jimjim wrote:I think the whole point of the GPT is being missed here. It is not being built to create a great bushwalk for bushwalkers, it is being made to attract tourists and take as much of their money as possible. . .
I tend to agree with you, jimjim, but maybe there are some nuances you've missed. I've been trying to review the previous posts in the context of Hallu's original post. Apologies if I have made any incorrect interpretations.
Although I believe NNW is right about there being no great interest in multi-night visits in the Grampians at the moment, this could change in the future as infrastructure is developed. All in line with what's desired by managerial types who want to attract tourists, grow revenue, blah, blah and blah. One could extrapolate, again bearing in mind the ideas Hallu first raised, and substitute various other locations for the Grampians (including non-Victorian ones) when thinking about these matters.
In the views expressed so far in this thread, most people are either ambivalent or opposed to such infrastructure in places like the Grampians. Even more so in the other places Hallu discussed in the original post and subsequently, such as Croajingalong or Nadgee. But development of just a track alone is of course a different matter.
As NNW also noted in reference to the Overland Track, convenient access to locations off the track is useful by-product. (For the record, I've twice done OLT several decades ago but have no interest in returning. Yet if I lived in Tasmania and not Victoria, I'm sure I'd have been there many times since to get such access.) Hallu mentions the Grampians terrain and wondered whether "technical or vertiginous" tracks would appeal to most walkers. I think the route deliberately avoids anything too challenging. A good indicator is that it takes the eastern side of the Halls Gap-Dunkeld Road between the Major Mitchell Plateau and somewhere near Signal Peak, avoiding most of the Serra Range. Therefore the track, or parts thereof, could be theoretically attractive to both inexperienced and experienced walkers. So if some only want to do selected sections, is that a problem? (Other than for revenue-raising prospects -- see below.) If I intended to do walks in other states or other countries, I would plan those in the same way that I plan walks using sections only of existing longer walks in Victoria such as GSWW and GOW. And avoid the regimentation and paid bookings if possible.
Lophophaps and NNW queried the potential economic benefits. But this goes back to the matter of new infrastructure. That is, the kind of development which Nuts refers to which mainly happens at the perimeters, but possibly also close to the track at overnight stops. Here's what is anticipated: http://vnpa.org.au/admin/library/attachments/PDFs/Fact%20sheets/fact-sheet-grampians-peaks-trail.pdf. One would expect that once private accommodation is built at stopping points, other services could be provided on a drive-in delivery basis, like food delivered to order, and maybe someone might go around doing massages! Here's an example of a current itinerary (lots of ice-cream opportunities, Lophophaps, but probably no sales in July): http://www.parktrek.com.au/product/grampians-peak-trail/?doing_wp_cron=1435809797.3264770507812500000000.
Parks Victoria confidently asserted that the GPT will create $6.4 billion in revenue in the region by 2025. No detail about this is provided so that has to be somewhat speculative. That also applies to the figures cited for visitor numbers, which are very loosely defined and a bit variable across the various documents. If one is going to speculate further, if fires, floods and landslides continue to recur in the area, it may be 2035 before the track is completed -- how would that influence the profit and loss columns?
Hallu wrote about the idea of creating walks which gain international repute, resulting in people (especially those coming from overseas) wanting to do the entire walk. Ultimately does this come down to the kind of subjective judgements in the comment Nuts made about the OLT? (Sounds nice, but what does it actually mean?)
The OLT, quite deservedly, became popular on its intrinsic merit. “This must be a national park for the people for all time. It is magnificent and people must know about it and enjoy it.” More recent popularity is probably driven by the ticklist though overwhelmingly people finish the track with a positive review of the experience, partly (i'd say mostly) due to the indelible attributes of such unique and diverse landscape.
Could a Grampians track attain such status? I don't know and don't really care. Is the only significance of that status that it can be measured in financial terms? Pretty much, but not entirely because as Hallu also asked, referring to Croajingalong, but relevant to many other places, I'm sure:
Should we make sure everyone can visit it so that it'll be so loved no one will dare touch it?
The place that immediately comes to mind that "everyone loves" and is supposedly "untouchable" is Wilsons Promontory. But every now and then someone proposes something there to redefine "untouchable" as "untouchable-ish". E.g. in 2002: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/04/25/1019441281886.html. Sooner or later, it would be no surprise if such "development" was proposed again. After all, the last Victorian government's plans for Point Nepean have only just been rejected by the replacement government.
They better build bigger camp sites.