National parks welcomes back visitors to Pigeon House Mountain
The much-loved Pigeon House Mountain Didthul walking track in Morton National Park has reopened to the public following a four-month closure, allowing visitors to once again experience this culturally and environmentally significant landscape.
The walking track had suffered extensive damage due to heavy rainfall, requiring restoration work to stabilise the degraded trail surface and surrounding infrastructure near the summit of the walk.
Works consisted of the construction and replacement of 946 hardwood stairs and drainage bars, constructed with imported crushed stone, as well as rehabilitation of disturbed areas adjacent to the track with brush matting and timber debris.
Due to the remote location of the site, 200 individual helicopter lifts were used to transport materials in and out of the work site.
Repair works were undertaken by local Aboriginal owned construction company South Coast Contracting and Hire Pty Ltd, in collaboration with the Ulladulla Local Aboriginal Land Council.
Local NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) staff will continue to implement a quarterly maintenance program, to make sure the track remains safe.
These works were funded by the NSW Government Flood Recovery Program.
Shoalhaven Area Manager Michael Phelan said “NPWS is excited to welcome the community back to the incredible Pigeon House Mountain Didthul walking track and would like to thank everyone for their patience over the past four months while these essential works were done.
“These works have lifted the bar on an already impressive walk and would not be possible without the commitment of all workers involved, who had to complete the 5km return walk every day to get this work done.
“The improvements are the perfect balance between preserving the site’s environmental and cultural integrity, while ensuring safe access for visitors to enjoy for years to come.”
More information on the Pigeon House Mountain Didthul walking track is available via the NPWS website.