OT Fee for May should be scrapped immediately

[dazfromtaz]

I think the experiment to charge $200 to walk the OT in the month of May (since 2013) should be scrapped immediately. No one is walking the track, are PWS satisfied with this outcome? It should be a discounted rate at best!! It also means locals will walk in June to avoid the $200 fee. The whole management of this walk is a joke. Is there still mould in Pelion Hut, has the pigs trough from Frog Flats improved? Kia Ora is the size of my bedroom and Narcissus Hut - no comment. Manager is failing on all counts. He should resign. How long will it be before we start forking out $300????

[north-north-west]

Is there anything about TasPAWS and the Overland Track of which you approve?

[Strider]

Walk somewhere else?

[tibboh]

Although I like avoiding fees for anything, I would be happy to pay the OLT fee at any time of the year. It is a special part of the world and without PWS maintaining the track it would soon turn into a nightmare.....a bog from start to finish like the good old days.
I am pretty sure that PWS have a priority system where the most urgent jobs get seen to first. If you dont like a bit of mould in the huts sleep in your tent. It would be almost impossible to keep moisture out of a building in those conditions. Without a bit of mud on the track here and there you aren't experiencing Tassie. I'm sure the section of track you are complaining about will be clad in treated pine and galvanised mesh within the next five years......thanks to track fees....which by then will most likely be $300.
I personally like the small old huts....a glimpse of what things used to be like. It would be a sad day if they pulled those huts down. How would you like Bert Nicholls monstrosities all along the track? Small huts encourage you to 'camp' out and really experience the area.
Dont blame PWS for your gripes. They have to undoubtedly self fund their maintenance. Blame the short sighted politicians who should be providing more money to maintain this track.

[matagi]

Daz, it's part of an obscure convoluted plan by PWS to stop deaths and injuries on the OLT by making it unattractive to walk there.

My husband is leaving this morning for his tenth OLT trip, I'll ask him about the things you have complained about when he returns. Pretty sure the worst bits of Frog Flat were duckboarded before the start of the current season. As for the huts - NFI.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Although I like avoiding fees for anything, I would be happy to pay the OLT fee at any time of the year. It is a special part of the world and without PWS maintaining the track it would soon turn into a nightmare.....a bog from start to finish like the good old days.
I am pretty sure that PWS have a priority system where the most urgent jobs get seen to first. If you dont like a bit of mould in the huts sleep in your tent. It would be almost impossible to keep moisture out of a building in those conditions. Without a bit of mud on the track here and there you aren't experiencing Tassie. I'm sure the section of track you are complaining about will be clad in treated pine and galvanised mesh within the next five years......thanks to track fees....which by then will most likely be $300.
I personally like the small old huts....a glimpse of what things used to be like. It would be a sad day if they pulled those huts down. How would you like Bert Nicholls monstrosities all along the track? Small huts encourage you to 'camp' out and really experience the area.
Dont blame PWS for your gripes. They have to undoubtedly self fund their maintenance. Blame the short sighted politicians who should be providing more money to maintain this track.

Well said young Baggins!

[Solohike74]

Many on the OT are from outside Australia. We contribute to national parks through the tax system so high fees are like double dipping.

The general fee should be increased to say, $250 or higher, and then discounted to $100 for Australian residents and lowered further for any Australian resident on benefits or a pension.

[Scottyk]

I think the experiment to charge $200 to walk the OT in the month of May (since 2013) should be scrapped immediately. No one is walking the track, are PWS satisfied with this outcome? It should be a discounted rate at best!! It also means locals will walk in June to avoid the $200 fee. The whole management of this walk is a joke. Is there still mould in Pelion Hut, has the pigs trough from Frog Flats improved? Kia Ora is the size of my bedroom and Narcissus Hut - no comment. Manager is failing on all counts. He should resign. How long will it be before we start forking out $300????

You don't have to walk the track if you din't like it.
Frog flats has no mud to speak of now, all board walked. I wonder where the money for that came from.....?

[icefest]

Frog flats has no mud to speak of now, all board walked.

Wow.

How far north does the DB go from FF??

[Solohike74]

Wonder how much extra revenue charging in May brings? Now if any May walker changes to winter & gets into strife then, any rescue cost to the community is likely to far outweigh any extra track pass revenue.

[pazzar]

Why do you find it necessary to just whinge about PWS here? If you have a problem with the PWS management, how about writing a letter to the GM and have your say there? And like many other people have said, if you don't like it, find somewhere else to walk. I hear the track alongside the Derwent is 100% mud free!

[stepbystep]

Wonder how much extra revenue charging in May brings? Now if any May walker changes to winter & gets into strife then, any rescue cost to the community is likely to far outweigh any extra track pass revenue.

Different bucket of money so not an issue

[Nuts]

I think the experiment to charge $200 to walk the OT in the month of May (since 2013) should be scrapped immediately. No one is walking the track, are PWS satisfied with this outcome? It should be a discounted rate at best!! It also means locals will walk in June to avoid the $200 fee.

Mostly agree (safety and experience, not money, in mind)

The whole management of this walk is a joke. Manager is failing on all counts. He should resign.

