Mt Keira turned into an adventure mecca with cable car, mountain bike trails, tree top adventure playground, zip line, walking/jogging trails and toboggan ride is Illawarra’s favourite big tourism idea.
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Illawarra Mercury and Destination Wollongong launched the competition after Royal Caribbean announced it was bringing its first cruise-liner to Port Kembla next October.
The idea of Mercury editor Julian O’Brien, Destination Wollongong manager Mark Sleigh and Cr Leigh Colacino was for the community to put forward ideas for a new tourist attraction.
The field was narrowed down to five and then thrown open for a public vote and 63 per cent of people chose the redevelopment of Mt Keira.
Mr O’Brien named John Thomas, of Oatley, as the winner at a Destination Wollongong partner function exactly one year before Radiance of the Seas arrives.
Mr Sleigh said it was likely to be the first of many cruise ship visits once the city proved itself.
Tourist operators were keen to find out how they could get involved and were told everyone was likely to benefit.
Mr Thomas wins an Ultimate Illawarra Weekender prize.
The 50-year-old radiographer is a recreational mountain biker who brings many visitors to Mt Keira to take in the world class view – but finds it very disappointing they can’t even buy a coffee.
He wants activities for all ages and a way to link Mt Keira to the city for visitors to easily explore.
“There would be cable car access from the base of Mt Keira to a restaurant/kiosk with a display featuring some history,” he said.
“A free community bus could run from the bottom of the cable car to North Wollongong … and then loop around the beaches and CBD.”
Shadow Minister for the Illawarra Ryan Park is also encouraging Wollongong to embrace Mt Keira for its potential as a world-class tourist destination.
With natural beauty, a stunning scenic outlook, walking tracks and trails and wildlife it is perfectly positioned close to the CBD..and has the potential to be a world-class adventure park with gondola, restaurant and mountain bike trails.
“Considering our close proximity to Sydney and vast amount of international and domestic tourists, we need to capitalise on our geographically beautiful location.”
