Just before last Christmas Parks Victoria finally released the Greater Gariwerd Landscape Management Plan. Unfortunately in Parks Victoria’s haste to ban rock climbing across significant areas of the park they also appear to have banned scrambling and in doing so they have effectively closed three of the best adventure walks / scrambles in Victoria. Two… Continue reading Have Parks Victoria Really Banned Scrambling in the Grampians National Park?
Category: WALKING
Bushwalking Bans Looming in the Grampians/Gariwerd
Tourist hordes are swarming over ancient quarried edges beside a popular Parks Victoria walking track in the Grampians/Gariwerd. Some are sitting beside quarried edges that are surrounded by graffiti. They are seemingly oblivious to the cultural heritage significance of the site. Elsewhere in the National Park, graffiti (including false rock-art) spoils a rock shelter and… Continue reading Bushwalking Bans Looming in the Grampians/Gariwerd
Parks Victoria Halts New Grampians And Arapiles Guidebooks
To all of our loyal wholesale and retail customers it is with a great deal of regret that Open Spaces Publishing has made the decision to halt work on all of our planned rock climbing and bushwalking titles for the Grampians National Park and at nearby Mt Arapiles. Our business moved to Natimuk in the… Continue reading Parks Victoria Halts New Grampians And Arapiles Guidebooks
Grampians National Park: Safety Ropes, Bushwalking and Special Protection Areas
This article was added to on 10 March 2021 to include a letter from Jason Borg at Parks Victoria. Many of you are probably aware that Parks Victoria have initiated sweeping rock climbing bans across the Grampians National Park in what are called Special Protection Areas (SPAs). At Open Spaces we have received a number… Continue reading Grampians National Park: Safety Ropes, Bushwalking and Special Protection Areas
Following the Wombat Poo Trail
Over the years I’ve developed a fascination for wombat poo. Nothing weird, more as a subject matter for my camera as opposed to collecting them for things like making paper with (which is apparently done commercially by some mob down in Tassie!) My native Victoria is home to many thousands of wombats and this amiable… Continue reading Following the Wombat Poo Trail
Open Spaces Tree Change
It’s been a tough ten years in print publishing as the internet revolution continues to change the way we create and distribute information. Traditional printers across Australia have been putting off large numbers of staff or closing their doors for good. Wholesale distributors and book shops have been similarly affected. The introduction of smart-phones and… Continue reading Open Spaces Tree Change
Healthy Parks – Wealthy People
For many years the various organisations that have run Victorian Parks have had an objective of increasing visitor numbers. The most recent incarnation, Parks Victoria, has gained a new objective – a greater proportion of Parks expenditure is to be raised from users and less is to be provided through government budgets. Are the… Continue reading Healthy Parks – Wealthy People
Healthy Parks, Wealthy People
Victorian National Parks Camping and Accommodation Fees – Regulatory Impact Statement The Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) has released a proposal for a user-pays approach to charges for camping and roofed accommodation in parks and reserves managed by Parks Victoria. Victorians are invited to provide comment on the regulatory impact statement by 22… Continue reading Healthy Parks, Wealthy People
When Is The Best Time To Walk The Overland Track?
Warwick Sprawson is our guest blogger. He is the author of Overland Track which is available for purchase in our bookshop. Here, he asks the question – “When is the best time to walk the Overland Track?” The ‘best’ season for hiking Tasmania’s Overland Track is as personal as your scroggin mix. Some thrive on… Continue reading When Is The Best Time To Walk The Overland Track?
Dog in the Mists
Back in 1964 my father wrote a short story for possible publication in England’s Popular Camping magazine. It was rejected by the editor and the original type-written manuscript was all but forgotten. It must have meant something to my dad since he carried it with him when he migrated to Australia a couple of years… Continue reading Dog in the Mists