Mt Warning: Uki - community meeting and climb

Some notes and photos of SOS community meeting and protest climb 12-13 April 2024.

Mountain legends (thanks SOS)

Community Meeting 12 April Mt Warning Hotel Uki.

Thanks to everyone who attended the Community Meeting at the Mt Warning Hotel in Uki on Friday night. Speakers included Craig Evans, myself, the great Andrew Flanagan and Uki local Amulet Ov Acorn with some welcome input, facts and questions from the audience.

Video of my speech.

For me it was wonderful to meet people who have assisted with our petition and others who shared wonderful stories about climbing and working on the mountain. The petition should break the 10k mark next week (Broke 10k on afternoon of April 15). I understand any debate in Parliament will likely be in the first or second sitting week in May - keep an eye out. To get better than 10k on what is a rather obscure NSW Parliamentary petition system that excludes legitimate stakeholders from SE QLD and the rest of the country is a great achievement. Thank you for your assistance on this. To those who couldn't sign I hear your frustration!

We need to get a firm timeline for reopening from the government. If writing to Minister Penny Sharpe please ask that question... When will the mountain be reopened? - we need to keep the pressure on. In my opinion they may use the repairs on Mt Warning Road to delay any announcement. I understand repairs will take another 12 months (anyone got any better information?). If this is the case the earliest date for Reopening may be April 2025 - so another 12 months of harm ( hopefully I am wrong on this).

While the road is under repair NPWS should be cleaning up the track and completing maintenance on the summit lookouts - perhaps ask this on letters. I suggested community working bees to the Minister but sadly NPWS no longer seem to want to include local communities in their decision making - perhaps this can change?Let's continue to work together to get that wonderful mountain summit reopened to ALL Australians.

Don't forget the words of Ben Fordham "if you want to climb ... Just climb it". Ben's editorial on 19 April covers the major issues for Mt Warning and other natural wonders in Australia and is worth listening to HERE.

Some regular traffic on the track would be good, even if not all the way up. Just take extra care if you do it and do share photos of your climbs (anonymously if so desired) to the Reopen FB page and or SOS. Take into account potential fines. If anyone wants some advice on track conditions at present look for posts on the climb undertaken on 13 April (this morning) coming. The "bones" of the track are sound but vegetation has narrowed it and there are a number of tree falls to negotiate. Take care on slippery rocks if wet due to rain, for dew. Use your common sense and take consideration of your own limitations. Note I have seen worse maintained tracks open for public use.

Best wishes and thanks again

Summit climb 13 April 2024
A few notes and photos from this morning's adventure.
We had 13 on the 13th reach the Mt Warning summit to view another wonderful north coast sunrise.

Mountain legends (thanks SOS)

The track is a little more overgrown with a few more tree falls thanks to the recent rains since January and needs attention. The bones of the track remain sound thanks to the wonderful work of those who constructed it in 1909 and parks staff who maintained it, especially in the the 1990s and there is little major work required (IMHO). Overall I have been on Grade 5 NPWS tracks in similar or worse condition that remain open. If you climb take extra care and know your limitations (and potential for fines).

Typical tree fall over the track

When we got back to the carpark we were met by two rangers from NPWS who had never been to the summit. Little wonder our natural wonders are being neglected and mismanaged when NPWS staff are unaware of how special they are. (Feel sorry for these two rangers). After a brief discussion we were asked to leave the park and so we did.

Sorry to those who missed out. The 95th anniversary of the 1929 declaration of the Mt Warning National Park is 3 August this year, a fitting date for a celebration perhaps?... Mark your calendar and stay tuned as they say.

Sunrise timelapse (thanks SOS):

BOMBSHELL DOCUMENT LEAK - WCG MEETING MINUTES 2011-2024

WCG MEETING MINUTES 2011-2024 We have been given access to minutes of meetings of the Wollumbin Consultative Group between 2011 and 2024. On the basis of the minutes it is clear the time for an independent public inquiry into management of Mt Warning National Park and the entire NSW Parks estate is long overdue. Documents are made available as a matter of deep public interest in current management practices in our National Parks. What is happening at Mt Warning will be occurring in other Parks across NSW as NPWS continue to push for and develop handback and lease agreements of our public parks. In our view these plans are divisive: they prevent public involvement in managing public land, they will add considerable cost to managing our parks, and they will result in further irrational bans and limits on public access. NPWS: "Custodians are looking at ways to progress handback at the June meeting. We envisage it will take 10-15 years for handback across the whole state."...

NSW NATIONAL PARKS HANDBACKS - PROCESS HAS STARTED

NSW NATIONAL PARKS HANDBACKS - PROCESS HAS STARTED: Welcome to the new Apartheid People also said that Aboriginal knowledge holders need to have a role in determining the appropriate activities that can be carried out on Country/in parks. People called for equal or majority Aboriginal representation on any joint management governing body, with a view also put forward that the governing body should consist of Aboriginal people only. A view was also put forward that the land should be restored to how it was at the point of first contact – pre colonisation. This view went to the extreme of saying Healthy Country means the removal all things that were not present in 1788, including all buildings, introduced species and other infrastructure. NPWS' busy bureaucrats are in process of negotiating handover of our National Parks to private interests. The plan will potentially see every National Park in the state handed over to as yet unknown Aboriginal groups then leased...

Mt Warning closure - 4 years of lies and misinformation

Mt Warning closure - 4 years of lies and misinformation March 30 (Easter Saturday) marks the 4-year anniversary of the "temporary" closure of the Mt Warning summit track. Some thoughts and rambled musings below. I spoke with Ben Fordham about the anniversary on the Ben Fordham Breakfast show on 2GB. Ben's response a classic: "If you want to climb, just climb it!" Link to that interview HERE . 4 year anniversary of bureaucratic madness We know the exact date of the closure thanks to bushwalker: Tertia Starr Maynard, who posted a photo of a note left on her windscreen by NPWS rangers to the reopen Facebook page . It was dated and read “NPWS advises Wollumbin National Park is closing from today due to covid19. Gate is not locked but please close behind you as you exit. Thanks NPWS.” Photo by T Maynard - the last walkers out. In the 4 years since, after other parks were reopened, Mt Warning remained closed and the reason for the temporary closure morphed to in...

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