There's been a step in the right direction for proponents of an epic Illawarra escarpment walk that will link the Royal National Park in the north to Cambewarra Mountain in the Shoalhaven to the south.
Garry McDougall, the man who in the 1980s played a key role in the creation of the Great North Walk, linking Sydney with Newcastle, has joined the team pitching for the ambitious project to get legs. In fact, Garry is so excited by the project, he believes the proposed Great Southern Walk will be even better than his magnificent 1988 bicentennial project.
When he's not designing marathon walking tracks, Garry, from Bulli, is an accomplished author. He also ran a walking tour business for 15 years, so he knows what's needed to create a memorable hike.
Bringing a dream to reality
Now he's ready to put his considerable energy and experience into realising the vision of former Kiama mayor Neville Fredericks, who's been campaigning for an Illawarra escarpment walk for decades.
"Bringing Garry on to our team is just what we needed," Neville said. "He's got the runs on the board and he's proven just how we can work with state and local governments to make this happen."
The Great North Walk was initiated by Garry and Leigh Shearer-Heriot. Together, they planned and marked the original route, which started at the obelisk in Sydney's Macquarie Place and stretched 250 kilometres north to the Queens Wharf in Newcastle's Bicentennial Park.
The walk takes in a variety of wildlife and scenery, and one of its strengths is the many 'side tracks' that link the track to populated areas. It's hoped that the planned southern walk will offer similar access to communities living under the escarpment.
Epic northern walk built in less than a year
Construction on the Great North Walk began in 1987 and was completed less than a year later, in early 1988, in time for Australia's bicentennial celebrations. While he doesn't expect his newest project to be completed at such a whirlwind pace, Garry believes that with the right political backing, anything is possible.
"The northern walk was a great lesson in what people like and what they want to do and see in an epic trek," Garry said. "The southern walk is shorter at 150 kilometres, but I believe this new project packs a bigger punch. This is far richer on the environment and ecology factor. It is more spectacular, featuring vastly different geology."
Neville Fredericks has always believed in the national importance of his pet project, as a boost to local tourism, and to give nature lovers "the walk of a lifetime".
"I don't know anywhere else in Australia that you can get these views," Neville said. "We've already worked out 15 segments for the walk, measuring various lengths from eight kilometres to 15 kilometres.
"This is such a wonderful opportunity to provide a world-class walk for a quarter of Australia's population living in Sydney and locally in the Illawarra not much more than an hour away."
Neville said he was thrilled that all of the region's mayors had offered whatever support they could provide. He's now determined to get the backing of local state members in the hope they see the merits of extending the already completed trek from the national park to Sublime Point following a $30 million investment.
