One of Australia’s most popular tropical holiday havens is in danger of closing up shop with its main access road still largely impassable, buried under landslides three months after a cyclone hit the area.
Cape Tribulation, which uniquely provides easy access to two World Heritage-listed sights – the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest – has been almost completely cut off since the flooding following December’s Category 3 Cyclone Jasper.
The 4.2m of rain dumped on the region caused mounds of earth to slide onto the Cape Tribulation Road, leaving it impassable from the south.
What frustrates locals, however, is that months later work to keep it clear is moving at a snail’s pace and erratic.
A massive landslide caused by flooding in the wake of December’s Cyclone Jasper has cut off Cape Tribulation
With only a trickle of traffic able to get through at unpredictable opening hours, Cape Tribulation’s economic lifeblood of tourism has dried up, leaving around 200 businesses at risk of closing.
One business at risk is Cape Trib Camping, where owners Julian and Jackie told Channel Nine’s A Current Affair on Thursday that they and many others were close to the end of their tether.
“Emotionally and financially, I think it will soon be the end of the city for a lot of people if drastic action isn’t taken,” Julian said.
“If we don’t get a date for when the road will reopen, we will close our doors,” added Jackie.
“Cape Trib camping will have to close. We can’t stay open without tourists, without a road we have no business.’
Locals blame Douglas Shire Council for not clearing the road quickly enough after the flood receded and not dedicating enough resources to keep it clear.
“We expect some disasters, but we also expect people to be competent in their response to these disasters,” said Lawrence Mason, whose family owns the company Masons Cafe & Tours Cape Tribulation.
Follow a 90-day permit that allowed workers to push the soil into the sea lapsed, all the dirt and mud removed must be transported out.
Cape Trib Camping owners Jackie and Julian say unless they get some security on the road to the tourist hotspot staying open, they will have to close their business
The road is often only open for short periods in the morning and afternoon, but this depends on whether there are workers present.
Sometimes it is only accessible by 4WD and on other occasions it is only allowed on foot.
This has also prevented children from going to school up to four days a week and has meant they may not be able to get home when they do.
Under fire Douglas Shire Mayor Michael Kerr has promised to have the road fully open to tourists by Easter, barring another ‘rain event’.
In a tense interview with the Channel Nine A Current Affair host Allison Langdon, Mr Kerr said everything that could be done was done but safety was the main consideration.
“You know we have our staff, the civil engineers we have, doing the work up there as much as we possibly can when it’s safe to do so,” Cr Kerr said.
“We can’t get a lot of people on this slide because it was a dangerous seat and moving … we had to do it quite slowly and carefully.”
Cape Tribulation boasts that it is where the UNESCO World Heritage sites of the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest meet
Cr Kerr said the promise of a pre-Easter opening had been conveyed to residents despite claims to A Current Affair that no such promises had been made.
In a statement given to Channel Nine, the council said work on the road ‘is being prioritized to ensure residents have safe access in and out of Cape Tribulation and the nearby Daintree communities’.
“After weeks of ongoing assessment to safely secure the site, crews are working to open road access through the Noah Range to Cape Tribulation to all vehicles, residents and daytime visitors within weeks,” the statement said.
‘Rate relief is available through the financial assistance measures the Council announced on 31 January.
“Council is committed to improving engagement and communication with residents and businesses affected by this disaster and supporting the promotion of sustainable tourism back to our beautiful region following this disaster.”