Remarkable remote renovations – how DO they get that there?
Issued: 29 Nov 2024

Ship to shore

Before the first shovel hits the sand, detailed and proper planning is essential. Collaboration with the Bandjin and Girramay people, through the Munamudanamy Working Group, was essential to the upgrade process. Each of the several trips to the island for planning purposes included representatives from the Working Group, who worked alongside our Rangers and provided invaluable cultural connections and perspective on the ground.

Due to the isolated nature of Hinchinbrook Island National Park, crews relied on one of Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service’s (QPWS) larger marine vessels as their temporary home away from home. While the two larger vessels, the Reef Ranger and Reef Resilience, are both designed to operate as floating Ranger bases, domestic details like meal planning and bunk assignments also became a crucial part of the overall project planning to make sure the team could exist in such close quarters for the duration of the upgrades. Having a home base at the mercy of mother nature meant knowledgeable vessel masters were also a must. Deciding between anchorages depending on an eyewatering number of factors like wind, tide heights, and where crews needed to be the following day put our talented Skippers through their paces.

Have you ever bought a new couch, gotten it home, and suddenly realised you’re not quite sure how to fit it through the front door? Now picture that couch is made of solid Queensland hardwood and the front door is a beach landing, accessible only when high tide is above a certain meterage. Enter stage left, the Island Ranger.

On loan from the QPWS Whitsundays management unit, this smaller, more manoeuvrable vessel was essential for getting the job done. Equipment and future campsite furniture were transferred from the larger barge, Island Guardian, to the smaller workhorse so they could be brought ashore.

You’re on island time, now

A remote getaway sounds idyllic, until you realise just how remote it really is. With mobile reception being non-existent on Munamudanamy (Hinchinbrook Island),  the troubleshooting didn’t end once everything made it to shore. Something as simple as needing a new length of bolt quickly turned into an unexpected puzzle to be solved.

Working with what they had required ingenuity (and possibly a childhood or two playing with model construction toys) . In the background, a radio call went out to put the Reef Ranger on the case. Their floating home base busted out the satellite phone to contact the nearest mainland base, which promptly dispatched a Ranger to track down the required length bolts. In the meantime, the team worked out how to collect the new parts without major disruptions to the vessel’s pre-scheduled plans.

Bolts or no bolts, the show must go on. Each day, the crews had to be two steps ahead, assessing weather, tides and trail-goers to determine what they could accomplish, all while considering what the following day looked like. While completing the day’s work, they had to be aware of where larger equipment was stationed for tomorrow’s tasks to avoid lost time.

Leave no trace

When working on Country as well loved as Munamudanamy, the leave no trace ethos must be stronger than ever. Once the upgrades were complete, with hardy furniture installed and new tracks laid, the Rangers couldn’t call it a job well done until they had erased as many signs of their presence as possible. They levelled the soil where machinery had passed and relocated the few trees that had needed to be removed, until, little-by-little, even their footprints had been whisked away.

While it might not be the most glamourous aspect of working in such a picturesque location, the Rangers’ unwavering dedication to preserving Queensland’s remote and wild protected islands is a big part of enabling visitation and the conservation of these special places.