As Cape York roads improve, some grey nomads will miss the 'adventure' of the trip north
While plans to seal large sections of the Peninsula Developmental Road (PDR) in Cape York are apparently running behind schedule, tourism operators in Queensland’s far north remain optimistic about the impact it will eventually have on their businesses.
For generations of grey nomads, the dust holes and corrugations of the legendary 600-kilometre highway to the tip have been an integral part of the amazing adventure … but that is slowly changing.
A five-year plan which has seen $200 million invested in sealing key sections of the highway ends in June 2019 and, although it hasn’t achieved all it has set out to do, it is making a difference.
Weipa Town Authority chairman Michael Rowland told the ABC that he expected the number of cars driving the road to double in the next five years.
“We actually see our market changing, and it also means the length of the tourist season will be longer, because traditionally it’s from about April to about September,” he said.
Tourist operators are rushing to be ready in time, planning new camping grounds, accommodation and attractions.
“Once it’s finished there’ll be more jobs, there’ll be more opportunities,” said Rachel Nowlan, the manager of the pub in the Cape York town of Coen. “There will be a need for more service stations along the way and more camping facilities.”
However, the pace of progress is concerning some … as is the small amount of maintenance being carried out on unsealed sections of the road.
Hugh Atherton from the Archer River Roadhouse told the ABC that the quality of the road could change from week to week.
“It’s not the best — there has been a lot of traffic on the roads this year and the Main Roads Department haven’t got any money to do any maintenance,” he said. “They probably rely a lot on an event like a cyclone to fix and repair the roads, and there just haven’t been any.”
The last place I want to visit is another overpriced tourist trap.
Weipa will benefit from the upgraded PDR, but what Weipa needs is road to the Nth across the Wenlock river that is open. Terri Irwin should encourage tourists to pass through Steves Place. Weipa needs to be on a loop type road . Drive in from the Sth, out to the Nth and vise versa. Having to back track to the PDR is a pain.
The unknown of the long red road is part of the adventure. As a tourist I’ll be sad to see it go. It will create more jobs, but to what expense? More development? I think it will be the end of an era. It may be a different story for the locals though.
I live in Mareeba, the last large township before the Cape. I travel the PDR weekly for work, often repairing earthmoving machines on PDR. I am two minds about the bitumen road, yes it will improve access and locals up there, (cattle properties) will think it is the blessing after a lifetime of cursing the rough dirt road.
It could really stimulate economic activity up there, a boost for Weipa.
I also think will the Cape be belted with visitors and ruined because the dirt road does act as a buffer and stop some people visiting, and yes it does add an adventure element.
All in all I think little will change, it won’t be the huge transformer a lot of people think will happen. It is a long long way up there and there’s not a great deal up that region, which in it’s self is great.
When the road was sealed to Cooktown everyone thought it would turn into another Port Douglas. Nothing changed, if anything Cooktown went backwards.
And another factor is the uneducated narrow minded greenies. They don’t even want farmers to put a cow in a paddock.