Surfpolitik Bra Boys Fund New Picnic Shed

In: Surfpolitik by Stu Nettle 79 Comments Fri 10th Jun '11

Tags: roger the park ranger , Cape Solander

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Cape Solander has been under the microscope lately, what with all this east coast swell. But it's not just photogs and online viewers taking it in. Large numbers of spectators have been paying the fee to enter the gates of Botany Bay National Park and watch it from the front row. They drink beer or clutch small children while jeering for surfer blood. Not twenty metres away is the shallow ledge that would deliver it.

It's become so popular down there on the rockshelf that the last two swells have seen the carpark and access road fill quickly. Stories of people walking kilometres just to watch the spectacle have been common.

So with all the rubbernecks parting with their hard earned the park's coffers must be filling fast, right? I had a chat with Roger, spokesperson for the national park, to find out what they were going to do with the rivers of gold.

Have you seen the surfers riding waves off Cape Solander?
Yeah, I think its brilliant what they do. It's amazing with the towing and the boats and all the people watching. We stop and watch whenever its breaking too. It's so shallow there.

Yeah, it's been breaking quite a bit lately. Seems it's always got a big crowd these days: had any PB's on the gate?
We measure gate taking weekly so we don't know yet. It's been really busy though.

But if you break any records you can thank the surfers, right?
Not quite. We've had lots of surfers come into the park but then we've also had lots of older people out here looking at the whales. It's whale watching season, did you know that?

No, I didn't.
It is. Actually, the whale watchers are having a sausage sizzle this Sunday and Monday to raise funds to pay the spotters.

OK, but back to the gate takings, any plans on what you're going to do with the windfall?
Well, we don't see it all, it gets spread around all the national parks and we make a bid for it. At the moment we're hoping to build new picnic sheds and also fix the road down to Yena Gap, where the wave is.

Are you going to expand the carpark there, you know fit more punters in?
Yes, we might do that.

Any other plans for infrastructure, grandstand maybe?
No, that's not likely. You're talking a lot of money for that.

Do you guys ever get nasty with punters who drive through the gate without paying?
No, a lot of them come in before we start work so they get a chance to go back and pay. It's only $7.50. The best thing is to get an annual pass for all the parks.

Do you have any thoughts on the Bra Boys, they popularised the wave and brought all the paying customers?
No, I don't really think about them.

OK, thanks for your time.
Remember to tell people about the sausage sizzle.

Will do.

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