Wilsons Prom's Sealers Cove track reopens after five years
The road to repair Sealer's Cove is a tale straight from the pages of Swiss Family Robinson and includes helicopters, barges, and a temporary camp and mess hall created to get the job done.
The Sealers Cove walking track at Wilsons Promontory, located at the southernmost point of mainland Australia, has reopened after a five-year closure. The boardwalk and walking track, which had been battered by successive storms since 2021, were finally rebuilt using new materials. The project involved a team of engineers and construction workers who set up a temporary camp in the bush to complete the task.
The Victorian government allocated $4.8 million to rebuild the 2-kilometre stretch of the boardwalk, alongside a $23 million investment in the Wilsons Promontory Revitalisation Project. The remote location of the site presented challenges for engineers and park rangers, as it was inaccessible by road or boat, requiring the team to transport materials and crew via helicopter.
The new boardwalk is built of fibre-reinforced plastic and sits about 30cm higher than the original to accommodate rising sea levels. Wilsons Promontory is one of Parks Victoria's most popular parks, attracting around 600,000 visitors annually. Rangers hope that the reopening of the southern circuit will result in a significant increase in visitor numbers during the upcoming summer season.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
