melot wrote:Speaking of transport & parking at the Great Walks trackheads, I'm doing Cooloola Great Walk soon ...............
Sting wrote:The Great Walks which the State Government of Queensland are trying to promote are only mediocre walks at the best. Our friends over in New Zealand have perfected the art of creating a great walk and one wonders if The Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) have ever travelled to New Zealand to see how these walks operate.
Definition of a Great Walk
A true wilderness experience
Does not follow a road or fire trail
Allows walkers to book multiple nights in the same hut or camp site
Bookings can be made over the internet
Allows walkers to traverse clockwise or anti-clockwise
Transportation available at both ends of the trail
Takes in the best of the natural features in an area
A walk one will keep coming back to.
All of New Zealand’s great walks fit the above definition with the exception of the Milford Track which because of its popularity can only be traversed in one direction and only a stay of one night is allowed in the huts. Other walks in NZ which do not come under the Great Walk umbrella still leave Queensland’s Great Walks for dead eg Dart Rees, Greenstone Caples, Wilkin Young, Traverse Sabine.
The following outlines where DERM has failed miserably in designing the so called Great Walks in Queensland by not following the above definitions of a Great Walk.
The Gold Coast Hinterland Great walk.
Much to recent promotional footage this walk does not traverse through The Natural Arch but traverses next to a prison farm and follows a main road for 8 km. There is also no provision to book all the camp sites on one web page.
The Sunshine Coast Hinterland
This walk utilises a number of roads to connect wilderness areas and does not take in the full potential of Obi Obi creek.
Conondale Range Great Walk
The walk did not take in the full potential of following Booloumba Creek. Instead DERM constructed a 10km section which only went near the creek once, with the rest of this section being constructed through cleared lantana, and missing vital waterfalls. Other areas of the walk follow old logging trails which are great for vehicles but not so good from a walkers perspective.
Carnarvon Great Walk
DERM had the opportunity to get this walk right, but they failed miserably. After leaving Big Bend and Battleship spur the walk was ordinary at the best. At the western end of the walk a connection should have been made with the upper reaches of Carnarvon Creek and then followed the gorge all the way back to the information centre. Or alternately utilise more of Carnarvon Creek with then a connection over to the Mount Mofat area.
Cooloola Great Walk
Apart from the beginning and the end, this is a walk I will never do again. DERM should have connected in with the Cooloola Wilderness trail and utilised more of the upper reaches of the Noosa River. Also the campsites are poorly designed with the idea that people want to camp 200 metres from their friends, and the raised platforms are not next to the tent sites.
I presume the other new “Great Walks” in Queensland have similar issues except for Fraser Island and Hinchinbrook which are truly great walks.
One has to ask did DERM ever consult with the bushwalking clubs of Queensland when designing these walks; they certainly did not contact the clubs I am in.
Ticklebelly wrote:My Cooloola walk is now set for 13 Aug. Organisation is being handled by a person who lives at Gympie and has done the walk before. They will organise how we get to and from the trail start and finish and for now I'm leaving it in their hands. I'll let people know how we go.
I'll also be able to make a meaningful comment on the content of the original post at that time too.
Ticklebelly
The Gold Coast Hinterland Great walk.
Much to recent promotional footage this walk does not traverse through The Natural Arch but traverses next to a prison farm and follows a main road for 8 km. There is also no provision to book all the camp sites on one web page.
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