‘Mountains Drums’ Blog

Welcome to ‘Mountains Drums‘.

This is Nature Trail’s field blog expressing views and insights about the goings on out in the Blue Mountains great outdoors from our local experiences over decades.

This blog is written mostly by one of our regular Mountains hikers, Flex, plus also our Tour Director Steve’s contribution articles from time to time, as he’s see fit to raise.

We also invite our guests to submit their own article to this blog. Just email us at:

steve[at]naturetrail.com.au

 

The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area covers over a million hectares of native vegetation and is arguably a bushwalker’s paradise of choice.

Yet over more than twenty five years of hiking the Blue Mountains, we continue to observe and read about those accessing the Blue Mountains great outdoors and those managing this World Heritage failing to learn from the wisdom of others before them – the requisite knowledge, skills, experience, preparation and attitude to appreciate and not harm or being harmed.

At Nature Trail we relish the great outdoors and value the Blue Mountains and its magnificent and expansive world heritage region.

But while we embrace the outdoors experience, fun and adventure, we are critical of those who foolishly risk life and limb and who recklessly encourage others to do likewise.

Whilst the Blue Mountains may still be of world heritage value, we do not see world’s best practice nor leadership evolving in outdoor recreation nor in custodial management.

Hardly a week passes without reports of helicopter rescues of injured hikers, canyoners and rockclimbers, of lost hikers, benighted hikers, missing hikers and of deaths by those setting out ignorant or just poorly prepared.

We constantly read reports by locals of the threats of invasive tourism, ugly mass tourism, the dominance of a tourism oligopoly, of poor track conditions and neglected signage, of the underfunded and understaffed National Parks and Wildlife Service.

We observe the disconnect between government authorities delegated with custodial responsibility for protecting and managing the natural values of The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, and with tourism providers and consumers.

More recently we’ve observed multiple landslips left neglected for months and years, that then shut down many hiking tracks (as well as critical road and rail access).  Government repeatedly allows wildfires to burn, in 2019 left to incinerate 80% of the world heritage area and other ‘National Parks’ so-called throughout New South Wales.  Governmental abandonment of its national quarantine responsibilities allowed an imported China Virus Pandemic shut down Blue Mountains tourism and visitation completely for two years (2020-2021).

Each tragic instance/incident is reported in isolation, but as if some freak event, then it’s soon forgotten by the media.  No lessons are learned by authorities responsible, no improvements are applied to safety standards or education to visitors/users.  So inevitably, similar tragic instances/incidents repeat time and time again.

 

One purpose of this Mountains Drums blog serves is to share local knowledge and goings on about the Blue Mountains region’s great outdoors to all.  Also, it is to highlight management problems, many chronic; and to question why the governmental custodians and managers of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, fail to listen, learn and deliver world best practice leadership.

Our hiking blogger Flex does not hold back.  This ‘Mountains Drums‘ blog is intended to be a wake up call to the Blue Mountains community to lift its game and to actively challenge government responsible.

 

The articles on our Mountains Drums blog form part of Nature Trail’s contribution to the Blue Mountains community in which we live, operate and share.  We value the beauty and  sanctity that the natural Blue Mountains offers.  We value the safety and viability of our Blue Mountain community at the same time.
Responsibly, we are concerned when these vital values are undermined.  So then we speak out as informal ambassador locals about where we live.

Of course visitation is for fun; but safety must come first, and then the fun a reassuring second.
Every participant recreating in the great outdoors deserves to return well to their loved ones.  Through our ‘Mountains Drums’ blog channel we choose to fairly tell what’s been happening in our neck of the woods.  We tell it warts and all.
To contact Flex at Mountains Drums email:  flex[at]naturetrail.com.au


Blog Posts

 

Service NSW Grant Scam Extortion – an update since we’re back on deck
Government Indian Givers
By Flex / September 1, 2024

Service NSW Grant Scam Extortion – an update since we’re back on deck

To all NSW grant recipients of the 2021 COVID-19 Micro Business Grant: We at Nature Trail have had to sidetrack...

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About our campaign fighting the Minns Ministry’s COVID-19 Micro Business Grant retrospective debt collection scam
Government Indian Givers
By Flex / August 14, 2024

About our campaign fighting the Minns Ministry’s COVID-19 Micro Business Grant retrospective debt collection scam

Nearly two years after NSW Liberal-coalition Government's 2021 COVID-19 Micro Business Grant (the Grant) offered and paid to thousands of...

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ROBODEBT Mk 2.0:  Service NSW COVID-19 Micro Business Grant extortion scandal – Jihad Dib and Courtney Houssos in cahoots
Government Indian Givers
By Flex / August 12, 2024

ROBODEBT Mk 2.0: Service NSW COVID-19 Micro Business Grant extortion scandal – Jihad Dib and Courtney Houssos in cahoots

Based on recent feedback received from a number of grant recipient business owners contacting us uncertain with what to do...

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Service NSW to be restructured – hopefully abolished altogether?
Government Indian Givers
By Flex / August 11, 2024

Service NSW to be restructured – hopefully abolished altogether?

This news is to all those grant recipients starting to have received debt collection invoices since July 2024, generated by...

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NSW Member for Port Macquarie raises questions in Parliament about Service NSW COVID-19 Micro Business Grant Audit scandal
Government Indian Givers
By Flex / August 10, 2024

NSW Member for Port Macquarie raises questions in Parliament about Service NSW COVID-19 Micro Business Grant Audit scandal

During 2023, as Service NSW CEO Greg Wells was driving his ring-in debt collection scheme within his secret internal 'Business...

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Another small business victim of Service NSW Robodebt 2.0 ‘audit’ extortion speaks out…
Government Indian Givers
By Flex / August 9, 2024

Another small business victim of Service NSW Robodebt 2.0 ‘audit’ extortion speaks out…

Another NSW small business owner victim has come forward to share their experience of the awful financially threatening intimidation by...

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NSW small business owner Kerrie’s experience of the Orwellian behaviour of the Minns Ministry
Government Indian Givers
By Flex / August 8, 2024

NSW small business owner Kerrie’s experience of the Orwellian behaviour of the Minns Ministry

With the author's permission, below we reproduce the following letter of complaint by a NSW small business owner (one of...

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Service NSW 2021 COVID-19 Micro Business Grant – when government goes bad, stick to your principles
Government Indian Givers
By Flex / August 7, 2024

Service NSW 2021 COVID-19 Micro Business Grant – when government goes bad, stick to your principles

Service NSW Business Bureau under Executive Director Cassandra Gibbens and Service NSW CEO Greg Wells continue to behave unconscionably towards...

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Service NSW facing massive job cuts – the contract scammers first to go we hope!
Government Indian Givers
By Flex / August 6, 2024

Service NSW facing massive job cuts – the contract scammers first to go we hope!

Now here's some recent good news for small business owners still being hounded senseless by dodgy Service NSW's concocted fake...

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Victims of Service NSW Grant dodgy ‘audit’ scam – Statement of Outcomes
Government Indian Givers
By Flex / August 3, 2024

Victims of Service NSW Grant dodgy ‘audit’ scam – Statement of Outcomes

Statement of Outcomes sought by Approved Grant Applicants (victims) of Service NSW 'audit' (scam) Dated : 21st July 2024 *...

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[This webpage last updated 3rd October 2022]