Ningaloo Coast

Bloody Hell....the WA govt is at it again. Some years ago they brought in draconian legislation about camping by the roadsides etc until the Mobile Home Association told them that they would tell their members( some 250,000) not to visit WA in the future. Out came the calculators and the legislation was reversed very quickly.

What actually does the Ningaloo Coast encompass?

Yeh, it stinks. I was at Winderabandi Bay last year - the area was pretty good as far as camper impact goes - everyone was taking their rubbish with them and not disturbing the vegetation.
Their plan appears to funnel everyone into accomodation so that they can achieve their cap on visitors (and keep the resorts in the black)
Gerry

Coops,

I've spent a fair bit of time checking out various government plans about the Outback and Ningaloo coasts and you're right: things don't look all that good. Alanna MacTiernan (Dept. of Planning and Infrastructure) intends to excise a 2K coastal strip from all of the pastoral leases along the coast. She's actually been pretty scathing about the people who operate those leases - saying in the Sunday Time a couple of years ago that they were "Kings in Grass Castles". Nice huh?

There are plans within the government to develop ecco-tourism in the area that goes something like this:
Quobba Station - 500 person a night (the Carnarvon Shire love this idea apparently);
Ningaloo Station - 200 person a night (I bet the Japanese who own that station will love that idea);
Waroora Station - 200 person a night.

The Australian Wildlife Conservatory already owns 25% of the lease for Ningaloo Station and has plans for a 200 person a night ecco-tourism venture split between Winderbandi Point, Lefroy Bay and Ningaloo Homestead.

Cardabia Station is owned by Baiyunga Aboriginal Corporation. Murlanda Enterprises (Baiyungu Community) plans low-key ecco-tourism close to Coral Bay but I don't think they've got too far in their planning yet.

There is also plans to put a paved road in between Quobba and Yardie Creek with a sacraficial causeway across Yardie Creek. That's going to change things just a bit isn't it?

I reckon you're right, apparently 1350 people camped at informal camping grounds on Ningaloo, Cardabia and Waroora stations in 2003. Given that, the area is pretty well looked after isn't it?

Did you know that 210000 people visited the coast between Carnarvon and Exmouth last year? 100000 between Carnarvon and Coral Bay and 111000 to the North of Coral Bay. The vast majority are International Tourists!

I reckon the government sees the entire area as a bit of a cash cow and are planning on regulating camping for profits; not to protect the coast from being "loved to death". I might be wrong but...

This sort of inconsistancy really gets up my nose....

One day they tell the general public that they can't drive on the beach for "environmental" reaosns and the next day the bulldoze 100 hectares of bush for heaps of 500 square metre housing blocks. Who are these idiots?

Anubody notice what happened in Osborne Park east of freeway and Erindale road? Acres and acres of pristine wetlands drained..I used to cycles past them and listen to frogs and birds...now just lawnmowers and barking dogs.

We need a logical and realistic political party in this country who can control all this bullbleep.

When is this closure to camping between Yardie & Coral Bay supposed to come into operation ? We are intending to visit there in a few months time.