The issue of just how ‘safe’ Australia’s most beautiful wilderness areas can be made – especially in the Instagram age – is one that has generated plenty of discussion and debate in recent times.
Every year, there are accidents, there are falls, and there are deaths, as visitors to remote and rugged locations fail to heed warning signs and even physical barriers.
Against this backdrop, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has just issued a statement reminding people that there is no access to the base of Illawarra’s Gerringong and Belmore Falls.
NPWS Area Manager, Graham Bush, said a recent surge in illegal access, fuelled by social media, was not only dangerous but could be a matter of life or death.
Belmore Falls from the Belmore Lookout in Morton National Park PIC: J Yurasek / DPE
“Signs warning of the dangers and prohibiting access are installed at both waterfalls,” he said. “However, visitors continue to walk past and ignore these warnings and attempt to access the base of the falls.”
He stressed that visitors could still walk to the top of the falls and take in the spectacular views, but said the NPWS didn’t ‘want one more person to lose their life for the sake of a selfie’.
‘There is no bushwalking access to the base of Belmore and Gerringong Falls … these areas are dangerous and there is a high risk of injury or death from unstable rock faces, dangerous cliff edges and slippery surfaces,” Mr Bush said. “The hazards are very real to both the public and emergency service workers who risk their lives responding to people who have slipped, sadly often fatally.”
NSW Police and National Parks and Wildlife Service will be carrying out patrols in the Belmore and Gerringong Falls areas, and infringements will be issued to those who enter restricted areas.
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You cannot fix stupid! The only way to make it safe is to keep people out. The laws of Darwin will cull the weak and stupid.
NO FENCES ANYWHERE as this spoils the natural beauty of a place…a sign should suffice. People must take responsibility for their own actions.
Stupid people will continue to do stupid things and we really need to stop trying to protect people from themselves.
If they are going to continue to apply for a Darwin Award, we should perhaps allow them to do so and thin out the shallow end of the gene pool rather than destroy the beauty of these wonderful places with piles of fencing and the like.
Had my heart in my throat at the Grand Canyon with the risks people were taking. Just shows there are fools everywhere
Dumb way to die. Nearby Fitzroy Falls are a popular suicide venue. Someone jumped when we were camping nearby.
Many locals remember when the base of the falls was accessible. There is still a path to the bottom but it is unmaintained and dangerous and abseiling is needed in some spots. It is frustrating and disappointing that it can’t be fixed. Some sections are still viable and presumably the rest is not getting fixed for funding reasons. People will still keep wanting to go down there.