Photographer: David Hancock – SkyScans.
It’s a case of Back to the Future for Kakadu National Park accommodation Cooinda Lodge, with former General Manager Benjamin Brown lured back to take control at the Indigenous-owned property once again.
Brown replaces Brett Skinner, who has held the management role for three years.
Ahead of the park’s 40th anniversary in April 2019, the return of Brown to the post he held in the latter part of the 2000’s sees him accompanied by his wife Erin – also a former employee of the lodge and the scene where they first met – as well as their two infant children, Olivia and Henry.
Brown’s reassumption of his former position comes at a time when Cooinda Lodge is assessing expansion and new innovations both in camping and new products around its popular Yellow Water Cruises offering. The AccorHotels-managed Cooinda Lodge offers both lodge and camping accommodation along with fishing trips, Spirit of Kakadu Adventure Tours and the Warradjan Cultural Centre, which educates on indigenous history and displays ancient tribal artifacts.
In his time away from Kakadu, Brown held roles with Minor Hotels’ Oaks brand and the Mantra Group – most recently in a relief role as General Manager of Mantra’s three hotels in Kingscliff on the northern NSW coast.
Brown said it was fantastic to be back in Kakadu and that the experience would be even better through sharing it with his wife and family.
“We have one of the world’s most remarkable landscapes and cultures to share with international and domestic visitors, and I’m looking forward to working with our partners to promote the region and deliver a memorable visitor experience.”