A popular camping area in Victoria’s Barmah National Park has been closed … and local businesses fear it will hit their bottom line hard.
Concrete barricades have been placed on entry roads to Ulupna Island at the eastern end of the park preventing access.
Locals say the area has been closed indefinitely because of the poor condition of roads and facilities.
“People aren’t going to come here anymore, they’re going to find somewhere new for their camping and once you find somewhere new that you like you don’t tend to go back to that old area,” Jodie Franklin from the Strathmerton general store told the ABC. “There will be a lot of businesses either go broke, a lot of jobs be lost.”
She said a majority of the businesses in the small community, relied on the camping season with visitors spending a lot of money locally.
A Parks Victoria spokeswoman said two tracks were closed two weeks ago because of damage caused by heavy rain. The need for repairs will be assessed before a decision to reopen the tracks can be made.
• Have you camped at Ulupna Island? Comment below.
