A new survey into who visits national parks and what they like to do has highlighted the importance of the state’s park system to communities and local economies, reporting 38 million visits to NSW national parks in 2008.
The study was the first of its kind undertaken in NSW and involved more than 15,700 telephone surveys.
Read the full report (NationalParkVisitsNSW.pdf – 1.89MB).
Survey results showed the five most popular national parks were Blue Mountains, Royal, Ku-ring-gai Chase, Lane Cove and Kosciusko. Sydney, the most populous National Parks region fared below the Blue Mountains, Sydney South, Sydney North, Central Coast and Hunter,South Coast, Northern Rivers. Sydney Region includes the northern section of Botany Bay at La Perouse (including Congwong and Little Congwong beaches and the historic La Perouse headland), Wolli Creek, Sydney Harbour beaches and islands as well as western Sydney parks such as Leacock, Mulgoa, Scheyville, Bents Basin, Kemps Creek, Cattai, Rouse Hill, Windsor Downs. While over 20% of the population of NSW live in the Sydney Region catchment the Parks in this region attract less than 7% of the visits. By contrast Lane Cove and Kuring-gai, in the Northern Region are two of the most popular parks. These parks offer well supported volunteering opportunities are responsive to visitor and local community needs and conduct plenty of reasonably priced events to suit families.
Bushwalking was the most popular activity in all our parks – 54%, followed by water sports 17% (including swimming & surfing 10%; fishing 4%) and picnicking came in around 14%. Males 25-49 were the most represented users at 53% (population = 49%) while females 18-24 and 50+ and couples over 35 with children were least likely to visit.
I’m not surprised they don’t get as many visitors to the Sydney parks. I stay away from my local park at Lapa because of the nudists that go there. There are signs up saying these are not beaches for nudists but the nudists dont take any notice and national parks and police dont do anything about it. Since the national parks took over this place in the 80s there have been more nudists coming here and recently they have been moving around from their haunt at Foreshore Beach. Parks closed off the track to the fishing spot at Brown’s Rock so the fishermen wouldn’t disturb the nudists when they should get rid of these people who are breaking the law and put the track around the beach so we can all use the area. The beach is the best in Botany Bay and the views from a walking track around here would be spectacular. But instead you see family group after family group walking back after being confronted by nudists. I can’t understand why some people are allowed to break the law and get away with it. There are beaches on Sydney Harbour set aside for nudists. They say they have been using the area for decades but there was only a few nudists 30 years ago and no ‘beat’. Why should they expect their own private beach when over the same period in Botany Bay the Port has taken the foreshore from Bumborah Point around to the airport.
I fully agree with all the comments made by Lapagirl. I am a local resident and I love the National Park and the beach area – but I will not venture there due to the problems with nudists and the “beat” activities. It’s unbelievable that one can be afraid to go walking in one’s own locality on a summer’s day. Little Congwong is an excellent beach for children yet I can’t take my grandchildren there as they will be confronted by nudists and a very real chance of witnessing something obscene in the nearby bushes. I was so pleased when the signs went up to inform everyone that the beaches were not for nudists – but what good did it do? The nudists continue to break the law and get away with it. Recently we have had a lot of police in the area due to the car hoon activity which is also illegal and being clamped down on – excellent! – but why isn’t the same regard held for the law in relation to what happens at the Botany Bay National Park beaches? This park area should be there for all to enjoy yet a small minority of people are shutting the rest of us out. It’s way past the time that this area should be cleaned up once and for all and the beaches returned to the vast majority of people who wish to enjoy the National Park and it’s beaches without being confronted by sights they would much prefer not to see.