General News
4 February, 2022
Local tourism business to represent FNQ in Channel 9’s ‘My Way’
BACK Country Bliss is an educational tourism company founded in 2004 in Port Douglas.
In 2016, traveller and water tour guide Jason Heffernan bought the business and turned it into the ultimate rainforest experience for nature lovers with tours through Daintree Rainforest and Mossman River.
On February 6, Mr Heffernan will appear on Channel 9’s ‘My Way’ where he aims to share his appreciation for Far North Queensland and how his brand introduces the beauty of the rainforest to tourists.
Mr Heffernan came to Cairns in 2016 expecting to stay for a couple of months and ended up staying for the long haul when he bought Back Country Bliss.
“I worked at a public aquarium in London and after that I worked in retail aquariums, so I was always looking at them through the glass,” he said.
“What inspired me to buy was The River Drift Snorkelling Tour. The ability to take guests out in a freshwater environment just snorkelling, it was epic.
“We have many of the fish that I used to sell here, but living in the wild, it felt like swimming in a massive aquarium, so it was a big drawing point for me.”
Since 2016, many things have changed for Back Country Bliss.
“When I started, there wasn’t much of a social media presence, not too much traffic going through the website,” Mr Heffernan said.
“Very quickly, I became very loud on social media, built a brand-new website and started pushing it out there because it was amazing how many people that lived in the area didn’t know that we existed.
“So the last five and a half years, I’ve just been yelling out of the top of our little green hill, making sure that everyone notices us.”
The efforts put into the brand were very successful, as last year Back Country Bliss won the Best of Queensland Awards, beating at least 200 other operators in the Far North.
And now, they celebrate another success as Mr Heffernan is set to appear in the first episode of season four of Channel 9s ‘My Way’, which introduces inspirational Australians and their stories on how they live their lives to the fullest.
“I’m nervously excited,” Mr Heffernan said.
“Being a tour guide, we represent everywhere we are, and I’m very honoured to be representing Far North Queensland.
“It’s something I’m used to, representing the area, sparking that curiosity and convince people to come and experience it for themselves.”
For Mr Heffernan, there is a unique peace that Far North Queensland offers to people, and he wants to invite people to experience it.
“It’s been a very stressful couple of years, and there is absolutely nothing better than getting into the rainforest, whether it’s on our tour floating on your back looking up at the canopy or with another operator going in and exploring other parts of the forest,” he said.
“This is an entirely calming, stress-free environment. Yes, it’s a fun holiday, but you will feel better most of all.
“Everybody deserves a break right now, and I think the best medicine for everybody is to take a trip up to Far North Queensland.”
You can watch Jason Heffernan and Back Country Bliss on ‘My Way’ on February 6 at 5:30pm on Channel 9.
