A new management plan for Victoria’s Grampians National Park will see big changes made to the camping situation there.
With well over a million annual vistiors to the park, also known as Gariwerd, there have been growing concerns over the impact on the park’s cultural and natural values.
The park’s just-released final management plan says that campers in the park will soon be required to stay in one of 47 designated camping sites.
“Vehicle‐based dispersed camping and hike‐in dispersed camping without facilities is leading to unsustainable impacts,” said the plan. “Growing and repeated visitor use of these locations has led to the unplanned establishment of informal dispersed camping areas with expanding encroachment, vegetation loss, soil compaction, creation of large areas of bare ground, proliferation of campfires and inappropriate management of human waste.”
The Wonderland Range is part of the unique landscape of the Gariwerd. PIC: Parks Victoria
The report said that informal dispersed camping areas had been established without appropriate planning for, or consideration of, impacts to the environment or cultural heritage and this had led to unacceptable risks.
It said that to ensure park values were not at risk, camping would only be permitted in designated areas. These would include some of the more popular areas used for informal vehicle‐based camping, where camping will be provisionally permitted until 2024.
The landscape management plan took two years to develop. PIC: Visit Melbourne / ABC
“During this time these provisional camping areas will be assessed for cultural and natural values and then either formalised and maintained as on‐going designated camping areas or closed and rehabilitated,” the plan stated. “Dispersed hike‐in camping will also continue until 2024 after which time hike‐in camping will be restricted to designated locations.”
In summarising the new position on camping, the report stated there would be:
The final plan has also scrapped an initial suggestion that dingoes be returned to Gariwerd. Local farmers had been alarmed by the proposal fearing it would lead to livestock deaths. Parks Victoria says it now intends to work with traditional owners to restore other threatened species to the area. These include the southern brown bandicoot, smoky mouse, long-nosed potoroo and quolls.
A proposal to restore dingoes to Gariwerd has been scrapped. PIC: ABC / Nicole Hegarty
The Greater Gariwerd includes the highest concentration of known Aboriginal rock art in Victoria as well as nearly a third of Victoria’s plant species, providing critical habitat for threatened animals.
The final plan also sets out 104 designed sites where rock climbing will be allowed.
The management plan was developed in partnership with Traditional Owners – the Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, and Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation. It also involved two years of public consultation and review, including more than 2,500 public submissions.
National Parks are good but more and more restrictions are being put in place and so many rules to adhere to.
Unstandably as some Parks are very overcrowded by people like ants.
Im not a big fan of online booking either so I think I’ll just stick to remote bush camping away from the crowds and restrictions.
I think that having 47 designated camping spaces is perfectly reasonable and is important to protect our national treasures such as this one.
People need to be encouraged to cancel early so others can use the spot. Often people don’t cancel snd don’t come!
Easy fixed!! Take their money on booking – and only offer a refund 7 days in advance.
Payment fixes everything. That way the site is released from the booking, and other campers can then book that site. How hard is that?
Louise that would be to easy imagine any government department with a decision as “COMPLICATED ” as pay when book
That would take weeks and multitude off department heads to pass it