Hi Y'all,
Last weekend I spent yet another great couple of days down at Yalwal.
Yalwal is one of the very few
recreation areas where we can still go to make good use of our 4WD's.
The tracks of Yalwal present drivers with a wide range of difficulty levels. 'Responsible' drivers will always assess conditions on the day and decide whether or not to proceed along certain tracks. Don't get me wrong, I don't drive the Truck in cotton wool, but I certainly don't 'attack' difficult sections, churning up the track as I go.
For reasons of track and self preservation I tend avoid bush tracks when they are wet.
Anyway, last week I noted a
GATE at the entry points to the 4WD section above the
Camping Area (the old mining track)! It happenned that a Council
Ranger was in the area on Sunday Morning. During conversation, the
Ranger said the
gate(s) will soon be locked to prevent vehicle access. The
Ranger added that a key may be available at the Nowra
Visitors Centre.
When reading details at the following link:
Intro to Yalwal Management Program
particularly this section:
TABLE 1 - SUMMARY OF ACTIONS
it seems to me that that the true 4WD tracks will be closed to us indefinately.
I've seen soooo many tracks and
trails taken away from us.
I live in a area that used to have a dozen
places where I could go 4WDing for the day, all within 30 minutes drive from home. These days I have to drive for 2 hours to get to something that might be of interest to a fairdinkum 4WDer.
It seems we're about to lose that as
well.
Really, where is the harm in letting us use tracks that are already established?
Why do the 'authorities' appear to be hell bent on punishing the whole
population for the errors of the few?
The BullDozers that have now been put through some of the tracks have done far, far more damage to the environment than I think the Users of the tracks could ever do. I should have taken some photographs of the sections the Dozer's went through... particularly the immage of the
creek crossings where waterflow has been all but blocked off by trees and rubble pushed down by the Dozer's activities.
Sure, I could spend my time on the Sand 'n Surf, but I prefer Scrub 'n Brush
Anyway... thats my view!