A gondola for Mt Buffalo?
The Gorge @ Mt Buffalo could become one of Australia's most iconic attractions. (Photo courtesy JR Digital Art)
Mount Buffalo Skyways Project to be investigated
The Alpine Council is set to investigate a potential iconic tourism project – a gondola up to Mount Buffalo aimed at elevating this region’s status on the national and international tourism map.
At this week’s council meeting, the council’s tourism body, Great Alpine Valleys Tourism Board (GAVTB), are seeking the Council’s support to begin formal community and stakeholder consultation and investigations into the project’s viability. GAVTB aims to establish a task force to investigate the project and provide a final report and recommendation to Council on the merits of the project by 30 June 2010.
Comment: It’s not exactly a new idea but, nonetheless, it’s great and I like it. Unfortunately though, if they don’t get the right people working on it, I doubt it’ll happen in the next 10 years.
Wally says: I'm taking y'all to VCAT, Woolies. Go on, git! Git out of 'my town'.
Contact: alpineopinion@gmail.com
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Seeing we’re so far from the home of the pizza, advertisements should commence immediately to fill vacancies for gondoliers. Would be nice if they could sing too.
Um, different kind of “gondola”, JR. They won’t be going up Buffalo in boats. Mind you, I think it’s highly unlikely they’ll get this project ‘off the ground’ in the forseeable future. That’s the problem when you give a job to a ‘task force’ – it’s just another committee and nothing gets done. This requires private industry to make the approach.
Once again our Alpine council has got the cart before the horse. They are going to do a ‘feasibility study’ and they are going to do all the dealings with the various authorities before they even ask for expressions of interest from a private developer/operator.
What they should do is go straight to the developer/operator (which is Skyways NZ) and get them to do all the leg work. They’ll do it quicker and more effectively.
I was actually hoping you would not notice the difference between water and air.
Oh, BTW, just as there can be no Punch without Judy, there can be no gondola without
Chalet
I agree, JR. But I smell a rat. Skyways NZ, as well as operating chairlifts and gondolas, also operates – as its main stream of income – ……….
………………………………………………….. Casinos!
I wonder ??????????
A casino for Mt Buffalo?
Imagine the ad: “And we have a special treat for high flyers”
Well, it’s been mentioned over the many years that this thing has been in the pipe line (or is that pipe dream?).
The Shire has agreed to support the project. Here’s the announcement:
Council supports iconic tourism proposal investigation – 5/11/2009
Councillors Nino Mautone and Daryl Pearce have joined a sub-committee of The Great Alpine Valleys Tourism (GAVT) Board to investigate the concept of developing a gondola for Mount Buffalo, after Alpine Shire Council last night gave the Board in principle support to proceed with an investigation.
Alpine Mayor, Cr Nino Mautone said Council’s Tourism Strategy calls for the development of an iconic tourism product and Council sees that this investigation could end up producing the ground work for others to take the concept further.
“Council felt the proposal from the Board warranted further investigation. A key part of the proposal was that the project team will develop a comprehensive strategy for the engagement of all stakeholders,” Cr Mautone said.
“It is very important that the team hears from everyone who has an interest in the mountain and the concept,” he said.
GAVT Board chair, John Kroeger welcomed the councillor appointments to the project team and said the team will soon undertake extensive research including on such matters as cultural heritage, environmental threats and complementary tourism development opportunities before reporting to Council.
“We will then use the report detailing what we discover to bid for government funding for a feasibility study,” Mr Kroeger said.
“We consider this to have the potential to be a very exciting project which could contribute greatly to the tourism appeal of the Shire and could provide jobs and other spin-offs,” he said.
Anyone interested in more information can contact project team members John Kroeger on (03) 57551910 or Sabine Helsper on 0419 133318.
The thing is Noel, that all that ground work should be carried out by the developer, who stands to make a lot of money from it. Let him carry the expense and get the thing moving.
