Fairhaven residents Jack O’Halloran (left) and Diane Bray (second from right) with fellow cyclists at a cycling competition in 2019. Photo: Supplied.
Bermagui’s cyclist community are upset that heavy rain in early July destroyed a section of a popular walking and cycling track. The track along Long Swamp has been closed and cyclists fear they have lost it permanently.
Jack O’Halloran has been cycling for decades and has been cycling along the track to Bermagui for the 20 years he has lived in Fairhaven. Even now, in his 80s, he cycles the 6.4 km to Bermagui every second day.
Mr O’Halloran said there were several cycling groups in Fairhaven, Beauty Point and Wallaga Lake Heights who used the track most days and groups in Bermagui who rode to Fairhaven twice a week. He said the track was popular with families holidaying at the nearby caravan parks as it was a safe place for children to learn how to ride a bike.
He said Bermagui’s U3A group used the track for nature walks and bird watching.
“It is very rare I go out there without seeing at least two people each way on the track, people on their own, couples and groups,” Mr O’Halloran said. “Many individuals walk the track both ways, daily.”
Fellow Fairhaven resident Diane Bray has been using the track, predominantly as a cyclist, since 2010. She uses the track around three times a week to go to Pilates, play golf, shop, swim at Bruce Steer Pool, and go on mountain bike rides along Nutleys Creek Road.
“Cycling is an ideal way to get into town. The track is beautiful in all sorts of weather,” Ms Bray said.
“The track allowed older and not confident cyclists to get well needed exercise and enjoy the fabulous views and wetlands without having to worry about traffic. Neighbours enjoyed catchups while walking for health in a safe and beautiful environment. Some kids could cycle or scooter to school on the track.”
Fairhaven residents’ grandchildren on the Long Swamp track. Photo: Diane Bray.
Ms Bray said there was no alternative for cyclists but to use the main road between Wallaga Lake and Bermagui for most of the way. Pedestrians could use the beach, but only at low tide, if there were big seas.
The road has an 80 km/h speed limit and is potholed, so is not safe for cyclists.
There is a narrow hilly track, currently muddy and water-filled in places, on the western side of the road. Ms Bray said that needed an expensive mountain bike or e-bike to use.
A group of five volunteers, the Bermagui Flora and Fauna Reserve Land Manager (BFFRLM), manage the area around Long Swamp on behalf of Crown lands. They said the track was in a coastal erosion zone, meaning it was unsuitable for further infrastructure, so the track could not be rebuilt.
BFFRLM’s concern is about remediation of the vulnerable area. Their priorities are protecting the remaining hind dunes and preventing the freshwater swamp from being breached by the ocean’s saltwater.
Fairhaven residents regularly walk the track. Photo: Supplied.
Ms Bray said it was likely future large seas would do further damage to the area. She would like to see a raised walkway between the sand and wetlands to help protect the wetlands and allow access.
A retaining wall of boulders with a track on top, like the walkway along Bruce Steer Pool, is another alternative to protect the area.
“It will cost money, but if the environmentalists and community combine forces to liaise with council and apply for grants, it isn’t impossible,” Ms Bray said.
Mr O’Halloran’s wife, Mary, said she was worried about the health of residents who used the track every day and now could not.
Mr O’Halloran said Bermagui had lost a safe walking and cycling track.
“It is a loss of amenity,” he said. “We are almost the only town without a bike track.”
Ms Bray said she was missing the track terribly and the alternative – cycling along a busy road that was not designed for cyclists or walkers – was grim.
“I don’t understand how they are going to police people walking along the track because the alternatives to get into town are quite hairy,” Ms Bray said. “People will make their own way through. That is going to happen, and no one here wants to see the wetlands damaged.”
