Neredith Elliott GM Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk holding the award on the treetop walk itself overlooking the region

Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk is very proud to have won the Excellence in an Attraction award presented by Southern Highlands Business Awards last Friday night.  It is an important achievement in the region and highlights Illawarra Fly’s commitment to offering a quality product.

“It is critical to ensure the Fly continues to provide an interesting and quality experience for visitors to the region” says Neredith Elliott GM Ilawarra Fly Treetop Walk 

Illawarra Fly has been in the region for over five years and has been evolving with new products presented each year.  “This year we introduced iFly 4 Kids to provide an exciting and fun family experience” says Neredith "We are forecasting good growth over the coming years with our iFly 4 Kids program. This brings many visitors from Sydney and Canberra to our area.  It also encourages Wollongong and South Coast residents to come and see what we have to offer.  Our recent school holidays events saw a fourfold increase in visitation to the Fly. Other businesses advised they had seen an increase in patronage to their outlets as well which is a great boon for the regional economy" says Elliott "This shows how we can all benefit from the work done by each of us and the importance of offering relevant products showcasing the region."

Illawarra Fly has been working with Southern Highlands Tourism and Wollongong Tourism since its inception and has focussed on a community involvement with local businesses.  "We are very proud to be part of a wonderful community here in the Southern Highlands" says Elliott "The Southern Highlands is a hidden treasure and we work hard to promote Illawarra Fly and the region to the Sydney and Canberra markets".

"Illawarra Fly is an important attraction for the region and we recognise our responsibility to promote and market not only our product but the region as a whole. If we all work collectively together we can achieve so much and this area has much to offer"

The introduction of iFly 4 Kids has seen a dramatic increase in visitation to the area “Illawarra Fly has achieved nearly 6% growth in the last year, which is the greatest growth we've seen since opening 5 years ago" says Elliott "It is important for us to participate with the business community to encourage increased visitation and to drive more awareness of the area to key markets".

Illawarra Fly is 710m above the sea floor overlooking the escarpment with a 500m steel treetop canopy walk, 25m above the forest floor plus a 45m high tower overlooking vast areas of the south coast.  The walk encompasses interactive learning boards teaching children about the ancient rainforest and its inhabitants such as lyrebirds and wombats, as you walk through the treetop canopy. 

Illawarra means 'high place near the sea' in the language of the Wodi Wodi Tribe who inhabited the area between Wollongong and the Shoalhaven River.

The rainforest at the Illawarra Fly is full of native Australian wildlife including; wombats, echidna, wallabies, lyrebirds, crimson rosella, kookaburras and yellow tailed cockatoos. The native fauna includes Lilly Pilly, Prickly Currant Bush, Native Mulberry Bush, Giant Tree Ferns, Cabbage Tree Palms, Brown Barrel Eucalypts, Musk Daisy Bush and Sassafras.

The 45m Knights Tower views the expansive valley floor to the coastline between Wollongong and Kiama providing a great resource for learning about the escarpment, the coast and the ancient Australian rainforest environment.

The tall timbers and rainforest floor are important ecological contributors to the Australian Bush  and are fundamental to the wellbeing of the region’s biodiversity.  Illawarra Fly takes on the responsibility of preserving this important landscape and provides a safe and fun environment for kids to learn with a walking experience like no other with interpretative signage about this key environment.

The Treetop Walk was built from the ground up using all terrain cranes, by six men over six months. There is a 600,000 litre rainwater tank onsite which collects and recycles water for waste, cooking and cleaning.

Illawarra Fly is at Knights Hill, near Robertson in the Southern Highlands above the South Coast – why not take a tour of the Grand Pacific Drive, take in the Fly, head to Robertson and check out the famous Pie shop then cruise back home.  It’s a relaxing, interesting and fun day out, or take a break and spend a few days.