Hi All,
Just returned back from the NT and was so dissapointed I had to wrote about it.
This was my 4th visit to Cobourg
park and wow has it changed, in more ways than one.......
The campsites used to be very private and shady. Thanks to a cyclone back on 2005 this has changed a lot. The parks auth have installed shade cloths above sections of the
camp ground but this can only do so much.
Nobody can be blamed for a cyclone doing damage as its a unavoidable in that part of the world. If travelling there be aware you may end up with a
campsite with next to no shade.
Water conditions have changed. There used to be ample supply of drinkable
water at the campgrounds. Even on the paperwork that is sent to you when applying for permits tells you
drinking water is available from the
ranger station. Based on this information that was supplied to us we didnt carry any of our own
drinking water. Upon arrival we were told all
water has to be boiled and it smelled and tasted awful.
Furthermore some genius has gone to the trouble to installing hot showers (why in a tropical climate I'll never know), but there are no taps in order to fill your containers with
water. In order to get to a tap you had to take a short drive or use the tap at the rangers office. Other campers simply blocked the drain on the amenities hand basin and allowed it to overflow and collected the overflow. Needless to say a majority simply was wasted.
Upon visiting the
ranger station the female aboriginal
ranger would not serve us. We could see her in the office behind the closed glass doors but she would not come out. We simply wanted to ask about the
drinking water situation and some weather details (as we have boats). She simply would not come out. Eventually we simply crossed the counter and walked in only to be told it was "her day off". I could not believe the absolute pathetic service. We found the
ranger rude and generally not wanting to discuss anything. They would often drive us by without saying hello or asking how are you going. We would wave as we drove past them and they would ignore us. The weather maps on display at the
ranger station were out of date and the boating log didnt seen to be used anymore (this is so you can write where you are going in case you have problems the rangers can come and find you).
We observed in numerous occasions the aboriginal rangers doing really excessive speed on the local dirt tracks around the
camp ground causing much dust and concern about the kids.
The on site cabins are now all but derelict with mattresses leaning against the buildings and doors missing. The overall condition showed they would not have been used for a while and my opinion is they will be gone completely within a few years. Hire boats have gone.
The long jetty which was fantastic for night fishing as it was 100% safe from crocs and was great for the kids has basically been left to collapse. Its derelict and entry to it is forbidden. A real shame as it used to be a great place to fish into the late evening.
The
shop is gone as is any fuel sales. While we were there we found out from the other campers the seven spirits resort has also ceased trading. I'm not sure why ????
On the supplied documents which you get with the entry permits it tells the entry road is graded twice a season. What a load of rubbish !!!
The road was severely corrugated and it was anyone's guess when it may have been graded last. To be fair the very first section after the east alligator crossing was quite good but soon it turned in to a very rough and dusty track. Of all my visits to the
park I had never seen it so bad. The result of the drive in was a broken exhaust bracket on the 80 series which later led to a broken exhaust pipe.
Given the amount they charge, the distance to get there and what I have seen I wont be going back. As was mentioned by the other campers we spoke with the place now gives you a real sense that they dont want people going up there any longer.
We spent the full week there and most of that time we were the only the group there. A couple other groups came and went, having only stayed 3 days.
We met a few other people while we were there and both of them left after only a couple of days. Of all my visits to the
park I had never seen it so empty and quiet. If they are trying to discourage visitors it certainly seems to be working.
Cheers.