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Quick update on Mitchell Plateau/Mitchell Falls access June 09, 2011

9 June 2011, Quick update to Monday's issue (June 6, issue #35) Please do not reply to this message. To unsubscribe or change your address please use the links at the bottom of this message. To contact me please ALWAYS follow the directions on the contact page: www.kimberleyaustralia.com/contact.html Hi everyone, This is mainly a quick update on accessibility of the Mitchell Plateau, because I messed up a bit. The good thing about having 16,000+ newsletter readers is that if I get something wrong, somebody will set me straight pretty quickly! It looks like I painted too bleak a picture in my last message. A Heliwork pilot has contacted me and let me know that the information that is floating around about the Kalumburu Road closure is misleading. I had repeated the media information, instead of triple checking personally and getting more details from a real person as I usually do. Not so easy in my current situation overseas, but that's no excuse. Mea culpa. Yes, the Kalumburu Road could remain closed, but the very bad parts of it are north of the Mitchell Plateau turn off. Fixing the section from Drysdale to the turn off is a priority job. That's at least what Heliwork has been told when they flew the shire people around for the assessment. As far as Heliwork is aware the road is being worked on, and they are expecting to have tourists in there by the end of June. The shire says they estimate it's gonna be four weeks, i.e. early July. In any way, it's "only" access to Kalumburu and to the stations north of the turn off that may be impossible for the whole year. Still bad enough of course, especially for those who live up there, but not the disaster for the tourism industry that it has been portrayed to be. (Of course the mega wet season and late opening of all roads is a disaster for tourism already, but that's a different story.) While we're at the Mitchell Plateau, here's a great post about it. One of my readers is Stewart Macdonald, a Queensland wildlife ecologist, photographer and reptile fan. He visited the Kimberley last year and has sent me a link to the relevant posts on his blog. Stacks of great wildlife photos and also a very entertaining read! Check out his experiences and encounters on the Mitchell Plateau: Leg 5 – the Mitchell Plateau (If you like what he does, there is more, starting here: Leg 1 - Brisbane to Katherine.) And another quick update to Monday's newsletter. If you want to help in the fight to protect the Kimberley from industrialisation and maybe win a nine day trip to the Kimberley in the process, visit these pages by the Australian Conservation Foundation: National Heritage listing for the Kimberley would create local jobs and benefit the region’s economy. (information about new research) Join the campaign to protect the Kimberley. (send an email to your local MP) Win a trip for two to the Kimberley. More from the Kimberley soon! Birgit Feedback? Go to https://www.kimberleyaustralia.com/contact.html (c) 2005-2011, Birgit Bradtke. All rights reserved. The Kimberley Guide is published by Birgit Bradtke in Kununurra, WA 6743, Australia. Reproduction of any material from this newsletter without written permission is prohibited

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