Disagree

How long will it be before we start forking out $300????

Probably not very

[dazfromtaz]

Is there anything about TasPAWS and the Overland Track of which you approve?

No one is walking the track in the "shoulder season" hence reopen for locals to enjoy.

[dazfromtaz]

Why do you find it necessary to just whinge about PWS here? If you have a problem with the PWS management, how about writing a letter to the GM and have your say there? And like many other people have said, if you don't like it, find somewhere else to walk. I hear the track alongside the Derwent is 100% mud free!

Its a free country to voice my concerns amigo. If you dont like what i say, dont respond. Simple. Plenty of other places you can go too!!

[matagi]

Is there anything about TasPAWS and the Overland Track of which you approve?

No one is walking the track in the "shoulder season" hence reopen for locals to enjoy.

That's a pretty sweeping statement. How do you know no one is walking the track in the shoulder season?

[pazzar]

Why do you find it necessary to just whinge about PWS here? If you have a problem with the PWS management, how about writing a letter to the GM and have your say there? And like many other people have said, if you don't like it, find somewhere else to walk. I hear the track alongside the Derwent is 100% mud free!

Its a free country to voice my concerns amigo. If you dont like what i say, dont respond. Simple. Plenty of other places you can go too!!

And plenty of other places I do go Daz!

While I understand that you are entitled to free speech, when you single out that the GM of TPWS should resign, you are taking a personal swipe at a person I know and respect, and IMO is too far. Unless you know the duress that he is under in his position, don't make comments like that. There are also numerous TPWS folk on this forum, many of whom I know personally. Perhaps you tell them to resign too? If you aren't willing to say it to their face, don't say it!

[Nuts]

https://bookings.overlandtrack.com.au/o ... etails.asp

Keep an eye on that Daz. I'm sure you didn't literally mean 'nobody' (must seem like giving evidence at a jury trial here at times)..
There may be not too many, there aren't so far.

As I understand there will be two track rangers employed through the period, probably a loosing proposition $ wise looking at the numbers.
The GM wouldn't have a lot to do with managing this system but the guys that do are ok. A tough task they seem to have found themselves with..

[Lophophaps]

Dont blame PWS for your gripes. They have to undoubtedly self fund their maintenance. Blame the short sighted politicians who should be providing more money to maintain this track.

Agree, but I'd go a little further. As long as the electorate is more concerned with the immediate than the long-term, there will always be short-sighted decisions at the expense of the distant future. Witness climate change. There's a few things amiss with the OLT, or most walks for that matter. Look at the absurd camping fees in Victoria.

My experience is that park managers care for their park, and are doing what they can with what they have, subject always to staff and funding limitations, with an Ossa of competing priorities. Before criticising, ask if you could do better given the circumstances at the time. Then think about criticising the issue, not the incumbent. I've had quite a lot of input into National Parks over more years than I am prepared to recall. I can't actually recall as the synapses are down, and the backup crashed. Must take more pics and notes.

[dazintaz]

It was a money grabbing scheme that has backfired in their faces, as they said to me it "if its a booking season, then rangers need to be on track as a duty of care." Quite a hefty price to pay for 2 rangers over a month to do this when its only generating 25-30 walkers, even a monkey would realise this doesnt make good economic sense. Why charge $200 for a product when there arent the same providings in May as apposed to January, how many less daylight hours are there? Taps wont be frozen etc etc So, the people making these decisions have failed. The walk needs to be profitable. There should be a discount for Tasmanian residents who pay there biennial fee. Encourage any Tasmanian to walk it with a discount. Many businesses out there do this. It irks me how some of the people on this forum are so narrow minded, it really scares me.

[pazzar]

Have you perhaps stop to consider that not all of the $200 goes in to paying rangers? Our Parks sector is already struggling for funding, so any extra income has to be a step forward.

Should the fee still be there in May? Perhaps not, but really, other places don't have high visitation in May, so i doubt that removing the fee would make a huge difference.

[tastrax]

Many on the OT are from outside Australia. We contribute to national parks through the tax system so high fees are like double dipping.

The general fee should be increased to say, $250 or higher, and then discounted to $100 for Australian residents and lowered further for any Australian resident on benefits or a pension.

You can get a discount on your Parks Pass - The vast majority of visitors only buy the three month pass which generally works out at a higher rate than anyone who buys an annual pass or or two year pass. There are also reductions for concessions card holders and pensioners.

How about NSW starts the trend and drops the exorbitant fees for skiers vehicles at Kosciusko National Park - they should include that park in the annual park pass. A week of cross country skiing will cost you more than a week on the overland - and dont even get me started on downhill!

[icefest]

Would you support higher taxes instead, dazintaz?

Taztrax, what about people who walk into Kosciusko NP, what are they expected to pay?

