RIP Norval park.

Hi Jeff,

Another place gone. Hope my hideaway a bit further north does not meet a similar fate. I hope (cross fingers) to be through that way next week, if so I'll give you a call.

John

Unfortunately, if your secrect camping spot is in the Burnett shire, then you can pretty well kiss it good bye. The council in their wisdom, has shut down all beach camping access in the shire. This includes Kincunna, palm beach, Norval, Kolan mouth etc.
True, some people do leave there rubbish behind, and it is always the few that ruin it for the many, but to close the lot down is just down right rude.. Many people ( locals and tourists alike), do clean up after themselves, and should not have these glorious places taken away.
If any one is in the area, and would like to voice their concern to council, there is a number of petitions floating around.. Mcleods Offroad, and the Bundaberg 4wd club to name a couple.

Cheers
Ads

Its so sad Jeff,
we went to Norval last week. The place was taken over by brain dead hoons and scumbags on the weekend. We had to remove 4 big rubbish bags of smashed glass and cans and bottles before we could set up camp. Then we got invaded by some louds at 3 o'clock in the morning who were churning up the beach and had their getto blasters on full power.

So thanks a lot for spoiling it for all of us you lowlife scumbags go and break your bloody necks!

Merry Christmas to our friends from interstate who have been using the area for years and now will have nowhere to go this Christmas when they come up.

Sad that the irresponsible action of a few bludgers can spoil it for everyone.

Udo

Jeff
G'Day mate. is that where we went for the drive just recently .???

D&D

#

I see this as a win win for the council. Firstly they don't have to pay staff to clean up litter left by the inconsiderate campers and secondly they are forcing campers into caravan parks (council and private) so boosting their revenue. Site fees are going up and up. By the time I get to go for the "The Big One" I'm afraid I wont be able to afford the site fees..... never mind the fuel.

Kc

What a shame! We have been there twice now and it seemed a perfectspot for taking the kids, It seems more and more lately that some of the simple things we used to enjoy as kids wont be there for our kids to have the same experiences. We dont ask much, just a place to put a tent by the beach, let the kids play in the sand and come 5 o clock light a fire cook some food and settle down to relax for the night. Yes it gets my goat that like everything in life its the 1 or 2 that determine things for the 30 or 40 thousand, people need to start being accountable for their actions and how do we teach our children that??? by closing the sorts of places that you can take them to teach them these values!! Why oh Why cant these people see this ??? Why should the minority rule?

Just to clarify I believe the closures only apply to areas of land controlled by the Burnett Shire Council and not the sections controlled by the Qld National Parks & Wildlife Service.

This means that the Mouth of Kolan River Conservation Park and the Kinkuna Section of the Great Sandy National Park, both of which require permits from the QNPWS, will continue to be accessible to us for beach camping. I think from memory it is about $4 per night to camp in these areas. There is a limit on the numbers of camping permits that they issue for the Kolan River but at least we can still access these areas and camp at affordable rates wand not be forced into caravan parks.

I don't agree with the closures nor do I agree with the timing of the announcement of the closures without forewarning the community. There are going to be many people turning up with loaded 4wd's at Christmas only to be turned around and have to head home again due to either booked out National Parks or the expectation that they have on being able to camp with their families for free.

I also think that we have been quite spoiled in this area for a long time and have been just far enough from the over-regulated south-east corner and all the issues that go with it. This has meant that we have been able to have free beach camping 20 minutes from home in isolation from crowds etc. I think those days are over for us and we will only see more and more of this as the region grows.

I will be signing the petition but I honestly don't hold much hope on it affecting the outcome as councils will always have the issues around liability and insurance as the primary reason for restricting access to these areas.

The future for me probably means that as the freedoms of living in a region that does not have too many rules dissappear, then also I pack up my family and move again to another place that will allow my family to live a simple and safe lifestyle until again the growing monster from S/E Qld catches up with me.

Our other solution has been to "buy"our own space and this year have purchased 2800 acres of steep mountain area with creeks, rainforest, great camping, hiking and best of all, no other campers and we make our own rules.

Regards,
Brett