Whitsunday and Mackay Islands Visitor Management Strategy ...

6.6 Resorts and developments
The following resorts and residential developments are
located on islands and adjoin national parks:
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Club Med, Lindeman Island
South Molle Island Resort, South Molle Island
Peppers Palm Bay, Long Island
Club Crocodile Long Island Resort, Long Island
South Long Island Nature Lodge, Long Island
Hook Island Wilderness Resort, Hook Island
Brampton Island Resort, Brampton Island
Keswick Island Development, Keswick Island
Camp Island tourist lease, Camp Island
Homestead Bay lease, St Bees Island.
Some resorts hold leases over national park while others hold
special leases under the Land Act 1994, which is administered
by the Department of Natural Resources and Water.
Resorts play an important role in providing a range of
visitor facilities and activities. In many cases, resort and
development managers rely on nearby national parks to
provide tourism and recreation opportunities for their clients.
Requests for group and special activity permits on parks
usually come from resorts hosting large company events.
Resort guests often use adjacent national parks at no cost.
Various arrangements are currently in place for resorts and
developments to contribute to the cost of park management.
Resort managers and park neighbours provide in-kind
support such as temporary accommodation for QPWS staff,
facilities to store equipment, vessel transport and staff to
help with park management. Elsewhere, funds are provided
to QPWS for park management and to assist resorts with
environmental education and nature-based visitor activities.
As resorts are located close to bays with good boating
access, public access to an island national park may require
visitors to pass through a resort lease. Often the only public
vessel service to the island uses a jetty next to a resort or
development lease. Air transport to a national park island
usually requires use of a resort airstrip. Generally, resort
leases have easements and conditions that provide for
public thoroughfare. Resort and development managers are
sometimes reluctant to encourage public access through
their facility, as they are concerned this may detract from
their guests’ experience, or that public visitors may use
facilities specifically provided for resort guests.
Managing boundaries with resorts and residential
developments is often challenging for both QPWS and
park neighbours. Important issues include weed and pest
animal invasion, risk of wildfire and impact of native
wildlife on grounds, facilities and guests.
QPWS has authorised park neighbours to locate
infrastructure such as water tanks, dams and service utilities
outside their lease on adjacent national park. Occasionally,
park neighbours wish to develop walking tracks and visitor
facilities for their guests on nearby national park.
Desired outcomes
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Neighbouring resorts and developments work
co-operatively with QPWS to minimise impacts on
national parks.
Neighbouring resorts and developments contribute to
park management where tourism and recreation
opportunities are provided for guests.
Policies, guidelines and actions
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Negotiate formal agreements with all park neighbours
to ensure that appropriate financial and/or in-kind
contributions are being made for park management.
These agreements will be negotiated recognising that
commercial activity fees and charges are not fully levied
on neighbours.
Before 2009, review and renegotiate all existing
agreements between neighbours and QPWS with
particular emphasis on:
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co-operative management of domestic animals, fire,
weeds and pests
safe and clearly marked public access through resorts
and developments to neighbouring national park
contributions to park management
minimising pre-existing non-conforming uses of
protected area estate.
Allocate a developed setting to beaches immediately
adjoining resorts and major residential developments.
With resort managers, investigate future private
investment to develop infrastructure at Long and
Brampton islands. All facilities will be required to be
open for public access. Exclusive operator use will not
be permitted.
With resort managers, investigate future private
investment to develop infrastructure at Long and
Brampton islands. Facilities must be open for
public access.
Opportunity
Strategic directions
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