[Mechanic-AL]

I'm heading down the OLT in May and one of the attractions for me at that time of the year is the lower number of walkers. If you want to get on the track with a few less punters then I reckon parting company with 200 bucks in the shoulder season is the go. Looking at things from this perspective means the fee is a good thing ( to me anyway. )

AL

[corvus]

It was a money grabbing scheme that has backfired in their faces, as they said to me it "if its a booking season, then rangers need to be on track as a duty of care." Quite a hefty price to pay for 2 rangers over a month to do this when its only generating 25-30 walkers, even a monkey would realise this doesnt make good economic sense. Why charge $200 for a product when there arent the same providings in May as apposed to January, how many less daylight hours are there? Taps wont be frozen etc etc So, the people making these decisions have failed. The walk needs to be profitable. There should be a discount for Tasmanian residents who pay there biennial fee. Encourage any Tasmanian to walk it with a discount. Many businesses out there do this. It irks me how some of the people on this forum are so narrow minded, it really scares me.

dazintaz,
I do not like the fact that I have to pay to do the Overland at any time as a resident Tasmanian however over the years since the fee introduction I have experienced many improvements (my first trip was over 20 years ago) and you would not believe the improvements and less crowding over my 10 or so trips since then.
The track maintenance at Frog Flats for one ,even if disparaged here "Bert Nicholls" hut is a major improvement on the old Windy Ridge Shed,this all came at a cost from Treasury but get a bit sad when I read about "youngsters ?" looking for a free lunch if they have a solid income ( please do not claim penurious student status ) it wont work with me .
Looking at the initial bookings lets say 30 @ $200.00 with two Rangers on board that $6000.00 will hardly cover their wages however they will provide a safety net and clean toilets for those who have the time to do it then so I for one cannot see it as "a money grabbing " exercise that you claim ,just good housekeeping
corvus

[Ent]

I am rather curious on the economics of extending the fee season. My main criticism of Parks is it is secret service that, unlike a secret service, is actually secret!!!!! So we will likely never know what is the financial result. Me thinks it will be very weather dependent.

Also given the reason tragic events I am worried by people making the assumptions that two Park rangers are a safety measure. Apart from the shear impossibility of them been every where, I for one would not wish to see them out after dark attempting to find stragglers.

The shorter days will make for even bigger issues. I was up at Pelion three weeks back and people, including young kids, were hauling in past eight o'clock. Not a great issue with the long summer days, but in winter not a good thing.

The opening post does highlight the huge difference in expectations compared to the reality that people encounter. For a regular Tasmanian walker the OLT facilities are what we grew up with, and as mentioned have improved over the years. True, I like many, can not fathom the economic disaster that the Bert Nichols hut is, and struggle to find a rational approach to some boardwalk types and locations, but as said progress is been made.

If the May season is not viable financially the Parks should step outside their cone of silence and say so.

Also, I fully support a tiered fee structure. When in Europe I often struck three fees, locals, EU, and others. Given that Parks is not fully self funding then I as a Tasmanian pay for this with higher taxes and/or lower services but still get slugged as anyone not a local.

Also, I question and challenge a management approach that charges one area of the state but does not for other areas. There is no fairness nor any considerations of the locals by Parks and until they demonstrate sympathy for locals I am afraid that they are only reaping what they sow.

For the record I chat to park rangers and they are not the spawn of Satan. The real devils are the bureaucratic elite that generally only see the Park by helicopter flights.

Regards

[Mark F]

Daz - you seem quite an angry person - perhaps you should go walking more.

There seem to be 37 bookings for OLT in May as of this evening (not your 25-30) and it is reasonable to assume that this number will increase to 50+. While this is economically marginal it is no doubt the political masters and Treasury boffins who call the shots - not so much the parks service itself. You seem to be suggesting that the shorter daylight hours means you are getting less for your money - even the parks service can't sort this out so pay your money and make sure you are in the park on 21/22 December for the longest day. As for frozen taps - sorry that's really going to ruin anybody's walk. And could you name a few businesses that give all Tasmanians a discount while charging others full price.

Regarding the matter of you paying for it through your taxes as a Tasmanian, could you please provide your taxable income for last year so we can see how much you actually contributed. You need to be aware that all Australians contribute to the Tasmanian economy through fiscal balancing as Tasmania receives a somewhat larger share of Commonwealth revenues compared to the amount collected from Tasmania.

Every state has costs associated with enjoying our national parks. Here in NSW my annual park entry pass is $190 compared to $96 in Tasmania, while Victoria is looking at the imposition of remote area camping fees. The OLT is only one walk in a state blessed with so many wonderful walking opportunities - get out and enjoy them and stop wingeing.

[Nuts]

You can piece together from earlier discussions on here the challenges they have had with the system and the likely need for these changes. It's very likely an attempt to do something about the waiting groups, schools, clubs etc. no booking to ensure they don't all end up together and no staff to help with any problems (or clean up after some of them).

As I understand the changes this 'extended season' isn't the only one being put into place to better accommodate or manage these groups.

[tastrax]

Taztrax, what about people who walk into Kosciusko NP, what are they expected to pay?

Exactly the same from what I can gather - http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/annua ... ldIBuy.htm

[johnw]

Taztrax, what about people who walk into Kosciusko NP, what are they expected to pay?

Exactly the same from what I can gather - http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/annua ... ldIBuy.htm

NSW passes are issued for vehicle entry only, walk in access is free.