New route through the hills added to Wangetti Trail
Shire tourism
A fresh new direction in the multi-million-dollar Wangetti Trail saga has been opened up by the State Government, with the Twin Bridges Track up the hill from Wangetti through to the Mowbray River now the favoured option in the short term for that section of the planned 94km trail between Palm Cove and Port Douglas.
Tourism Minister Andrew Powell announced yesterday in State Parliament the Government would be fixing two broken bridges on that closed track - which heads up to Quaid Road and through to the Bump Track - and repair other sections that have been out of action since being damaged in 2020.
“Reopening the Twin Bridges Track brings the future stage of connecting Wangetti to Port Douglas forward, while we continue to explore additional routes to showcase this stunning part of Tropical North Queensland,” Minister Powell said.
He said the reopening of the Twin Bridges Track does not replace the original Wangetti Trail route, but is expected to open up another trail within the Government’s current parliamentary term, which is due to go to 2028.
Meanwhile, works on the section between Ellis Beach and Wangetti are slated to start next year when the wet season ends, which would then provide a connection all the way from Palm Cove to Mowbray once completed.
Mr Powell said today he was still working with Douglas Shire Council to decide where the final section of the trail from Mowbray River to Port Douglas would go.
“There’s a couple of options,” he said.
The bump track gets you down to the headwaters of the Mowbray River, and from there the track could either go across Mowbray River bridge or go cross country into Port Douglas, he said.
Many Douglas Shire locals have been critical of the way the first 7.8km section of the trail from Palm Cove to Ellis Beach has been built, saying politicians from the south are imposing a trail on the region without taking into account FNQ conditions or what local residents want - for example large sections of the newly built trail completed less than a year ago washing away during the wet season.
The Government announced in June that completing the Wangetti Trail from Palm Cove to Port Douglas was one of the top-four priorities of a new tourism plan “to make Queensland the leading holiday destination in the nation”.
Destination 2045, promoted as a “visionary roadmap to supercharge the state’s industry into a new era of growth, innovation and global leadership” touts the Trail as a major project at the forefront of the future of tourism in Queensland.
Slated last year to cost $47m to complete, the price of the trail has continued to rise, with an extra about $20m pledged in this year’s state budget.
Support public interest journalism
Help us to continue covering local stories that matter. Please consider supporting below.
