NSW will join other states in promoting multi-day walks in popular national parks and the state government is tipping in $80 million to ease access to destinations.
The first of the walks, to be dubbed the Great Southern Walk, will cover a five-day 59-kilometre stretch in the Illawarra and link the natural beauty and cultural heritage of the Escarpment with the Royal and Kamay Botany Bay National Parks in Sydney.
The funding, to be announced in next week’s state budget, will assist the development of cabins and so-called “glamping” sites at the end of each day’s hike.
“From Border Ranges in the north, to Kosciuszko in the south, to Hat Head in the east and Mungo in the west, visitation across our extraordinary national parks estate has surged in the past 12 months,” NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said.
“This $80 million budget injection will enable us to add new iconic experiences to our tourism arsenal, drawing keen hikers from around Australia and, when borders reopen to the world, to our spectacular regions.”
The Illawarra trek would also be complemented with a new mountain biking network stretching more than 44 kilometres between Mt Keira and Mt Kembla that the government plans to develop across the Escarpment to add to the tourism drawcards.
“Both this signature walk and biking network are major initiatives that will not only make our national parks more accessible to a broader audience but also bring new visitors to this spectacular region,” Environment Minister Matt Kean said.
The government will be hoping for a similar spike in tourism that treks such as Victoria’s Great Ocean Walk and Great South West Walk, and Tasmania’s Three Capes Walk have brought to their states.