Referral of proposed action “Guanaba Experience” Mountain Bike Trails, Ziplines, Camping Project title: and Dining. Guanaba, Queensland 1 Summary of proposed action 1.1 Short description Guanaba Experience is a proposed nature based ecotourism development on Mount Tamborine, west of the Gold Coast. The proposed development will enable tourists and visitors to the area to enjoy a nature based adventure park whilst maintaining the majority of the 203ha property as retained vegetation. The proposed action is to construct an outdoor recreation facility consisting of: • A series of (non-motorised) mountain bike trails totalling 29.47km (5.38ha) • A course of 5 ziplines (with a clearing corridor of 1085 Lm) (1.08ha) • Four suspension bridges (with a clearing corridor of 276Lm) (0.28ha) • One camp ground (totalling approximately 0.6ha) • Dining and visitor reception facility, car park, maintenance shed and toilet block (3.23 ha) • Waste management treatment plant and sprinkler dispersal field (0.80 ha) 2 • One emergency evacuation helipad (1256m ) 1 1.2 Latitude and longitude Coordinates for the site perimeter boundary are provided in Table 1, below. Table 1. Coordinates for site location ID Longitude Latitude 1 -27.9608 153.1978 2 -27.9606 153.1974 3 -27.9603 153.1974 4 -27.9602 153.1975 5 -27.96 153.1976 6 -27.9599 153.1975 7 -27.9597 153.1975 8 -27.9595 153.1975 9 -27.9593 153.1974 10 -27.9592 153.1972 11 -27.9589 153.1969 12 -27.9587 153.1972 13 -27.9586 153.1974 14 -27.9584 153.1974 15 -27.9582 153.1974 16 -27.9551 153.2 17 -27.9547 153.2007 18 -27.9546 153.2008 19 -27.9546 153.202 20 -27.9545 153.2022 21 -27.9542 153.2031 22 -27.9538 153.2039 23 -27.953 153.2047 24 -27.9518 153.2048 25 -27.9507 153.2052 26 -27.9497 153.2054 27 -27.9492 153.2066 28 -27.9515 153.2206 29 -27.9567 153.2196 30 -27.9567 153.2188 31 -27.9575 153.2179 32 -27.9577 153.2169 33 -27.9586 153.2161 34 -27.9599 153.2164 35 -27.9607 153.2162 36 -27.9618 153.2158 37 -27.9628 153.2156 38 -27.9622 153.2116 39 -27.9623 153.2115 40 -27.9615 153.2061 41 -27.9612 153.2058 42 -27.9609 153.2051 43 -27.9612 153.2046 44 -27.9609 153.2023 45 -27.9598 153.2026 46 -27.9592 153.1991 47 -27.9606 153.1978 2 1.3 Locality and property description The proposed action is located entirely within Lot 3 RP181081 (98-196 Guanaba Road, Tamborine Mountain, QLD). The site is located at Tamborine Mountain, 500 metres above sea level, and is part of a 28 square kilometre plateau (8 km long by 4 km wide), within the eastern boundary of the Scenic Rim local government area. The property is approximately 5km south west of Guanaba between the basalt escarpments of Mt Tamborine and Guanaba Creek in the west, Guanaba Road to the east, Guanaba Indigenous Protected Area to the north, Tamborine National Park to the west and north west and Kaiser Road to the south (Figure 1). The site is accessed via Henri Robert Drive (from the M1) or Guanaba Road (from Mount Tamborine). The aspect of the property is predominantly north facing and it has an altitudinal range of 360m from the top to the bottom of the property, with the upper highest elevations being located predominately along the southern and south eastern boundary. Figure 1. Site Location in relation to Guanaba Road along the eastern and Kaiser Road along the southern boundary. The property is a relatively large parcel of land, totalling an area of 203.02ha, consisting of a variety vegetation types and structures. Evidence of previous clearing from historic uses such as banana farming and timber harvesting can be seen in the south eastern and south western parts of the site. Parts of the property contain areas of weed infestation, particularly in previously farmed or impacted areas which are dominated primarily by lantana (Lantana camara) and exotic grasses and other weeds. An area of madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) is limited to a relatively small patch, just west of the proposed café site, adjacent to the infrastructure zone. The proposed infrastructure and wastewater dispersal areas are located within Category X (Qld) non-remnant, disturbed areas while the trails and ziplines traverse disturbed, regenerating and relatively undisturbed areas where the above land uses have had a limited impact. Overall, the project area contains a combination of predominantly introduced vegetation on existing track footprints, regenerating Eucalypt woodland and forest and intact and regenerating lowland rainforest. 