The idea of creating a tourism trail along the Wimmera River has been the subject of conversation for many years, but is now well on the way to becoming a reality. A steering committee was formed at the inception of the project, consisting of representatives of all the major stakeholders, and they will continue to work with Hindmarsh Shire towards implementing the project. After successfully securing grant funding, council was able to engage the services of TRC Tourism to complete both a feasibility study and also a master plan for section two of the trail. Both of these final reports were adopted by councillors at the July meeting.
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The Wimmera River Discovery Trail will be 150km in length and is divided into four sections, with the first being from the Little Desert National Park to Dimboola, which will require the river to be crossed, necessitating the addition of a pedestrian bridge. Section two starts at the Dimboola Common and follows the river to Jeparit and out to Four Mile Beach at Lake Hindmarsh. Section three is essentially a loop of Lake Hindmarsh, continuing along Outlet Creek to link up with the Wyperfeld National Park and culminating at the Western Beach camping area of Lake Albucutya.
Section two is a total of 63km in length and hundreds of culturally significant sites have been identified along the trail which, together with the local flora and fauna, will provide a unique and interesting experience for walkers and cyclists. For those with less time or energy section two also offers a choice of four small loops. With the redevelopment of the Riverside Holiday Park at Dimboola, more family style accommodation will be available in the future and money has been allocated in this year’s budget to provide kayaks and mountain bikes for patrons to hire. Council is very excited about the Wimmera River Discovery Trail's potential to become a popular destination and increase visitor numbers into our shire.
Other exciting news around in our shire is the appointment of Greg Wood as chief executive officer.
I consider the appointing of a new CEO one of the most important decisions that councillors may need to make during their term, but in this term, Hindmarsh councillors have had to undergo the process twice. Council was unanimous in its decision to appoint Mr Wood and looks forward to him commencing his five-year term on September 12.
