Sealers Cove track at Wilsons Prom closed yet to reopen after storm damage

A popular hiking trail at one of the state’s most popular national parks has been closed for almost two years. Find out what’s taking so long.

Wilsons Promontory National Park.

A popular hiking track in one of the state’s most well-known national parks has been closed for almost a year and a half, with no exact reopening date set.

The Sealers Cove track at Wilsons Promontory National Park has been closed since flood and storm events in October 2021.

An engineering assessment has found the entire 40-year-old 2km boardwalk was extensively damaged “beyond repair” and that it will need to be replaced.

But Parks Victoria said the track - a circular cove boasting glassy turquoise water, golden sand and a shady campground on the southern side - wasn’t likely to reopen again any time soon but gave a possible time frame of late 2023 or 2024.

It pointed to the extent of the damage and complexity of the works required in a remote area as the reasons for the delays.

Picture: Phil Skeggs Sealers Cove, Wilsons Promontory. Sealers Cove At Low Tide

Some of the costs will be covered by insurance but Parks Victoria documents show other funding is “yet to be secured”.

“The local team are in the process of developing a new design standard that will see the boardwalk higher above the ground/water, wider and rebuilt from more appropriate materials for the aquatic environment,” Parks Victoria said.

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Local group Friends of The Prom, a volunteer group which run trips and volunteer opportunities in the park, said they understood the difficulties.

“The repairs needed are major and costly and compounded by the remoteness and difficult access of this area,” a spokesperson for the group said.

The group is urging the government to support the repairs.

“We would urge the government to find the funds to support and hasten the repairs to this major and popular National Park asset and we support the Wilsons Prom rangers where we can,” the group said.

Park Victoria has been called into question in recent years over their ability to get jobs done in a timely manner.

Campgrounds, several tracks and a vital road bridge in Croajingolong National Park were untouched for almost two years after the 2020 bushfires.

In this instance “red tape” was blamed for the delays.

Note: Walkers can still access Sealers Cove via Refuge Cove. Until further notice, be prepared to walk the current Southern Circuit via Telegraph Track (25 kilometres from Telegraph Saddle to Sealers Cove).