General News
18 August, 2025
'Long and slow recovery' continues in Little Desert
On Saturday, August 9, Parks Victoria welcomed 25 volunteers, primarily from Melbourne, to the Horseshoe Bend Campground in Dimboola.
These volunteers participated in a Little Desert National Park fire recovery day, assisting staff with ongoing recovery efforts in the park.
Wimmera area chief ranger Lisa Freeman said the turnout was great.
Horseshoe Bend Campground was the main target in the operation, with volunteers cleaning up the untouched toilet block, constructing firepits and repainting 15 picnic tables.
"We would love to see families come and camp again," Ms Freeman said.
Volunteers also helped with soft landscaping as they moved mulch for revegetation and restoration purposes.
"Having 25 people come out has been a big help," Ms Freeman said.
"It saved our crews weeks of work."
The Little Desert National Park bushfire burnt more than 95,000 hectares as it quickly made its way through the land within the first few days.
The park has been closed since then, with immediate towns such as Dimboola feeling the blow.
"It's a long and slow recovery, and it has had a big impact on tourism," Ms Freeman said.
"Having a lot of people from Melbourne stay and eat, it was a great way to support the town."
Ms Freeman said the aim is to have the park open by spring, although campgrounds will be at a reduced rate.
"When the park reopens, there will still be small closures in place," she said.
The River Track is currently under a seasonal closure and is set to reopen in October.
"We have to think, 'What can we do to invite visitors to camp?'," Ms Freeman said.
"It will have a change of experience because obviously the 4WD tracks have been affected.
"It will be a wilderness experience."
Moving forward, Ms Freeman said Parks Victoria plans to hold more days like this.
