News archive
2010
Booderee wins global award!
Booderee National Park has made Australian history, taking out an international award in the Virgin Responsible Tourism Awards 2010. It's the first time an Australian destination has ever won one of the prestigious awards.
In a ceremony in London, Booderee won the 'best conservation of cultural heritage' category, competing against tourism organisations from across the world.
Booderee is jointly managed by Parks Australia and the Wreck Bay Aboriginal community. The award celebrates the park's ability to deliver a distinctively South Coast Indigenous experience, as well as offering excellent camping, bushwalking, bird watching, swimming, surfing and fishing.
Booderee contains the only Aboriginal-owned botanic gardens in Australia and perhaps even the world. On a trip to Booderee Botanic Gardens, visitors can explore hundreds of native plants from the local area and find out about their significance to Koori people.
See the media release | See the Australian Geographic online article | See the pre-win media release
Wreck Bay green jobs team
August 2010
Ten young people from Wreck Bay are taking part in a new program - the Wreck Bay Green Corp team. They will work on the Black Rock walking track at Summercloud Bay, undertaking practical work experience as well as studies in conservation and land management.
It's a joint project between the Wreck Bay community, Booderee and Auswide Projects, to give young people the chance to be more engaged with park through working and learning about country and culture.
Virtual tour | Murrays boat ramp
Murray's boat ramp closure
Murray's boat ramp will be closed for repairs from Monday 16 August to Friday 3 September 2010.
During the first week the park will close public access to the boat ramp and break wall to allow stabilisation and restoration of the wall. The following two weeks will be spent replacing damaged concrete slabs on the boat ramp. The break wall will be accessible to pedestrians during this period. This work is part of a staged program by Booderee National Park to upgrade the Murray's boat ramp area and increase the life of the popular boat ramp. Park manager Martin Fortescue has apologised for any inconvenience these works may cause but looks forward to reopening the ramp in time for the busy spring and summer seasons.
Christmas period camping 2010/2011
August 2010
Campsites at Green Patch and Bristol Point are allocated on a ballot system for the Christmas school holidays. To take part, apply in writing between August 1 and August 21. There is a limit of one site per booking for maximum stays of three weeks in blocks from Saturday to Saturday. Deposits are required on notification of successful ballot draws.
The Kokoda rangers explore visitor tracks near Booderee
Booderee staff share safety skills with Kokoda rangers
July 2010
Kokoda Track Authority chairman James Enge and two rangers are currently in Australia for a fortnight of safety and tourism training at Booderee National Park.
Environment Protection and Heritage Minister Peter Garrett said Booderee's Indigenous rangers and staff are using the opportunity to run the visitors through hands-on exercises, showing how they manage roads and tracks, deal with risks and handle safety incidents.
"The Kokoda rangers have come here to learn from some of our very best, the rangers at Booderee National Park... Booderee is a multi-award winning tourism destination with a strong Indigenous ranger program and Australia's only Indigenous-run botanic gardens, so the park has lots of experience to share."
Whale census day | Last Sunday in June
June 2010
Old Lighthouse 8.30-3.00pm
Come along and join ORRCA volunteers to assist in monitoring that number of whales migrating. Stay for a cupper and some damper.
Humpback and Southern Right whales begin their northerly migration in early June and continue through July. It is possible to spot many whales in one day with over 2000 making the yearly migration. Booderee National Park
provides fabulous opportunities for terrestrial based whales watching. The best location is at the Cape St George Historic Lighthouse, follow Stony Creek Road.
Park use fees apply | For more information contact (02) 442 0977
Autumn school holiday activities at Booderee National Park
Come and join us in the park for an exciting range of activities such as taking a stroll with a traditional owner and learning about medicines, edible plants, tools and technology or venturing into the marine world on our big screen.
Neville Hampton, Darren Sturgeon, Rachel McLeod, Anthony Roberts Junior, Donna McLeod and Bernie McLeod with the best Indigenous Tourism Award.
The best Indigenous tourism in Australia
February 2010
Booderee National Park has taken out the top award in Indigenous tourism in Australia!
At the National 2009 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards in Hobart, the judges also highly commended the park in the best tourism attraction category.
Traditional owner and botanic gardens curator Bernie McLeod accepted the award on behalf of the Wreck Bay community and the park.
