Plan a trip to Barmah this holiday season

Friday 21 December, 2012

Rangers have been busy preparing Barmah National Park and nearby River Murray Reserves for an influx of visitors over the busy holiday season despite the ongoing impact of floods this year.

Parks Victoria Murray Riverine Ranger in Charge Bruce Wehner said recurring floods have impacted access to some areas but the team have focused on preparing access to popular camping areas.

“We’ve removed many fallen trees, re-graded roads, and laid down hundreds of tonnes of rock so tracks can better withstand ongoing floods due to nature or environmental flows,” said Bruce.

“Undertaking damage and risk assessments and improving the main road and track network has been at the core of our extensive flood recovery program.

As part of the program, Parks Victoria and engineers recently conducted an assessment to gauge the condition of 117 bridges in Barmah National Park and nearby reserves.

“Park Victoria has had to close four bridges to protect public safety after finding they were structurally inadequate. Alternative routes for light vehicles are available,” said Bruce.

The bridges are among the oldest infrastructure in the park and have sustained damage over time from recurring use, falling trees and long periods of inundation.

“We’ll be working toward replacing as many bridges as soon as possible, and as funding becomes available, but public safety must be our priority,” said Bruce.

“In the meantime, rangers have created alternate access to some of the best camping spots along the Murray River including 15km of river frontage at the Gulf Camping Area. They have also prepared additional camping sites along Broken Creek for the short-term.”

“We advise visitors to check the latest conditions before they travel to see if they need to take an alternate route to reach their favourite camping spot this year.”

Visit www.parks.vic.gov.au or call 13 1963 to check latest conditions.

Bridge closures:

• Whore’s Creek Bridge on Gulf Track, Barmah National Park – Access the Gulf via Newmans Track.
• Forcing Yards Track Bridge & Little Budgee Creek Bridge on Forcing Yards Track, Barmah National Park - Access Top Island via River Road.
• Barmah Creek Bridge 2 on River Road, River Murray Reserve, Barmah Island – Access to Barmah Island from either direction until point of bridge closure or via Corrys Road.