Ring of steel: Traffic delays in Lang Lang as restrictions ease for Melburnians
Regional tourism could be on the road to recovery as eager Melburnians flee the city after 123 gruelling days of lockdown. But the mass exodus has caused a few problems already.
Bass Coast News
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After 123 days, the “ring of steel” separating Melbourne and regional Victoria has been lifted, and 25km travel limit dropped.
Melburnians are flocking to regional Victoria with traffic delays of up to 25 minutes this morning near the former Lang Lang checkpoint.
A Department of Transport spokesman checkpoints on major roads leading out of metropolitan Melbourne are in the process of being dismantled.
“Crews from Victoria Police and the Department of Transport will be working to remove all temporary infrastructure throughout the day and into this evening,” he said.
“Motorists are likely to experience delays with a 40km/h limit in place through the site of the previous checkpoints”.
The reduced speed limit is in place for the safety of the workers on the road.
The state on Monday recorded its 10th consecutive day with no new coronavirus cases or deaths.
There are currently just four active cases.
The rolling 14-day average has dropped to 0.4 in Melbourne and zero in regional Victoria.
Juy Putel and his four friends who live in Melbourne’s south east booked a holiday in Phillip Island as soon as they knew restrictions were easing.
“We are planning to roam around and check out the sights now that we can,” Mr Putel said.
“We are so lucky the weather is great today!”
Meanwhile, bookings for regional hotels have spiked as Victorians plan getaways in the country, with Choice Hotels revealing that their online reservations are up 40 per cent after the lifting of restrictions was announced.
Wineries across northeast Victoria are anticipating an influx of visitors from Melbourne eager to escape the city’s parameters.
Cellar door manager at Pennyweight Winery in Beechworth, Danielle L’Huillier said they were preparing to be very busy over the weekend.
“We’re very excited about the ring of steel coming down and for the border to ease in a couple of weeks- it’s been a long time coming,” Ms L’Huillier said.
“It’s been quiet over this time so we’re anticipating a rush of people this coming weekend.
“Everyone has down the right thing to get over this, so now they deserve to be rewarded by exploring this beautiful state, and drinking good wine.”
North east of Ballarat, Arinya Retreat Daylesford owner Damien Harris said bookings were up 95 per cent in comparison to this time last year.
“I can’t believe the support from regional Victoria, it’s been fantastic,” he said.
“I’ve had a couple of Melbourne enquiries so far, but not an influx just yet.”
Mr Harris said the surge in tourists meant the retreat was booked out well into 2021.
Pennyweight Winery has reopened seven days a week to provide the best availability for customers over the spring and summer months.
While wine tastings are not viable for the winery at this time, Ms L’Huillier said the winery had a beautiful courtyard where patrons could book in for a glass or bottle of wine.
“The restrictions include one glass per wine per person, we have 20 or so wines on tasting,” she said.
“Even if we reduce it down to 2-3 wines it’s still a lot of glasses, and they would have to be seated as well.
“We’re very fortunate that its’ spring/summer now things have eased, it’s looking pretty luscious so its pretty inviting to sit outside.
“People can bring their own picnic or lunch.”
Indigo Vineyard’s farm stay has been booked out for the rest of the year, as Melbourne are keep for a taste of the country.
“We have a farm stay accommodation here which is now booked for the rest of the year and into January,” assistant vigneron Jon Mewett said.
“The majority of our cellar door customers are from Melbourne and the next biggest is people from NSW, Sydney, and locals after that.
“We prefer bookings for the cellar door but we find most people just drop in when they’re exploring the region.”
Go Adventure Nagambie owner Lee Rowland said Melbourne residents hungry for a break were heading up to the tourist hotspot as soon as this weekend.
“It’s pretty exciting as we’ve all been through a tough time,” he said.
After months of shutdown, Mr Rowland said December was looking promising, with hire of boats and kayaks up about 25 per cent from the same time last year.
Mr Rowland said most of his vessels had a cap of up to four people, meaning he was not too affected by COVID-19 gathering limits.
But he said his business had been carefully preparing its COVIDsafe plan for weeks, alongside others across town.
“Lots of things are happening in Nagambie, particularly local hotels and restaurants participating in outdoor dining,” he said.
“But I think there’s an understanding we need to manage this in alignment with public protocols and social distancing.
“It’s just about making sure we have the right processes in place, and in recent weeks, we’ve been building up to that.”
Felicia Mariani, chief executive of the Victorian Tourism Industry Council, said the sector could “breathe a sigh of relief” with the removal of the harsh travel restrictions.
But for tourism to recover completely, interstate holiday-makers needed to return.
“Intrastate travel is really critical, so that’s why it’s so important that Victorians choose a Victorian holiday first, but for full recovery to actually kick in, we need that interstate participation and we need to be participating in the travel bubble with New Zealand,” she said.
Visit Victoria has launched its new “Stay close, go further” campaign to encourage staycations to bushfire areas including Gippsland and the High Country.
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