Tour guide calls out Aussie caravan 'boom' after shameful find at outback camping sites
Queenslander Toby Read said he was shocked by the level of rubbish caravaners and 4WD visitors had left at one of the country's most popular remote locations.
A fed-up Aussie tour guide working in a remote part of the country's far north has pleaded with travellers to clean up after themselves, after he and a crew of more than a dozen volunteers filled "nine trailer loads full and well-packed" with rubbish and items discarded by campers passing through.
Operations manager Toby Read, of the family-run tour and 4WD hire group No Limits, is based on Bribie Island, off the Moreton Bay coast in Queensland. Read's business often runs tours around Cape York — Australia's northernmost point — and in particular along the Old Telegraph Track, a rugged stretch that's accessible only during the dry season.
He said the rate of people hitting the road in motorhomes, and in particular caravans, has undoubtably "boomed recently" as Aussies ditch the comfort of their own homes for life on the open road. And while applauding people for travelling domestically, Read said it has come with some disappointing consequences.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, the Queenslander explained that it took five whole days to tidy the many tonnes of waste he found along the Old Telegraph Track, which he said accumulated progressively over time, but had worsened in recent years.
"The amount of rubbish and disrespect to the environment and the track and everything there — it's just annoying," he told Yahoo.
"Most of [the rubbish] was car parts. We found five bull bars, four radiators, a heap of side steps, vehicle awnings, lots of CV joints, just anything that can get ripped off coming through a creek crossing."
Caravanners 'asking for trouble' touring remote stretch of road
Read believes some of the caravans and vehicles people are taking through the area are not suited for the popular track, which is why parts are being damaged and ripped off.
"It's definitely four-wheel-drivers and people who are doing the track," he said. "We found some caravan parts, like a couple of caravan awnings too. Really, people shouldn't be taking a caravan through there. You're asking for trouble, and that's why the caravan steps and awnings ripped off.
"It's a shame that they don't just put it back up in their caravan and take it home. Visitors come to enjoy a pristine environment and then leave rubbish behind for some reason I don't understand."
In one of the more unique ways to spread awareness and push an anti-littering message, Read said a couple he met from touring — who also helped tidy up the track — volunteered to turn the huge clumps of trash into art.
"That's in the works now. They're going to do an art piece to draw attention to the amount of rubbish that was left, to remind people to respect natural environments, and particularly heritage places like the Telegraph Track.
"There was 17 people altogether assisting in the effort. We were in eight vehicles, in two groups, over five days. One group went through the campsites and they collected all the rubbish and put it in piles for us.
"The second group did the sweeps. We'd come along and collect all the piles of rubbish and load up the trails and then walk or drive slowly along the tracks between the campsites and the creek crossings and collect the rubbish that had been thrown out car windows, like bottles and cans."
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