+7 (777) 001 44 99
Қазақша
Русский
English
Қазақша
Русский
English
Tengrinews.kz - Tourists have been offered "virtual tours" of the mountains instead of real climbs, according to the Daily Mail.
Tourists may be banned from climbing popular Queensland mountains after the closure of Uluru in the Northern Territory and Mount Warning in New South Wales. The previous Queensland government had previously considered banning public access to Mount Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast and many other peaks.
Instead, virtual climbs using drone technology and cameras would be allowed so that hikers would not "inappropriately use the natural and cultural resources."
Emails on the subject from the Department of Environment and Science were obtained by the group Save Our Summits as part of the Freedom of Information program. Mount Beerwah was temporarily closed due to weather conditions and graffiti removal, but department officials said the summit could be permanently closed.
In October 2022, New South Wales banned the public from accessing Wollumbin National Park, which includes Mount Wollumbin, formerly known as Mount Warning. The ban was introduced to protect the sacred peak and in response to complaints from the local Aboriginal community. Marc Hendricks, president of Save Our Summits, said the climbing ban was not the answer to respecting the environment and Aboriginal culture.
"We do no harm and leave just our footprints behind, to be washed away in the rain. These long-established traditions are common to all humanity and transcend cultural boundaries," Marc Hendricks said.
The Save Our Summits group won a Right to Information petition and, after a 12-month campaign, uncovered dozens of documents they said showed moves to ban visits to some peaks. Angry climbers took to social media to express their outrage at the controversial proposals.
The plans were discussed in emails in 2022 under the previous Labor government as part of the Glass House Mountains Precinct Visitor Management Implementation Plan. But Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell said the current government had "absolutely no plans" to close access to Mount Beerwah.
