Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / District Manager of Top End Parks Julie Heran tells us what water holes you can get into this Dry Season

Transcript

District Manager of Top End Parks Julie Heran tells us what water holes you can get into this Dry Season · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I know that there's a lot of you who are
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: probably wondering what you're going to get up to for
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: your long weekend, and a lot of you heading out camping,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: some of you keen to go out for a bit
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: of a swim somewhere where there's not crocodiles, and joining
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: us on the line to tell us a little bit
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: more about some of what's going on in the territories,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: different parks and water holes.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Well, it is Julie.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Heron, who is the district manager of Top End Parks.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Good morning, Julie, let's try that again. I'm not too
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: sure what's going on with my phone line there. Hopefully
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: I have got Julie on the line, Julie, can you
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: hear me?
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Good morning, very well, how are you good? Thank you, Julie.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Lots on on the weekend and lots of people wanting
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: to head out and about and get into nature.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: I guess you'd say, yeah, no.
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: Perfect weather for this weekend. It's really really turned it on.
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: Nice weather for camping. So I'm sure a lot of
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: people are going to get out and about this weekend
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  Speaker 3: and enjoy the do your Top End and what the
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: top End has to offer.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Absolutely Julie.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: One of the areas that we've all been keeping a
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: bit of an eye on is Butterfly Gorge.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: Have you caught that crocodile yet? Oh?
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: We seem to be having a bit of an issue
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: with our phone line there. Let me see if I
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: can Sorry, Julie, can you hear us again?
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: I can hear you again. Yet. We didn't have a
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: bad line, so.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: That's all right. Have you caught that croc yet?
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  Speaker 3: The rangers were down there again this morning to check
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: on the trap that I haven't heard back from them
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: as yet to see whether they've caught it or not.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: Oh well, hopefully not too far away from being able
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: to get that crocodile and being able to have a
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: swim again or out there at Butterfly Gorge.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: Is it a pretty popular spot? Julie, Oh, I don't.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. I think maybe it probably is, but we don't
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  Speaker 3: really know how popular it is. It does. The Faily
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  Speaker 3: region as a whole is pretty popular, so I'm assuming
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  Speaker 3: as people in that area though, they'll pop down the
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: Butterfly Gorge for a look, because it is quite stunning
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: to do that walk and have a look at that gorge.
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  Speaker 3: It's quite different from anything else they've got around the place.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: And Julie, what is what other you know spots are
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: are well worth a look this weekend to those out
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: there listening who maybe haven't made plan jets.
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah, well this field is always a popular spot, but
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: all the camping sites are fully booked for this weekend.
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  Speaker 3: Just a reminder if you have got a site books
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: at Central Value or Channel Point that you need to
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: pick up the key by Friday afternoon. But there's still
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: camping sites available at Umberware Gorge, which is you know,
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: probably a couple of hundred k's down the track. If
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: you haven't been out Samya River, there's a beautiful camp
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  Speaker 3: site called Cousins Campground which is a bit of a
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  Speaker 3: secret spot that not too many people know about, which
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: is quite lovely on the banks of these sort of
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: the Mary River wetlands. Yeah, it's still camping available at
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: Nit my luck and also Elsie if you want willing
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  Speaker 3: to do a bit more of a drive.
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  Speaker 2: So still plenty plenty to get out and about and do.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Now, if you are booked or if you are staying
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: at Central Valley in Litchfield, you do need to make
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: sure that you've collected those keys, don't you.
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's correct, mate. Yeah, you can only get in
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: if you've got the key to the date.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: And so when you have to have those by and
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: how many people have you usually got out there sort
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: of you know on a weekend like this coming weekend. Yeah,
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: it's fully booked.
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: So the whole all the thirty two camps bullybook for
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: this weekend. And yeah, you've got to pick up the
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: key by four pm Friday afternoon from the JAPE office
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: or if you're coming from in South the Catherine office.
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: Parks Castine office also has some keys term available And Julie.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: I know it's a busy weekend, you know now that
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: the dry season feels like it finally arrive this morning
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: everybody and everyone's like, thank goodness, no doubt that.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: You know that all of the.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: Park staff are going to have a busy weekend too.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: How has it been since you've you know, like since
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: you implemented you know, the booking system for the campsites.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: Has it been going pretty smoothly?
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  Speaker 3: Yes, you know, there was a lot of people that
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: sort of had a bit of a negative thoughts about it. Honestly,
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: it's been really good. We have campground hopes some of
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: our campgrounds in Lead Shield and they're reporting that, you know,
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: over ninety percent of people have got their bookings already
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: and that they're really happy to be able to have
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: the opportunity to know that there's going to be a
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: spot available to them when they get there, and people
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: that you haven't quite happy to go back into Bachelor
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: or somewhere and see whether there's any sites available. Yeah,
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: it's been fantastic and yet really really good feed that
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  Speaker 3: with the whole thing so far, which is really promising.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's good to hear.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: How I also know we've had a few people get
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: in contact with us wondering when they might get the
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: opportunity to go out to the Douglas Daily Hot Springs.
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: Yeah. So the negotiations are still ongoing in that space yep.
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: So it's subject to the finalization of the land claim
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: and until that the terms of that joint management have
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: been agreed unfortunately there WK.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so maybe maybe a little earlier or maybe towards
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: towards next year.
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  Speaker 3: It all depends on how the's negotiations conversations.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and in the end yep.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: Well, Julie, it sounds like there's lots on and sounds
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: like your cruise are pretty busy as well. Still trying
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: to get that crocodile.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: Out there at Butterfly Gorge.
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they certainly are. The crop Management team have been
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: helping us out as well, so yeah, we've been pretty
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: busy trying to get that get that crocodile out.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: Well, Julie Heron, lovely to speak to you this morning.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time. And yeah, I hope
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: the crew has a good weekend. I know it's going
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: to be a busy one.
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks you too, Katie, thank you.