Grey nomads and others seeking to do multi-day hikes in Northern Territory national parks will have to pay for the privilege from mid-year.
The announcement comes on the heels of the news that interstate travellers are set to be charged to enter to the Territory’s national parks from 2022.
However, unlike the park entry fees, it seems that NT residents will also have to pay the hiking charges.
Minister for Parks and Rangers Selena Uibo told the ABC that the government has not yet decided how much the fees for hiking and camping will be, but that they will apply both to locals and visitors from July 1.
“We’re still working on the final figures for the fees, there’s consultation on the fees with stakeholders,” Ms Uibo said.
She said they would go towards maintaining the parks and tracks.
“We want to ensure of course their safety and the maintenance,” Ms Uibo told the ABC. “As you can imagine and appreciate, some of those park walks are extremely remote so it does take a lot of effort to ensure that they’re safe.”
The fees will apply to tracks like the Larapinta Trek near Alice Springs and the Tabletop walk in Litchfield.
Well, if you are going to be charged to just visit the park as well, then be charged just to walk in the park, then their will be no good reason to visit the parks, So just visiting is a charge, walking, their is a charge and camping is a charge, maybe $100 a day, what a ripoff