Wilsons Promontory National Park is a three hour drive southeast of Melbourne, on the southernmost tip of the Australian mainland and the last stop before Tasmania. Affectionately called the Prom, its rugged mountain landscape, forests, sandy beaches and coves, are loved by campers, bushwalkers and day visitors alike. Established in 1898, it is the oldest existing national park in Victoria and has high conservation significance. The windswept beaches overlook nearby islands with a majority of the coastal marine water designated as marine park or national park. The Prom is home to more than 296 species of animals (of which 40 are threatened species) and a wide range of flora, including the southernmost examples of warm temperate rainforests in Australia and the southernmost mangroves in the world.
Tidal River General Store is located on the south west coast of the Prom and is 30km from the Yanakie entrance of the Park. Parks Victoria manages and operates the store and café, with profits returning to park operations. Visits to the Prom reach about 400,000 people a year, and as a popular hub for visitors, the store is a meeting place and refuge for day visitors and bush walkers seeking respite from the southern winds in winter and a pleasant reward after summer beach and wilderness activities. Throughout the year visitors to the store can relax at the picnic tables outside or enjoy a light meal inside.
There is no surprise that coffee is one of the highest selling products at the Tidal River General Store. The availability of a café quality espresso coffee in one of Victoria’s more remote and beautiful national parks has hit the right note. It meets the need for an early morning fix for campers and those staying in the cabins and wilderness retreats; accompanies the all day breakfast; suits the casual coffee and cake needs of the day visitor and; finishes off a light lunch perfectly. So, with demand as high as this, the store wanted to offer a product that not only met customer expectations for a good cup of coffee, but also met social and sustainable expectations of a product offer within a national park. Fix coffee is rainforest alliance certified, tastes great and is served to customers either in the store or on the go, in a take away bio cup or re-usable coffee cups available so customers can purchase more sustainably.
