After three weeks and 3,613 kilometres through rugged terrain, the world famous Land Rover Experience Tour has come to an end at Uluru.
The convoy of 19 Land Rover vehicles travelled the length of the Northern Territory, from the tropical sandy beaches of Arnhem Land all the way down to Central Australia.
Tourism NT CEO, Tony Mayell, said the Tour will put the Northern Territory on the global map as a must-do holiday and ultimate drive destination.
“The Land Rover Experience Tour has been closely followed by hundreds of thousands of fans in Europe and is expected to deliver millions of dollars’ worth of media exposure for Northern Territory tourism,” he said.
“The photos that have come out of the Tour so far have been spectacular and have already helped generate significant exposure for the Northern Territory in our key European markets.
“A three hour documentary showcasing the full journey will also be broadcast in Germany later this year which will boost visitor numbers to the Northern Territory and help us achieve a $2.2 billion visitor economy by 2020.
“I thank Land Rover for choosing the Northern Territory for their 2015 tour; I know they walk away with some amazing memories.”
Head of the Land Rover Experience Tour, Dag Rogge, said arriving at Uluru was an incredible feeling.
“When Uluru came into sight it was a bit of a party feeling and everyone said yes we made it! We were all very happy and the feeling and incredible sight of Uluru we will never forget. Some of the participants got a bit emotional, they are very sad to be leaving this great Northern Territory – if they had it their way they would do it all over again!”
Mr Rogge said a highlight of the tour was meeting the Traditional Owners throughout the Northern Territory and experiencing the Indigenous culture.
“For the international journalists and the participants and all of us meeting the local Indigenous people and hearing them talk about their culture and experiences was just so fantastic,” he said.
“The whole 28 days was absolutely amazing. All the experiences, the different landscapes from the bush to the beach and the pictures will be burned in my mind for a very long time.”
The Land Rover Experience Tour involved 12 new model Land Rover Discovery Sports, seven Discovery IVs vehicles, a purpose built 20 ton supply truck and nearly 100 people, including 50 international media representatives.
More than 30,000 Germans applied for the 2015 Tour via a registration process that also involved driver training testing, with six participants chosen to take part along with support crew and international media.
The journey began in Arnhem Land on 20 October travelling to Katherine and Nitmiluk National Park on to Kalkarindji and through the Tanami desert before arriving at Uluru.
The Tour, made possible through the support of the NT Government and Tourism Australia.
“The international exposure this event has already received has been fantastic and with more than 50 media accompanying the tour, I’m sure there is much more great publicity to come,” said Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan.
“On behalf of Tourism Australia, I’d like personally congratulate all participants with a special call out to the team at Tourism Northern Territory for the wonderful manner in which they’ve hosted our international guests.”
For more information on the Land Rover Experience Tour go to: http://www.landrover-experience.de/
Photos attached: Land Rover finish at Uluru, Northern Territory
ENDS
Media Contact: Lisa Andrews, Corporate Media and Communications Manager +61 401 115 634
