Whitsunday and Mackay Islands Visitor Management Strategy ...

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Visitors access Tongue Point via Tongue Bay Snorkellers at Blue Pearl Bay Brampton Island Resort 20 Whitsunday and Mackay Islands Visitor Management Strategy 6.4.4 Beaches at Blue Pearl Bay, Black Island and Langford Spit Blue Pearl Bay, Black Island and Langford Spit are three of the most popular snorkelling and diving sites in the Whitsundays. The beaches are used as platforms to begin underwater exploration. There are picnic tables and a pit toilet on Black Island and a picnic table on Langford Island. Various commercial tourism vessels, private vessels and guests from Hayman Island Resort visit the sites. There are numerous moorings and/or reef protection markers at all of the beaches. Channel guides have been installed at Blue Pearl Bay to control visitor access and help separate snorkellers and divers from small vessels accessing the beach. Black Island beach shows clear evidence of erosion, although this is most likely a result of extreme weather conditions. The pit toilet provided on Black Island is at the end of its operational life. Management strategies » » » » Focus visitor use on beach areas, with an emphasis on the majority of facilities being provided by associated vessels. Provide facilities at Black Island only if they are necessary to address visitor impacts. For example, there will be a need to improve toilet facilities. Work with GBRMPA to collaboratively develop integrated site plans for Black Island and Langford Spit. Subject to the Black Island site plan, investigate developing all-tide access at Black Island Beach to limit damage to the reef flats. Due to significant conservation values of Black Island, investigate and implement strategies to minimise visitor use of the island’s southern end through appropriate use of on-site interpretive signage and restricted access areas. 6.4.5 Brampton Island Brampton Island offers numerous attractive beaches and bays and excellent scenic views along an extensive walking track system. The bays are located on the island’s southern and eastern sides, where vessels tend to anchor when winds are from the north. Water is shallow and vessel use restricted at low tides. In south-east winds, vessels usually anchor near the public jetty on the north-west side of the island. Brampton Island Resort is located on the island’s northern tip and accommodates between 11,000 and 12,000 guests each year. There are plans for the resort to expand. Aside from resort guests, free and independent travellers and customers of commercial tour operators use the island’s walking tracks, lookouts and facilities at Western Bay, Dinghy Bay West and Turtle Bay. Tour operators deliver customers to a public jetty where they walk to Western Bay and may then explore the rest of the island. Alternatively, if conditions are suitable, customers can be delivered directly to Western or Dinghy bays. Brampton Island has a significant weed problem. Weeds such as snakeweed and cobbler’s pegs usually spread as a result of visitor use. There is clear evidence of bush toileting at the jetty site. Management strategies » » Manage the walking track system and lookouts, the area next to the public jetty and Western Bay as high use settings. Manage Dinghy Bay West and Turtle Bay visitor sites as moderate use and Dinghy Bay East and Oak Bay as natural settings. Table 6.4.4 Current estimates of day use at Blue Pearl Bay, Black Island and Langford Spit Visitor type Estimate of annual day use Blue Pearl Bay Black Island Langford Spit Commercial tour operator customers 73,000 22,000 27,000 Free and independent travellers 32,000 9000 13,000 Total visits 105,000 31,000 40,000
Whitsunday Island » » » Table 6.4.5 Current estimates of day use at Brampton Island Visitor type Assess the feasibility of developing toilet facilities and visitor information at the jetty site. This would depend on obtaining funding through a public-private partnership. Close Western Bay as a camping area and promote alternative camping at Neil’s (Sandy) Beach on Carlisle Island. Redevelop Western Bay as a day-use only site. Subject to environmental and cultural assessment, increase this site’s size in anticipation of use by large groups of visitors. 6.4.6 Refuge Bay, Scawfell Island Scawfell Island is the largest island in South Cumberland Islands National Park. Granite cliffs line the coast with large areas of rainforest on steep mountain slopes. Refuge Bay offers protection from south-east winds and is a popular seasonal anchorage for yachts moving north or south along the coast. The bay has attractive areas of coral and a 1.3km beach with vessel access via a sandy channel allowing all-tide access without damage to the reef flat. Refuge Bay has a camping and day-use area, which has a shelter, pit toilet and picnic tables at the beach’s eastern end. In 2005 a Mackay-based tourism operator started to take tourists to Refuge Bay. Other operators have expressed an interest in taking larger groups to the island. Refuge Bay is an ideal location for visitors to experience underwater life. However, sea conditions off Mackay are often rough, meaning that tour operators can only comfortably access the site using a large vessel. Estimate of annual day use Commercial tour operator customers 1000 Resort guest visits 25,000 Free and independent travellers 6000 Total visits 32,000 The island is largely undisturbed and highly attractive. Impacts from vessel use of Refuge Bay, including coral damage from anchors, are not known. The camping area has weeds such as caltrop and Mossman river grass. Presence of these weeds usually indicates visitor site disturbance. Some visitors to the island light fires on the beach or in the camping area. This results in impacts such as broken tree limbs, rubbish and damage to signs. Likely visitor impacts on the beach include disturbance to wildlife, particularly beach nesting birds such as beach stone-curlews. Management strategies » » » » Table 6.4.6 Current estimates of day use at Refuge Bay Scawfell Island Visitor type Provide for a significant increase in day-use of Refuge Bay Beach. If there is a significant increase in day-use of Refuge Bay Beach, evaluate the interaction between day users and campers. In the event that the two activities are determined to be incompatible, close Refuge Bay as a camping area and manage for day-use only. Allow for redevelopment of facilities and subsequent growth in visitor use. Implementation would depend upon obtaining funding through a public–private partnership. Work with GBRMPA to collaboratively develop an integrated site plan for Refuge Bay. Estimate of annual day use Commercial tour operator customers 4000 Free and independent travellers 2000 Total visits 6000 Strategic directions 21
Page 1 and 2: Visitor Management Strategy Whitsun
Page 3 and 4: Table of contents 1 Executive summa
Page 5 and 6: Recreational boating at Hook Island
Page 7 and 8: MAP 1 Planning area locality Introd
Page 9 and 10: Tourism trends The Mackay region (b
Page 11 and 12: Hill Inlet Planning approach “ T
Page 13 and 14: Table 5.1 Setting High use Moderate
Page 15 and 16: Table 5.3 Visitor use permitted wit
Page 17 and 18: Cid Harbour Views of Shaw Island fr
Page 19 and 20: Table 6.3 Significant capital inves
Page 21: Management strategies » » » Conc
Page 25 and 26: Table 6.5.1 Future camping manageme
Page 27 and 28: 6.6 Resorts and developments The fo
Page 29 and 30: 6.8 Education and information 6.9 W
Page 31 and 32: Strategy review and evaluation This
Page 33 and 34: Acknowledgements This Visitor Manag

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