Bushwalk Australia

For a family of 2 adults and 2 kids the fees add up to about $700 to walk the overland track.

Am I the only one who finds this a big wallop? I can understand the concept of charge what the market will bear but National Parks are for everyone- the booking system is supposed to be a rationing system not parks for the wealthy.

I would be interested to find out how the introduction of fees have changed the demographics of walking. It seems Tasmanians now walk in May. The bookings for March - surely a peak walking month as far as weather - looked pretty light. Are there less family groups walking the track? What does that do to the next generation of walkers? Do the fees push walkers into months with worse weather and increased risk?

(As a comparison the Milford and Routeburn tracks charge about $40 per night for adults but kids are free, for a guaranteed hut bed with mattress lights stoves and warden in the huts - so a higher "level of service".)

Chris

Yeh it's ridiculous Chris. when you put it like that it's simply outrageous!!

Take 2 cars, leave one at Cradle, then drive to the Arm River. Walk the Arm River to Cradle then drive back to Arm River and walk from there to St Clair?? That will get you around the need for a pass!!

I walked the Arm River recently, hadnt finished setting up my tent and the ranger was RUNNING over to me saying, WHERES YOUR PASS WHERES YOUR PASS....

they are freaking obsessed!!!

Met a couple once( before the pass system ) who didnt want transport issues. They walked Cradle to Pelion and then returned and picked up their car , drove to ST Clair and walked to Kiaora and returned.
Gets around the pass system, get to walk the Park both Nth to Sth and Sth to Nth .
These days your only issue would be people telling you "your going the wrong way"
This happened to me a couple of weeks ago as I was walking out from the Hydro Hut on the OT
Roger

I'm not sure this works any more? I met a walker who intended to climb Ossa from LSC end. He was turned back at Windy Ridge.
The track rangers appear to be doing a good job but who is setting the goal posts for them? Are the 'rules' written somewhere? Shouldn't they be....

Accountability aside, why should kids travel free, they take booking places like anyone else?

Nuts wrote:
Accountability aside, why should kids travel free, they take booking places like anyone else?

Well I didnt mean that kids should be free. The NZ government has chosen to do that to encourage young people to do physical activity rather than sit in front of a computer. The general argument that children should be charged less than an adult is a rather philosophical one but one that is generally accepted in Australia. I guess if you dont buy that argument then you dont agree that $700 is a lot for a family. (The"well if you cant afford kids dont have them in the first place" argument.) I would just point out that even for people on average incomes, particularly where there is only 1 income that that is a hefty fee.

As I understand it the purpose of the walking fees was to reduce numbers as the park was being loved to death. At the same time it would raise funds for the extra care the park needed. I dont know where the fees go but I guess it does that. The fees and booking were supposed to be a kind of rationing system. If the park management received a report that said if they jacked up the fees to $500 per person they would reduce numbers but increase revenue I would not expect that to be implemented - even though it raised more money it would limit access to only the more wealthy and be against the idea of a peoples national park. When the fees reach a point where a significant slice of the population cannot afford them then then it is limiting access to an elite group. An analogy is a parking meter. It is designed to ration parking so everyone can get a share of the parking space. But if they charge $30 per hour to park then it operates differently. I dont expect National Parks to be run like an Island Resort. A family perhaps should not expect to holiday at Hamilton Island but they could expect equal access to a National Park.

The fees do not stop me walking the track but they would have done when I was a teenager and walked it a few times. In those days there were not the transport options there are today and I remember once walking South to North in 5 days and then back in 2 just to pick up the car as it was probably quicker than hitching. We walked via Lake Petrach on the way North and via the lake side on the way back - maybe the boat cost was too much but I suspect the idea of catching the boat didnt enter our heads.

I guess you can always walk somewhere else.

Chris

ILUVSWTAS wrote:....Take 2 cars, leave one at Cradle, then drive to the Arm River. Walk the Arm River to Cradle then drive back to Arm River and walk from there to St Clair?? That will get you around the need for a pass!!

norts wrote:Met a couple once( before the pass system ) who didnt want transport issues. They walked Cradle to Pelion and then returned and picked up their car , drove to ST Clair and walked to Kiaora and returned. Gets around the pass system, get to walk the Park both Nth to Sth and Sth to Nth .

I don't think it is a good idea to encourage people to do this. This all sounds good and clever, but the most likely long-term result of people doing this will be a requirement to have a permit to walk anywhere on the OLT. i.e. Everyone loses. It would be sad if this happened. If you want to walk the OLT in the peak session, get a pass and walk the OLT.

I do agree that it should be possible to get a family pass, especially to cover the third or fourth child. It would currently cost $576 for 2 Adults and 2 kids under 17. I have no idea how many family groups of 2 Adults and 3 or more kids walk the OLT in any one year, but I don't imagine you'd need all your fingers and toes to count them. Surely a family pass would not change the revenue figures much.