expanded its Western Australian network with the acquisition of Wintersun Caravan and Tourist Park in Carnarvon on the state’s mid north coast.

G’day Group will initially invest around $1 million on the property, including installing new lighting and signage throughout the park, new playground equipment and a shade sail over the swimming pool.

The 4.7-hectare freehold acquisition fills a key gap in the Group’s Discovery Parks portfolio, between Perth and Onslow, in a popular stopover town nearby to UNESCO world heritage listed sites and tourist destinations Ningaloo Reef and Shark Bay.

The property, which will be renamed Discovery Parks Carnarvon, is the largest holiday park in Carnarvon and is well regarded among tourists, having received a TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Award in 2020 and being added to the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame in 2021.

Along with 173 tourist sites and 19 cabins, the park also offers quality facilities for all ages, including a resort-style swimming pool, recreation shed, grass bowling green, playground and jumping pillow.

G’day Group Chief Investment Officer Amanda Baldwin said the property presented an ideal opportunity to expand the Group’s Western Australian network along a popular coastal touring route.

Baldwin notes “Carnarvon is a hugely popular destination for the caravan and camping community with more than half a million domestic visitor nights each year, around half of which are in holiday parks.

“Not only is the park the largest in the region, providing us with greatest market share, it also has an excellent reputation and has been well run and maintained under previous management.

“We see fantastic upside through leveraging our operational and marketing expertise, to attract more visitors and increase length of stay. We are also eager to capitalise on the park’s development potential to refresh facilities and install more cabins to attract a broader demographic of traveller.”

G’day Group is now Australia’s largest regional accommodation provider with around 300 properties across Australia. G’day is majority owned by Australian Retirement Trust. Founder and Chief Executive Grant Wilckens is also the Chair of the Caravan Industry Association of Australia and Board Director of the South Australian Tourism Commission.