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Bantry Bay Aboriginal Carvings
I was up at the carvings at Bantry bay today, and was disappointed to find that the whole area has degraded in the six months since I was last there.
There are MotoX tracks, Truck tyre marks, and hundreds of MTB tyre marks all over the rock face, and carvings. People have continued the practice of tracing out the carvings with a rock too.
I also noticed at least 4 riders on the illegal single track behind the rock area in a 45 minute period.
The saddest part is, I was showing a tourist the sights. He'd just been blown away by the view off North head, and then gets to see the lack of respect for these remnants.
I know there have been discussions about working with NPWS about trail and environment protection, but no real results to date.
How can we, as a group of like minded souls, get together with NPWS to put in place some protection for this site?
The carvings on Dobroyd headland have large sleeper barriers erected. The only difference I can see between the two sites is that at Bantry bay the carvings are shallower, and more numerous, and the foot traffic is less due to the location. Does this make them any less valuable an asset?
I'm happy to step out of my comfort zone and drive some action, but I really don't know where to start. Lets start with some trail/environmental action, one step at a time. And maybe we can get a real partnership going with NPWS.
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I share your frustration Slowpup... Although I occasionally speak to local NPWS rangers they seem bound by lack of manpower and direction from above when it comes to trail access. They have their antiquated (10 year old plus) rule book and that's that.
If you want to make a difference to NPWS then we really should be getting a letter writing campaign to ministers on the go, because ultimately it seems that is where direction comes from. I do know that other parties are campaigning for similar goals but public support of some kind of action can't be a bad thing. Just when you write try and say what is wrong and how you think it should be fixed without trying to lay blame or be negative.
As for riders that continue to use illegal trails... they are frustrated. Many may have been riding these trails for years and don't see why they should stop. Many might even have tried to gain legal access in the past, were knocked back and are taking the, "Fcuk it, you don't show me respect, I won't show you any!", approach to authority. Many might just be too young or too stupid to think beyond what effect their actions have on the community as a whole.
Then there are the idiots on MX... if you can afford to MX you can afford to put your bike on a ute or trailer and bugged off to a state forest rather than ripping up local national parks. Simply a lack of respect for local parks and their users.