I certainly agree it would be a great attraction but I can’t see the likes of Mautone, Pearce & Kroeger getting it off the ground. This is exactly the way the council went about the Gondola-Luge idea for Apex Hill that, as we all know, fell in a heap when community opposition (led by yours truly) knocked the stupid bumbling fools for six.
I won’t be opposing this one because I think (unlike Apex) it’s in the right spot and of course there are no plans to concrete the side of the mountain with luge tracks. But I’m sure they’ll still manage to stuff it up.
I have heard rumblings about this proposal that seem to suggest there could be some community opposition to the idea. At this stage I would say I am in favour of it but I could change my mind if this starts to look like a repeat of the dodgy practices connected to the ill-conceived gondola-luge project for Apex Hill.
I think this would be dredful for Mt Buffalo. The park is such a wonderful place with so much to offer already – hiking, hang gliding, rock climbing, cycling, camping… a gondola would only spoil the views, the natural beauty and deminish the visitor experience.
I dont see why our public parks should be ruined for a private developer to profit from.
Just as with the lifts proposed for Mt Stirling, the bean counters and developers dont seem to understand why the public get so angry when they put forward proposals to “improve” these parks. The park is naturally magnificent without it, and would only be degraded by a large mechanical gondola clunking up the middle of the best view in Victoria.
Thanks Dave, but how would the gondola just running up the side of this huge monolith and park detract from its magnificence? I can’t see how it would have any significant detrimental impact – in both environmental & visual terms.
Surely the ski lifts that were there for, what 50 years (?), are far more intrusive as they are on the top of the mountain and are just plain ugly.
The gondola would allow so many more people to visit Mt Buffalo and appreciate its natural beauty. What’s wrong with that?
Hi Ray,
I guess that is the crux of the issue here. What do we value the park for and what will increase this value and what will diminish it?
I see the value of Mt Buffalo being the natural rugged scenic beauty of a wildnerness landscape where people have not had a dominant effect on the majority of the park.
I also value the interesting geology and ecological richness of this alpine park – an ecosystem in Victoria which is under threat from our changing climate and limited geographic spread. The value is the diversity (and in some cases, rarity) of flowers, birds and reptiles and the opportunites to explore these within a minimalist framework, whether that is as a walker, a cyclist, XC skier or a rock climber.
Visiting National Parks allows us to leave the all pervasive mechanical and technological “stuff” (for want of a better word) that crowds our lives on a daily basis and get back to the core of what many see as really important. This includes a better understanding our place and our impacts within the environment and what the really important things are in our lives are… and its not turning a profit or having a big car.
As I understand it, National Parks are there to protect natural systems of outstanding value (there’s that word again). The associated infrastructure is only there to facilitate us visiting and appreciating, which we can currently do in this park. I dont believe NPs are there to create profits or development opportunities for private companies (as much as Jeff Kennett believed they were) and we shouldn’t try to make them ‘pay for themselves’ – we have a moral obligation to care for and protect the relatively small amount of high quality natural habitat we have remaining in this state.
While I accept the park already has significant infrastructure that decreases the “wilderness/nautral” experience (the road, chalet and associated infrastructure which allows people currently to visit easily and enjoy the park safely, even Lake Catani being man made) I would hope we have come a long way since the days when much of this was put in, and when the natural environment was only seen as an opportunity for explotation and a playground for humanity. Also not much of this can be seen from the most speccy view of them all – the gorge.
So you ask, how will a gondola running up the side of the mountain detract? Firstly, as a rock climber, I know where ever it goes, it will directly affect this sport as there are rock climbs in almost all areas of the park. Climbers really appreciate the challenge and solitude of climbing at Buffalo, I dont know any that will want to be “gawked at” by passing gondolas full of tourists. If you ask anyone who XC skis at Mt Stirling what the blot on the magnificent 360o alpine view from the summit is and they will say Mt Buller. Any man made infrastructure detracts from a natural scene – be that a communication tower on a summit, a gap cut up through the snow gums for a ski tow/run or road or a mechanical gondola. The irony is, people on Buller dont get it – they see this fantastic view all around them, but cant see the scar under their own feet. A gondola will be the same. Those in it will no doubt love the view but they dont have to look at it from half way up a rock climb or see it obstructing an otherwise nautral view of rugged granite and snowgums, whether that is from a remote walk or the viewing platform near the Chalet.
