Wilsons Prom plans five-day shutdown

South Gippsland gem Wilsons Promontory will be closed to all visitors for five days later in the year while Parks Victoria undertakes pest animal control and other essential maintenance works.

The park will be closed from 5pm on Sunday, August 9 until 8am on Friday, August 14 this year.

During the closure, visitors will have no access to any part of the Prom, including any and all areas accessed by boat, kayak or other watercraft.

Parks Victoria said the temporary closure would give them time to carry out necessary park management and conservation works without visitors in the area.

Those works include things like an aerial deer control operation, on-ground introduced predator control, primarily targeting foxes and cats, pest plant control, walking track maintenance, and essential service maintenance at Tidal River.

Area Chief Ranger for Wilsons Promontory National Park and Marine National Park, Brett Mitchell, said the closure is an annual process and it allows important work to be completed in a safe and efficient manner.

“Closing the park to visitors for a few days each year means we can safely control deer and feral animals, manage weeds and carry out other important upkeep of the park,” Mr Mitchell said.

“It's also an opportunity to perform maintenance on essential services like power, water and sewerage at Tidal River to minimise disruption during busy times.”

The annual closer has been occurring for over a decade now, first starting in 2015.

Parks Victoria said they choose the timing to intentionally coincide with the park’s lowest visitation period, in an attempt to limit the impact on park visitors.

Wilsons Prom remains one of Victoria’s most popular national parks, spanning 50,000 hectares and welcoming more than 500,000 visitors each year.

Zero of those visitors will be present during the closure in August, which will apply to all visitor areas, including Tidal River, walking tracks, beaches, campgrounds and roads within the national park.

Visitors who may be planning a trip to the prom during that period are being urged to adjust their plans and check Parks Victoria updates prior to travelling.