"This is just so exciting - I think the community is really going to benefit from this," he said. "Winning awards like this is a great achievement. Everyone has been involved - the Wreck Bay community, our families and park staff, everyone worked towards this.
More than half of Booderee's staff are Indigenous. They manage Australia's only Aboriginal-owned botanic gardens and work in every area of the park, from park rangers to visitor guides.
The park achieves all this through successful joint management between its traditional owners, the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community and the Australian Government. Traditional owner and botanic gardens curator Bernie McLeod accepted the award on behalf of the Wreck Bay community and the park.
"This is just so exciting - I think the community is really going to benefit from this," he said. "Winning awards like this is a great achievement. Everyone has been involved - the Wreck Bay community, our families and park staff, everyone worked towards this.
More than half of Booderee's staff are Indigenous. They manage Australia's only Aboriginal-owned botanic gardens and work in every area of the park, from park rangers to visitor guides.
Media release >>
The new steps to Steamers Beach
2009
Summer school holiday activities at Booderee
December 2009/January 2010
Our school holiday activities are now online.
Steamers track steps - opening December 17
December 2009
New steps have been constructed to enable safer access to Steamers Beach. The aluminium stairs and balustrade were fabricated in a modular fashion to allow the WEBL crew to carry the pieces to the site manually either down the steep track or by boat!
Booderee wins two top tourism awards
November 2009
Latest news – Booderee National Park has won two 2009 NSW Tourism awards - best attraction and best Indigenous tourism.
Steamers Track & Car Park will be closed from Friday 20th for 3 weeks
Friday 20 November 2009
New steps are to be installed at the base of the Steamers Walking Track to provide safe access to the beach across some dangerous rocks.
Booderee's maritime mystery
October 2009
A nineteenth century gravestone and some unidentified tiles could hold keys to Booderee's maritime past. Martin Fortescue (now acting Park Manager) found the gravestone near Cave Beach back in the 1970s. Park staff have also found tiles at Wreck Bay from what was believed to be the wreck of the Corangamite, which ran aground in 1886. Many believe the tiles could be much older.
Now a maritime archaeologist from the NSW Department of Planning is researching Wreck Bay's shipwrecks and maritime history, including the wreck of the famous convict ship Hive on Bherwerre Beach.
The Hive was one of only three convict ships lost in Australian waters. It sank in December 1835 - but thanks to a rescue effort from the Wreck Bay community all but one of more than 300 passengers managed to survive the wreck.
A fox caught red-footed on stealth camera
Keeping foxes on the run
October 2009
Booderee is celebrating 10 years of fox management this month - but the park's not stopping there! The park is again adopting the latest technology to continue its successful multi-agency, regional team approach around Jervis Bay and the Greater Shoalhaven area.
The team is now using fauna stealth cameras. The cameras are used as a monitoring tool in areas of the park where the team hopes to reintroduce locally extinct fauna such as the long-nosed potoroo.
Christmas School Holiday Camping Ballot
July 31 2009
On the 3rd of July 2009 a letter was sent out to all campers who have participated in previous Camping Ballots. Unfortunately, since that time there has been a delay to the launch of our anticipated online booking system.
As a result of this delay we WILL NOW BE CONDUCTING THE USUAL BALLOT SYSTEM for the 09/10 summer holiday camping season.
Bookings for this holiday period can be made on the ballot forms available here or through contacting our Visitor Centre Office on (02) 44430977 or by sending us an email on booderee.mail@environment.gov.au
We thank you again for visiting Booderee National Park and hope to see you here over the spring and summer periods.
We hope to have our online booking system up and running in the first half of 2010 – keep checking our website for updates.
Closure of Cave Beach Campground and Cave & Bherwerre Beaches for Weed Control Program
27–29 May 2009
The Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communitieswill be conducting its annual program of aerial spraying for the environmental weed 'bitou bush' from Wednesday 27 May to Friday 29 May 2009.
More information
Billy the Sooty Oystercatcher back at home
Billy the Oystercatcher comes home
April 2009
Billy the Sooty Oystercatcher has made a triumphant return to Booderee thanks to Taronga Zoo Wildlife Hospital. The elderly male bird had been reported as injured by campers at Bristol Point. Park staff organised the bird to be taken in to specialist care. His head injuries were so serious local sea bird carers sent him on to Taronga.