1.4 Size of the development footprint or work area (hectares) 25.4 hectares 1.5 Street address of the site 98-196 Guanaba Road, Guanaba, QLD 1.6 Lot description Lot 3 RP181081 3 1.7 Local Government Area and Council contact (if known) John Creagan Co-ordinator Development Assessment Scenic Rim Regional Council PO Box 25 | 82 Brisbane Street | Beaudesert Qld 4285 P 07 5540 5173 | F 07 5540 5103 [email protected] | www.scenicrim.qld.gov.au 1.8 Time frame October 2015 – August 2019 1.9 Alternatives to proposed action X No 1.10 Alternative time frames etc X No 1.11 State assessment X No 1.12 Component of larger action X No 1.13 Related actions/proposals X No 1.14 Australian Government funding X No 1.15 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park X No 2 Detailed description of proposed action 2.1 Description of proposed action The “Guanaba Experience” outdoor recreation facility is a proposed eco-tourism commercial venture on private freehold land in the Gold Coast Hinterland. It seeks to tap into a growing market for experiential or adventure tourism. Core to the proposal is an imperative that the beauty of the natural environment is maintained for enjoyment by all visitors into the future, along with the restoration of degraded areas on the site through the ‘Pay it Forward’ Ecological Restoration Management Program developed for the site and set out in a management plan produced by Eco Networks (Supporting Documents). The development will include the construction of ziplines, Tibetan suspension bridges, mountain bike trails, hiking trails, a campsite and related infrastructure, all of which have been carefully considered in their placement to limit the potential impact on the native vegetation of the site. The project aims to retain the maximum amount of vegetation possible, for visitor enjoyment as an ecotourism precinct. The total impact area of the development is outlined in Table 4, page 9. The development is consistent with Beaudesert/Scenic Rim Council’s ‘Desired Outcomes for Tourism’ as per the planning scheme, outlining that tourism in the area should be promoted through efficient use of infrastructure whilst protecting the natural values and character of the local area. Each aspect of the development is outlined, below. A network of properly maintained mountain bike trails will be established. Some of these roads need to be constructed as new, while others will utilise all or part of the extensive network of existing trails. Ziplines Ziplines (sometimes called flying foxes) are an increasingly popular form of eco-tourism. It enables tourists to move deep in to the forest while flying through and above the tree canopy. Guests develop a greater appreciation for the environment, particularly as the guides give informative talks and answer questions. Guanaba Experience is proposing a total of 5 zipline courses, starting from a high elevation near the reception 4 centre and gradually moving to lower elevations. Upon completing the 5th and final zipline guests will be transported back to the reception centre in a 4WD shuttle bus. The zipline course is 1,575 metres in total length. However the clearing corridors only total 1,085 metres (the clearing footprint is less as no clearing is required while above the canopy). The vegetation survey conservatively adopted a 10 metre wide corridor, however we anticipate only 40% of the surveyed vegetation will actually require removal to achieve the required “line of sight” from the start to end of each zipline. All ground cover and most midstratum vegetation will be retained. Please refer to Appendix 3 for zipline locations. Bridges A total of four Tibetan suspension bridges are proposed for the site to be included in trails to showcase the gullies and tree covered slopes present on the site. The bridges have been located in areas where impact is likely to be minimised, a proposed fifth bridge was removed due to its potential impact on sensitive vegetation found on site. Bridges require small areas of vegetation clearing to allow for anchoring, a total of 2760m2 has been mapped out for bridge start and end points and this is likely to be far more than is required. Only trees that absolutely require removal to develop the bridge entries and exits will be cleared. Each tree will be individually assessed to determine if it is necessary to removed or can be retained. Refer to Appendix 3 for bridge locations. Mountain Bike Skills Park A “Skills Park” is proposed where mountain bike riders can improve their riding abilities in a safe and incremental manner. The entire skills park is contained within the confines of an abandoned quarry close to the infrastructure zone, utilising degraded landscape to eliminate the need for unnecessary native vegetation removal. The abandoned quarry contains a few exotic pine species which will be removed for development of the skills park. Mountain Bike Trails A total mountain bike (MTB) trail network of 29.5km is proposed at an average width of 1.83 metres forming an impact footprint of 5.38 hectares.