There’s been another nasty accident in one of Australia’s stunning national parks.
Paramedics transported a woman to hospital following an incident at Noosa National Park yesterday morning. A woman in her 40s reportedly fell near the Fairy Pools and was transported to Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
The ABC reports she had suffered abrasions to parts of her body and was in a stable condition.
According to the ABC, this comes after two men were airlifted from the area last month, one man in his 20s suffered head and suspected spinal injuries while another man was treated for knee injuries.
Given the fact that they are so remote, so rugged, and nature didn’t design them with human safety in mind, there are a steady stream of accidents in Australia’s national parks.
Late last year, an elderly woman fell 10 metres and injured herself at Mossman Gorge in Queensland. Before that, the bodies of two men were found at the base of a cliff in a rock climbing location in the Flinders Ranges. A man also drowned while swimming at Fern Pool in Karijini National Park. And massive searches for missing bushwalkers have become relatively commonplace.
This growing list of incidents and tragedies has left national park authorities facing something of a dilemma … how do they balance maximising the safety of visitors with allowing them full access to the incredible beauty of Australia’s stunning gorges, trails, mountains and rock pools.
Last year, the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service said nobody wanted to see a national park filled with obtrusive fences but sometimes it says it is left with little choice.
“Before people enter dangerous areas such as cliff tops and tidal rock shelves, we urge them to think about the consequences of their actions,” said an NPWS spokesperson. “Safety is also a personal responsibility and park management encourages visitors to be aware of their own physical abilities and experience when deciding on which activities to undertake in our national parks.”
South Australia’s Department for Environment and Water said it was important for visitors to research the places they are going and to take direction from park rangers.
“Exploring national parks is an opportunity to discover untouched beauty,” said a spokesperson. “However, it is not possible to remove or treat all potential hazards and risks in parks.”
Leave the parks alone
Educate the people
Agree with GED entirely.
Nature is beautiful and just enjoy it and don’t take risks It’s humans stupidity that causes the problems
Could not agree more with Sugarcane’s comments. People must take responsibility for their own safety.
Definitely not. There are enough barriers in places already. When I was younger it was possible to access some magnificent places that are effectively now locked away, but I suppose we didn’t put ourselves in stupid situations to get that ‘once in a lifetime’ selfie. Exploring was a personal activity not an opportunity for an Instagram post.
Nature is Nature … there will always be risks. People need to be responible for their own safety
No, National Parks are meant to be wild and untouched, people need to be aware of their surroundings, we all have a duty of care to ourselves and those in or near our presence. It’s too easy to forget that we are no longer teenagers, we need to take extra care.
Agree Bill. Back in 2014 we did all NP’s in WA and they were magnificent. Wild and wonderful. We feel it is a shame what has happened at Kalbarri with all the heavily constructed tracks and lookouts that have been installed there. We just tramped around all over the place on narrow dirt tracks like Z Bend and it was an adventure. We are Grey Nomads and know our limitations and act accordingly. People need to take responsibility for their own action, please no more fences!
National parks in the US rarely have fences etc (Grand Canyon a case in point). Surely it is up to the people visiting the parks not to do something stupid. Leave the parks alone and charge fees for those who need rescuing.
Put up signs, fences, safety barriers and stuff to help people do what they should know and we wont have nice places to visit any more, or we could just ban everyone from going to national parks That will do it.
Robin May, do not give any more stupid Governments any ideas like that, they have already done that and look at the results after the bushfires. Governments decided some time ago to lock up National Parks and look at the extensive undergrowth explosion, but gee we have preserved our flora and fauna to the point of extinction.
These days too many people grow up cotton wrapped so they don’t know cause/effect. Leave the parks as is, maybe people might read signs, those that haven’t been vandalised, and know there are unsafe areas.
No need to make the parks safer…just educate the imbeciles using the parks!
Unfortunately you can’t cure stupidity!!
Gail, true, but stupidity used to be the natural selection process that divided the idiots from the rest of us. If someone is stupid enough to stick a knife or fork or screwdriver into a power point the chances were they would never do it again. Hence natural selection idiots out common sense individuals continue to thrive. Simples really.
Why is it always someone else who gets the blame for others inability to look after themselves?
Do we all have ti sign a disclaimer absolving entities or others for our own shortcomings ?
You can’t protect people who do silly and dangerous things / ignore the signs, wear inappropriate clothing and/or footwear, etc. We are already overrun by people who want to live in nanny states… they don’t need anymore encouragement
Oh please! So many of us enjoy the great outdoors with no problems! If you go into a National Park it should be at your own risk. We do not need a nanny state lock8mg up our National Parks -which is what will happen if we are not careful. Given the vast numbers who use NPs it is not surprising there are a few accidents.
Leave the parks alone, we are all responsible for looking after our own safety.
Its a pity we can not immunize against stupidity
We have seen people hang towels on Crocodile warning signs and go swimming, we have seen people climb over safety fences to stand right on the edge of cliff tops just for a photo opportunity (even parents getting their children to stand at cliff tops). No matter what you do to make it safer,sadly, there are still those out there that think the rules don’t apply to them.
If people are stupid they will have bad things happen to them. What else is there to say? Unfortunately common sense can’t be bought over the counter. What does the person who wrote this article hope to achieve? Really!!
No more nanny controls and regulations please…
Inform yourself, use common sense and take responsibility for your actions!
Otherwise, staying at home and watching a documentary is the safest option (Warning: Don’t blame someone else when you trip over the carpet on the way to the fridge or fall out of your armchair half asleep)