After rocky progress over the past four years, rehabilitation of the Bluff Falls tourism area at Cudgewa North following the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires is almost complete.

In June last year, a residents’ action group was formed to progress the recovery project and it sought the support of the community to get the tourism site re-opened.

The priority for the group was for Parks Victoria to designate project milestone completion dates against planned works and to establish effective and ongoing liaison with the community.

Another issue the group identified was that under the project plan disabled access to the Bluff Falls viewing area would be removed.

The major holdup with the project had been the approval of a Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) which delayed the developnment of a formal plan.

Once the red tape was complied with, work has been completed by Parks Victoria contractors on new viewing platforms and stairways with fire-resistant grating. Wheelchair access has also been provided to the main viewing area.

Parks staff have also been working with members of the Friends of Murray Mountains Parks on reahabilitating the area including the camping grounds and walking tracks.

Once the contractors complete their work, Parks Victoria will undertake further landcaping of the site. Enviro-toilets will Tourism attraction is set to re-openalso be installed.

The official re-opening of the tourism area is scheduled for late November or early December.

Friends of Murray Mountains Parks will also be holding an information day at the site including guest speakers and catering. 

This article appeared in the Corryong Courier, 17 October 2024.