Nicknamed Billy, he was given all the best treatment but not expected to recover. With a gourmet diet including oysters, mussels, and whitebait he started to regain strength and surprised everyone by getting back in the air.
Oystercatchers are a listed Vulnerable species as there are only three to four hundred birds left. Even though they are very rare, pairs can often be seen around Jevis Bay and the coast of the Illawarra and Shoalhaven. Distinctive black birds with orange eyes, beaks, and legs they live on the rock platforms eating invertbrates such as mussels and cunjevoi.
Booderee is an important breeding area for the Sooty Oystercatcher. There are only around 80 pairs on the south coast, and several of those nest in the park every year. The birds are threatened because nesting sites on the mainland are easily destroyed. Often this is by introduced predators like rats and foxes, however, disturbance by people and dogs will easily cause parents to abandon a nest.
Booderee staff were delighted to bring the oystercatcher home. He was released back at Bristol Point by Natural Resource Officer Tony Carter. Billy seemed quite happy, immediately taking a long bath in the bay.
Booderee best at reducing carbon footprint
5.12.08
It's official! Booderee National Park's stunning Green Patch beach is the greenest in New South Wales.
Green Patch has won the prestigious 2009 NSW Keep Australia Beautiful Clean Beach Remondis Resource Management Award.
More information
Booderee National Park wins prestigious 2008 NSW Indigenous Tourism award
21.11.08
Booderee National Park last night won the prestigious 2008 NSW Indigenous Tourism award.
The award was presented at a gala ceremony in Sydney last night before 700 people representing the cream of the NSW Tourism industry.
Booderee is owned by Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community and jointly managed with the Australian Government.
Fox control
7 April 2009
Over the past decade, Booderee National Park has been conducting a highly successful fox control program. The program adopts a multi-faceted approach to pest control. The Booderee baiting program, while successful, is limited by the reluctance of some foxes to take baits. This is a well documented shortcoming of baiting programs when foxes have been reduced to low densities.
For this reason, Booderee will augment the current baiting program with shooting and trapping operations at the end of April 2009. Shooting is regarded as a humane method of destroying foxes and will also provide a control method for areas where baiting does not currently occur.
Notice of restrictions to access | Closure map East | Closure map West
Awards for Booderee's clean beaches
18.11.08
Booderee National Park has garnered a clutch of awards in the South Coast Keep Australia Beautiful Clean Beach Challenge.
Booderee's stunning Green Patch Beach is the overall winner of the cleanest south coast beach. Green Patch has also won the Remondis Resource Management Award, in recognition of the park's success in reducing its carbon footprint by cutting energy and water use and increasing its recycling.
More information
Booderee wins environmental innovation award
Booderee National Park has been declared one of the 'greenest' parks in New South Wales, taking out the 2008 Environmental Innovation commendation award at a ceremony in Wollongong last week. The award from the NSW Caravan and Camping Industry Association - through their Travel'N Green program - recognises Booderee's great work to reduce its carbon footprint. In the last year Booderee has pulled out all the stops to cut back water and energy use and maximise recycling as part of its new initiative 'Thinking Green - we can make a BIG difference working together'.
Visitor Services Manager John Harvey says Thinking Green has already cut water use by 50 per cent and energy use by 40 per cent in Booderee's campgrounds. "Thinking Green is our way of making a difference locally that contributes to the bigger picture, and visitors and staff have really got behind it," John said. "This Environmental Innovation award is fantastic recognition of what we've achieved so far, and it gives us a real boost as we keep thinking green into the future."
Murray's boat ramp upgrades
Murray's boat ramp was closed for repairs from Monday 2 June 2008 to Friday 6 June 2008. This work is part of a staged program by Booderee National Park to upgrade the boat ramp by replacing aged and damaged concrete slabs. The work will increase the life of this very popular boat ramp and improve its safety and accessibility.
Earth Hour - 8pm 29 March 2008
Booderee National Park is participating in 'Earth Hour' - turning off lights for one hour to promote a message about the need for action on global warming. If you are staying at Green Patch or Bristol Point on Saturday 29 March 2008, you will be participating in Earth Hour. Last year more than 2.2 million residents in Sydney participated in Earth hour. This year, Earth Hour has gone global with 24 cities world wide involved. Booderee is part of this international move to reverse global warming.
