A friend in
Brisbane has just emailed me an article regarding amendments to camping at Fraser Island, which was published in the Courier Mail 25 Feb.
In part it reads as follows:
"A backpacker rite of passage will come to an end next month when beach camping is outlawed at
Indian Head, Fraser Island.
New Environment Minister
John Mickle has stopped camping after years of complaints about rubbish, human waste, drunkeness, and 4WD hoons endangering lives.
The decision followed the closure of Lake Mackenzie to car-based camping in November after concerns it was being loved to death.
Pictures released by the Fraser Island Defenders Organisation yesterday showed it had changed dramatically since 1972 when tourism first took off.
The headland has become severely eroded from pedestrians trekking to the top and the impact of up to 400 campers per night, mostly backpackers.
Some
Hervey Bay tour operatos lured backpackers with the promise of a place where there were "no laws"."
The article goes on to talk about rangers having to go pick up used
toilet paper, beer cans and rubbish each morning. The article went on to say ...
"However, Friends of Fraser president Lin Powell condemned the move, claiming it was part of a push to phase out beach caming.
Mr Powell said the problem with waste and
toilet paper would continue unless
toilets were built near the headland."
"Mr Mickel's spokeswoman said a new stretch of designated beach camping at Dundubara and planned expansions at the privately owned Cathedral Beach
campground would absorb beach campers.".
These are the key points othe article .. but not a complete transcript.
I guess the old adage of "abuse it and lose it" seems to apply here. Pity.
Jack
No trees were harmed in the making or sending of this message.
However a great number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.