Just because the existing ski tows are ugly, doesnt mean we should further deteriorate the incredible views around the gorge area. We would not build ski tows there now, just as we dont blow up monolithic granite boulders for army training any more.
I think it is good to encourage as many people as possible to experience the natural splendor of our National Parks. Obviously some infrastructure is necessary to facilitate this and to keep them safe in areas of high cliffs etc, but this is already in place. I just cant see how we can justify degrading a National Park that we should be pulling out all stops to protect, just so visitors can have a theme park ride; particularly with profits going to an overseas developer.
I fear the decisions on such developments are usually made by those with little empathy for the incredible natural environment they are building in and often lack the appreciation of what fantastic values this park already contains. More importantly, they cannot see how such a development will be seen as environmental vandalism by so many who already love this natural beauty.
The loss of Lake Pedder, ski tows on Stirling, hotels at the Prom, logging of our catchments, mining in Kakadu, loss of heritage buildings… why is it detrimental? Perhaps those that need to ask may never understand.
Thanks for the forum.
Thanks Dave. I really believe you’re overstating the potential impact of this gondola and I believe the park, the environment and the mountain etc, can peacefully co-exist. It’s only going up the side in one spot and will finish near The Chalet. From there it’s unlikely the users will venture much further in and do any damage.
You haven’t mentioned the obvious economic benefits to the entire community. It’s not just about one developer making a profit (he could do that anywhere), it’s about ensuring the longer term economic viability of our only major local industry – tourism.
There are many examples worldwide of scenic gondolas (or Skyways) successfully blending and NOT causing any damage to the the environment. There’s even one in the Daintree. I just don’t agree that there are any negatives to the park here.
I do not see the point. How will a gondola make Mount Buffalo any more accessible or more iconic than it already is? There is already a very scenic road up Mount Buffalo, and the gondola would have to compete against the road.
If it is ok to built a gondola into a national park, build one to Mount Fainter. This creates a new icon by providing access to an area of the Alpine National Park that the majority of people currently cannot get to. Much better to build gondola access into national parks than roads. Many people have been to Mount Buffalo, few people have been to Mount Fainter. A gondola to Mount Fainter would be very popular because few people have been there and for most people would be the only way to access the area.
It’s not about making Mt Buffalo more accesible, David. The attraction is the ride up the spectacular gorge and the equally spectacular views.
If you want a spectacular ride up a gorge then it will need to be a cable car not a gondola. A gondola will only spoil any view. Irrespective it will not be economically viable with a road alternative up Mount Buffalo. It will be economically viable for the construction company and for area tourist businesses which get a free ride with a small volume of extra business. But it will not be a self sustaining investment for the operator or overall nor compared to the opportunity benefit of opening a new icon in the area with an aerial way to a currently inaccessible location. If you want to have an economically viable icon then you need a spectacular location which does not currently have road access.
To those people who believe that it is viable I say. Don’t go looking to government for funding. Form a public company and subscribe capital either for the total funding or the shortfall between what a keystone investor will contribute and the total cost. If it is viable local tourist operators who invest will benefit in two ways. Increased profits from their tourist business and dividends from the aerial company. Many aerial ways in Europe have been built by local village private investment.
David, if it goes ahead it will not be funded by the Government – they’re looking at a private developer & operator as I understand it. As to its viability that’s obviously something to be considered, but I think you’ll find a gondola ride up Buffalo would be enormously popular and draw visitors from all over the country & overseas.