The expansionand redevelopment of the popular mountain bike and shared-use trails atCasuarina Coastal Reserve and Charles Darwin National Park have been completedas part of the Territory Labor Governments $1 million investment into the NTMountain Bike Master Plan implementation.
The workshelped to support local jobs and develop specialist trail-building capacity as thecontracted company, Trailscapes provided on-the-job training to its local workers.
The project includestwo new trails and upgrades to five existing trails at Casuarina CoastalReserve, and five new trails and upgrades to two existing trails - Wirraway andSpitfire - at Charles Darwin National Park.
There are now6.5km of trails at Casuarina Coastal Reserve and a further 15km of trails atCharles Darwin National Park, including several new black diamond-rated tracksthat offer challenging terrain for experienced riders alongside trails suitablefor all skill levels.
As stated by Minister for Tourism, Sportand Culture, Lauren Moss:
The TerritoryLabor Government is investing in mountain biking to improve liveability forlocals and to attract tourists, as mountain bikers tend to be high-yieldvisitors who often spend more on accommodation, food and other tourismservices, which will help boost our economy.
Mountainbiking and adventure tourism are growing in popularity, and improvements totrails in the Territory will help put us on the map for people looking for suchexperiences.
This projecthas helped upskill Territorians, as those employed by the contractor now haveon-the-job experience in this type of work, and those skills will remain herein the Territory.
The project isalso a great example of the consultation process at work, and we thank themembers of the Darwin Off-Road Cyclists group for their valuable input, whichmeans the trails offer the best possible experience for riders.
As stated by Darwin Off-Road Cyclists VicePresident, Keogh Conboy:
Local andvisiting riders are very happy with the upgrades and new trails, which havebuilt upon what the local mountain bike scene had started.
Lee Point andCharles Darwin National Park trails are easily accessible and have long beenvalued by the mountain bike community; the investment by government willfurther enhance the rider experience.
We are agrowing sport and its been great to have the government acknowledge this byinvesting in it.