Looking after visitor at Booderee
The bushfire last year unfortunately destroyed the Cave Beach lookout. Wreck Bay Enterprises (WBEL) is the commercial arm of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community and their skilful builders have been rebuilding the lookout. The lookout will soon be finished and will provide visitors magnificent views from Cave Beach around to St Georges Head.
Meanwhile at Murray's boat ramp car park the capable WBEL Roads Department crew have been upgrading drainage in the turnaround area where cars and boat trailers stop before and after launching. These works will further improve facilities for boaters who enjoy the crystal clear protected waters of Booderee National Park.
Booderee makes plans to reduce carbon footprint
Booderee National Park has recently developed a project plan for the Carbon Footprint Program. The program aims to minimise the carbon footprint of the park and the Jervis Bay Territory through power and water conservation measures and other ecologically sustainable practices.
Booderee recovers after wildfires
Recently sections of Booderee National Park closed due to wildfires. the park has re-opened and all public areas throughout the park are accessible, including the Botanic Gardens and all camping areas. The wildfires have not impacted on the popular northern areas of the park.
Whale Watching
Spring is the best time to spot whales frolicking in sheltered bays around Booderee National Park. The best place to spot a whale is from the Ruined Lighthouse in the late morning or early afternoon on a clear and calm day, from September to November. It is possible to spot many whales in one day, as they migrate with their calves to the Antarctic. To find out more, download the Whale Watching Brochure.
Fox News
The fox control program is continuing and has reached a very interesting point.
The entire park was baited in September 2005 and adjacent New South Wales National Park areas were baited in October 2005. The interesting result is that not one bait was taken by a fox during this time. This indicates that there are now very low fox numbers in the park, demonstrating the success of the program. More significantly, we have had no bait taken across the park border, indicated that there are likely to be only low fox numbers moving through these areas into the park.
Bird News
the park has been conducting surveys of the endangered birds, Eastern Bristle bird and Oystercatcher. The Bristlebirds have responded extremely well after the big fires in 2003 with numbers returning to pre-fire levels and found in habitats right across the park. The Oystercatchers are currently nesting on Bowen Island and in other parts of the bay.
Beautiful Waratahs
Of great concern is the taking of Waratah flowers that occurred in August 2005. It was a particularly good season for flowering as a result of the fire in December 2003. The resources team set about mapping the flowering extent and was shocked to see such large numbers of flowers illegally removed from the park. It is important for the conservation of the Waratahs in Booderee that flowering is allowed to progress to seed set.
Green Patch to Bristol Point Nature Trail
Following recent improvements to the Telegraph Creek and Old Lighthouse walking tracks, our focus is now on the nature trail between Green Patch and Bristol Point. This popular track suffered considerable fire damage in December 2003.
With the involvement and support of many people, including civil engineering advice, the work team has demolished the old Telegraph Creek weir. The variety of skills within the team will be fully utilised with this challenging project as they will remove the old bridge along this track and install a new bridge and boardwalk. Further work will be undertaken to improve the track generally.
The end result will be an excellent walking facility for residents, campers and day visitors alike. With appropriate signage, this track will also be a terrific resource for interpreting the natural and cultural heritage of the park.
Dunnart – not done with just yet!
Earlier this year, there was terrific excitement when a Research Team from the Australian National University (Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies - CRES) caught a little known carnivorous marsupial, the White-footed Dunnart. It has not been recorded in Booderee since one specimen was caught in 1980. The species has a relatively small range in south eastern NSW and is sparsely and patchily distributed. It is listed as vulnerable on the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. The re-emergence of the Dunnart in Booderee may be a result of our very intensive fox baiting program.
Frog News
The CRES team caught a giant burrowing frog in a pitfall bucket recently. This is a native frog - an endangered species and rarely seen anywhere because they mostly live underground. Unfortunately they have been mistaken for cane toads in the past. They grow up to 9cm. Native frogs can easily be harmed by diseases and chemical residues that may be on your hands. If you have to handle a native frog, make sure that your hands or gloves are clean and wet.
Surf's up at Caves Beach lookout
Wreck Bay Enterprises Limited (WBEL) and Booderee workers have begun the long awaited upgrade to the best surf lookout on the South Coast also providing disabled access. Please understand that any disturbance to your regular ‘reckie' of the swell will be well worthwhile during the installation of the new walkway. This work will be followed by sensitive but effective vegetation control to return the panoramic vista of the beach and sets which has been very overgrown for sometime.
