Wollumbin: very dangerous and off limits to public
THE first kilometre of Wollumbin National Park's summit track has been cleared but National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) warns the hardest is yet to come.
"There is still loose timber hanging overhead, so specialist arborists are required to climb trees with rope harnesses to remove damaged branches," NPWS Regional Operations Co-ordinator John Fisher said.
"Normally crews working to clear debris from a mountain would start at the summit and work down, so they can roll discarded logs and branches downhill.
"It's just not possible on Wollumbin as the access is blocked by piles of debris so, in this case crews had to start at the base and are working up."
The aim was to have the track open for the summer holidays but the deadline is fast approaching.
Prior to the closure the park was attracting 100,000 visitors a year.
Earlier this year ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald and a number of mini tornadoes caused extensive blow-downs of large forest trees and landslips in the park.
Mr Fisher stressed that the Wollumbin National Park is still a very dangerous place and strictly off limits to the public until work is completed.
