Management Systemsplan for the Triplet Falls Project Area of the Otway Ranges
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Visitor Living management Systemsplan for the Triplet Falls project area of the Otway Ranges May 2004 Front cover image: Triplet Falls, Otway Ranges The Draft Visitor Management Plan for the Triplet Falls Area of the Otway Ranges was prepared by: The final plan was finalised by the Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment, to incorporate issues associated with a major incident of site vandalism in Sept 2003 and the release of the Draft Proposals Paper by the Victorian Assessment Council on the Angahook-Otway Investigation in May 2004. May 2004 ISBN 1 74152 098 3 Disclaimer: The publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Visitor Management Plan for the Triplet Falls Area of the Otway Ranges, May 2004 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.....................................................................................................3 1. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................4 1.1 Background .......................................................................................................................................................4 1.2 Aim and objectives of this Plan........................................................................................................................5 1.3 The Study Area .................................................................................................................................................5 1.4 The Process........................................................................................................................................................7 2. EXISTING SITUATION..................................................................................................8 2.1 Regional positioning and marketing ...............................................................................................................8 2.2 The existing environment at Triplet Falls.....................................................................................................12 2.3 The existing visitor experience at Triplet Falls ............................................................................................13 2.4 Supporting infrastructure and services at Triplet Falls..............................................................................14 2.5 Existing visitation and visitor profile at Triplet Falls..................................................................................15 2.6 Existing visitor management at Triplet Falls ...............................................................................................17 2.7 Recent visitor management planning and assessment.................................................................................18 3. VISITOR MANAGEMENT ISSUES .............................................................................19 3.1 Introduction to issues......................................................................................................................................19 3.2 Disfunctional descent to Triplet Falls............................................................................................................19 3.3 Increased intensity of use ...............................................................................................................................20 3.4 Ongoing expectations for development.........................................................................................................25 3.5 Limited site capacity for upgrading ..............................................................................................................26 3.6 Uncertainty about future visitation to the Otway Fly ..................................................................................27 3.7 Distance between sites ....................................................................................................................................27 ______________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Visitor Management Plan for the Triplet Falls Area of the Otway Ranges, May 2004 3.8 Ongoing impact of site vandalism ...............................................................................................................278 3.9 Summary of key issues .................................................................................................................................300 4. VISITOR MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES..................................................................300 4.1 Core experience for Triplet Falls.................................................................................................................300 4.2 Target visitation............................................................................................................................................311 4.3 Target markets..............................................................................................................................................311 5. ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES..............................................................333 5.1 Adaptive management system .....................................................................................................................333 5.2 Road access and parking..............................................................................................................................355 5.3 Track system .................................................................................................................................................377 5.4 Interpretation..................................................................................................................................................40 5.5 Toilets.............................................................................................................................................................411 5.6 Marketing and further product development ............................................................................................422 5.7 The Future.....................................................................................................................................................433 5.8 Further development scenario.....................................................................................................................444 6. REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................466 Appendix A – Analysis of similar short forest and waterfall walks in the local area .............................................477 Appendix B – Raw data used to generate visitor forecasts .........................................................................................57 Appendix C – Analysis of new walking tracks proposed.........................................................................................5959 Appendix D - Visitor management options for Triplet Falls ....................................................................................600 Appendix E - Preliminary Design Layout Plan for Triplet Falls................................................................................62 ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2 Visitor Management Plan for the Triplet Falls Area of the Otway Ranges, May 2004 Executive summary Triplet Falls is one of the Otway's many short walks on public land through tall forest to a waterfall surrounded by cool temperate rainforest. However, Triplet Falls stands out from these other walks because it offers: An arrival experience based on driving to the abutment of two of the symbolic environments of the Otways – pasture and tall forest; and a progressive immersion onto a waterfall environment, moving from a steep valley dominated by tall eucalypt trees, past a series of cascades, waterfalls and chutes, and out via cool temperate rainforest and an abandoned sawmill. Triplet Falls has the greatest strengths to provide the most memorable short to medium waterfall walk in the Otways. The popularity of the adjacent canopy walk known as the Otway Fly, is likely to result in triple the annual visitation that was recorded at Triplet Falls prior to the vandalism at the site1 within three years to 180,000 visits. More significantly, the Otway Fly is likely to increase the intensity of use of Triplet Falls to a point where all available parking is taken up at peak times within three years and the spacing between walking groups shrinks from 15m to 5m apart. While the Otway Fly will bring great benefits to the local area, it is likely to increase crowding and visitor impacts upon the sensitive rainforest environment at Triplet Falls. This Plan recommends a course of action for managing increased visitor pressure at the Triplet Falls site as a consequence of the Otway Fly development and the increasing emphasis on the Otway Ranges as a tourist destination. Implementation of the recommended actions will also ameliorate the landscape effects of the vandalism on the visitor experience. This Plan recommends taking a regional approach in channelling visitors to the most appropriate short walk experiences