Sealers Cove track at Wilsons Promontory reopens after five years
The Sealers Cove walking track at Wilsons Promontory has reopened after a five-year closure due to storm damage. The $4.8 million rebuild involved a temporary camp and complex logistics.
Wilsons Promontory, a beloved national park at the southernmost tip of mainland Australia, has welcomed the reopening of its iconic Sealers Cove walking track after a five-year closure. The track, a 2-kilometre stretch of boardwalk, was battered by successive storms and required a complete rebuild.
The Victorian government allocated $4.8 million to the project, which involved a temporary camp and mess hall in the swamp, helicopters, and barges to transport materials and crew. The new boardwalk is built of fibre-reinforced plastic and sits about 30cm higher in anticipation of rising sea levels.
A challenging but rewarding project
Wilsons Prom area chief ranger Brett Mitchell said the rebuild was an opportunity to repair the infrastructure for future generations. "We've got 2 kilometres of boardwalk we needed to rebuild that's basically in a swamp," Mr Mitchell said.
Stephen Erickson, a director and project manager at Envirotechniques, led the team of engineers and builders camped at the solitary cove for weeks on end. "It's 9.5 kilometres from Telegraph Saddle to the site by walking track, or you can get there by boat typically out of Port Welshpool, or you can get there by helicopter," he said.
The crew would work up to 10 days straight at the remote camp, which featured a mess tent, dining and kitchen area, a machinery tool storage area and even hot showers. "It was fairly important to try and provide the best facilities that we could," Mr Erickson said. "The prom is unique, and it's well-loved by many Victorians."
A welcome reopening
Mr Mitchell said the reopening of Sealers Cove would lead to an influx of visitors. "It's a really special area of the park and a really popular area, so to have the boardwalk reopened and have our southern circuit reopened is a magnificent achievement from everyone concerned," he said.
Mr Erickson added that he would never forget waking up to the sight of whales in the cove and the sounds of the bush each morning. "There was a large family of kookaburras who used to put out their distinctive laugh early in the morning at dawn. We would be listening to the crashing waves on Sealers Cove through the night," he said.