Is it the end of the line for Wangetti Trail?

Wangetti Trail Pressures

Shaun Hollis

Journalist

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Mountain biker and hiker Brigitta Robinson says to treat the Wangetti Trail as a great hiking trail and a trail you can take a bike on, not a mountain biking trail. Picture: Bryan Littlely
Tourists Sylvie Falson and Beatrice Viaggio on the Wangetti Trail at Ellis Beach. Picture: Bryan Littlely

THE newly elected MP for Cook says he wants to take a close look at whether the planned $47m Wangetti Trail from Cairns to Port Douglas might become an expensive “white elephant” before he throws his full support behind extensions past the 7.8km section already built.

Cook MP David Kempton’s comments come as a host of Newsport readers and locals living near the completed section from Palm Cove to Ellis Beach express a range of concerns about the project.

Mr Kempton said this week the next section slated to be built will be moving into the Cook electorate, so he wants to make sure it will be good value for money.

“We have a lot of other things we need money for,” he said.

“(I am) happy to progress with it, but I want to be very clear with what it is going to cost and how good it’s going to be.”

He said the region had already seen a “few white elephants” such as the Bruce Highway cassowary bridge south of Innisfail - which ended up costing about $30 million more than expected - so he did not want another budget overrun.

“(This) is something I really want to understand before going too much further with it.”

Pros and Cons

Wangetti resident Christine Fry said many from her community believed the trail was “not appropriate in so many ways”.

“We feel very protective, I suppose, of this whole environment,” she said.

“This is the wet tropics World Heritage area.

“It’s a very special place.”

She said so much land would need to be cleared to put a mountain bike trail all the way through to Port Douglas, and there was no guarantee that would even work.

“If we get another big wet season it’s just going to get washed away.”

She had heard reports riders were already leaving the trail to make new tracks through areas including pristine tropical rainforest, while proposed campsites, bridges and other tourism amenities would be too intrusive.

“This place deserves better than that.”

Trail user Brigitta Robinson both walks and rides the Wangetti Trail and said she hoped that it would continue on as it was good for both tourists and locals.

"Just treat it as a beautiful walking track but as a mountain biking track, disregard it… it’s a track that you can take a bike on,'' she said.

"It’s a shame that it wasn’t left to proper builders of trails.''

Newsport readers react

Newsport readers this week posted close to 50 comments about the trail online at last count, with one saying it may turn into a “seriously overpriced disappointment”, and others stating repairs to the highway should be prioritised following damage during Cyclone Jasper.

TRAIL IN NEED OF REPAIR ALREADY

“First wet season and that trail is gone and we still haven’t fixed the coast road,” one reader wrote. 

The comments come in the wake of revelations that sections of the new track have been undergoing repairs this month despite stage one only opening in late September.

There have also been unconfirmed reports that a cyclist suffered a broken leg in an accident on the trail in its first week and suggestions of heated arguments between cyclists and walkers.

The ecotourism trail has been plagued by years of planning and delays, but former state tourism minister and Cairns MP Michael Healy was optimistic about its potential when it opened.

“It’s an opportunity to create jobs, drive economic growth, and celebrate the cultural and environmental heritage of Far North Queensland,” he said.

The former government committed to completing the entire trail by 2026, backed by $8m of Federal Government money.

Once finished, the route from Palm Cove to Port Douglas is expected to span a World Heritage area and three national parks showcasing views of Double Island, Trinity Beach and more.

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