Visitors and locals will soon be able to enjoynew swimming holes, campgrounds and picnic areas at Litchfield National Park,with the tender for the first stage of the Litchfield Central Valley upgradesreleased.
Opening up new visitor offerings at LitchfieldNational Park is part of the Territory Labor Governments TurbochargingTourism initiative, which is bringing more holiday visitors to theTerritory and ensuring they have memorable experiences when they get here.
In February this year, the Territory Governmentannounced additional funding of $6.2 million to fast track the project,bringing the total investment to $17.5 million.
Stage 1 upgrades include the construction ofapproximately 18km of unsealed road and tracks suitable for 4WD vehicles fromLitchfield Park Road to the new swimming holes.
These upgrades will lead the way for Stage 2 -construction of infrastructure at the site of the new swimming holes includingcampgrounds, walking and mountain bike trails, viewing platforms, picnic areasand car parking.
The works will open up access to the newswimming hole sites, campgrounds and day use areas for up to nine months of theyear.
It will also enhance the Parks capacity to copewith increasing demand for adventure tourism experiences while improving overcrowdingissues that traditionally occur in the Park during the busy peak tourism periodover the Dry Season.
Works are expected to get underway in July 2019and are due to be completed in December.
Traffic management will be in place for theduration of works. For public safety, the Lost City Track will be closed whileworks are undertaken.
As noted by Minister for Tourism, Sport andCulture, Lauren Moss:
Renowned for spectacular waterfalls, safeswimming sites and stunning natural landscapes, Litchfield National Park is oneof the Top Ends most popular tourism assets and this $17.5 million investmentwill establish the Park as a premier tourist destination for adventure seekers.
New camping grounds, five new swimming spots,4WD tracks and more picnic areas will be opened up, with road worksfast-tracked. Once the access roads are in place, work will start on thevisitor facilities in the park. People can expect to be enjoying the newcamping and swimming spots by late next year.
Litchfield National Park will soon havecapacity to accommodate an additional 400 visitors per day or approximately60,000 visitors per year, providing a significant boost to regional tourism.
