Locals are frustrated with visitors who continue to try to drive along the beach at high tide necessitating driving on dunes to avoid water and damaging them along with any wildlife living on them.
Cooloola Coastcare co-ordinator Lindy Orwin is furious at the drivers who continue with this practice by an entitled few who she says should not be allowed back on to the beach.
It is a privilege to enjoy this pristine region and with that comes responsibility expected from those invited here to utilise our natural assets.
“Irresponsible, selfish drivers are not only putting their lives and the lives of family and friends at risk but they are creating unnecessary damage to the fragile ecology of the dune vegetation that helps protect the dunes from erosion,” she said
“They are driving and parking on the areas where the endangered and vulnerable marine turtles lay their eggs between November and April every year. There are alternative exits from the area if people won’t wait for safer times to drive on the beach a couple of hours either side of low tide.”
Officer in Charge of Tin Can Bay Police, Sergeant Mick Bazzo said: “It is an offence under the Conservation Act and or the Recreational Management Act to drive on , park on and or set up camp on the dunes“.
“Penalties do apply and this will be enforced by authorised officers from Qld Parks and Wildlife and police. This sort of behaviour is detrimental to the refurbishment of the beach and associated wildlife. In some cases, the damage caused to the environment takes months if not years to self-correct. The more people respect this, the better off it will be for all. We (the authorities) are not against people using the beach provided they do it in a respectful and lawful manner. It is there for all to enjoy.“
The Ice Man owners Rob Gough and Martine Lokan are enraged by the stupidity but said the majority do the right thing.
“Unfortunately, there will always be people who will make stupid decisions. There’s more erosion on the beach currently than there was from the cyclone depression at Christmas.
“Drivers need to drive to the conditions. Generally, rule of thumb is if you can’t read the tide don’t drive two hours either side of the high.
“The majority of beach goers enjoyed the weekend and waited for the tide to drop.
“With the recent flooding Teewah Beach has plenty of other obstacles to navigate and you would be best to only drive it at low anyway for safety reasons.
“People need to respect what they have come to enjoy.”
They said education is key.
“Read the tide chart and plan your visit. Common sense and patience is all that’s needed to prevent these and other unnecessary risks being taken on the beach both at Teewah and the rocks at Rainbow.”
This driver picked up by Claytons Towing nearly came to grief and received the ire of the social media community.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service was invited to respond to the article but no reply was received by article deadline.
