The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has defended its maintenance program after two bushwalkers who had to be rescued from the Blue Mountains blamed overgrown tracks for their ordeal.
The two experienced hikers were located near Mobbs Swamp near the Megalong Valley early Tuesday morning, three days after they were due to return.
The alarm was raised when one of them did not make an appointment on Sunday and a search effort was launched.
Klaus Umland, 81, and Alfred Zamadzki, 69, said they were not lost but had been unable to negotiate "overgrown" tracks.
"There used to be some really good tracks in here," Mr Umland said when they returned.
"They all are, I would say, overgrown."
"It wasn't the weather, it was the bush," Mr Zamadzki said.
The head of NPWS, Atticus Fleming, told ABC Radio Sydney he was pleased the two men had been found safe and well.
Mr Fleming said the service was working hard to repair tracks after the 2019 bushfires and subsequent floods caused extensive damage, but the area the men were hiking in was not a priority.
"We've never built the trail, it's not a constructed or maintained trail and it's in a declared wilderness area so those trails are different," Mr Fleming told Breakfast presenter James Valentine.
"Our priority with the infrastructure is looking after those sites that get a million people a year as opposed to the stuff that we haven't built in the first place that might get a few hundred more experienced people."
About one in five of the 625 trails listed on the NPWS website is closed for repairs or upgrades.
'The scrub has gone boom'
Sydney Bush Walkers secretary John Kennett said the area where the men were found, known as Wild Dogs, was popular among "serious bushwalkers" with navigational skills.
"It's not signposted, you're going to have to be able to read a map and have to be quite self-sufficient," he said.
Mr Kennett, who has hiked in the area about 20 times, said that had become more difficult in the last few years.
The devastating 2019 bushfires, which wiped out a lot of the tree canopy, were followed by frequent, heavy rain creating ideal conditions for plants and shrubs to grow.
"It's grown back so thoroughly that the ones that weren't particularly well-defined tracks anyway, in many cases have disappeared, or they can't find them," he said.
Mr Kennett said the problem was widespread in the Blue Mountains and parts of Wollemi.
"The scrub has just gone boom," he said.
National Parks Association chief executive Gary Dunnett said the bushfires and successive storms had made it a tough couple of years for the walking track network across NSW.
"It really reinforces that we can't just take those fantastic public assets for granted. They really need to be maintained," he said.
The damage had forced the group to regularly cancel planned bushwalks, but he said conditions seemed to be approving as NPWS carried out repairs.
He urged more focus on maintenance.
"We've got some concerns that there's been a very strong emphasis on announcements of new construction for walking tracks. And what we're keen to see is that our current stock of really high quality tracks is maintained as a priority," Mr Dunnett said.
Be prepared
Bushwalking NSW President David Bell said the COVID lockdowns preventing most people from accessing national parks also contributed to tracks becoming overgrown.
"The answer to all this is to get more people back into our parks and using the tracks and trails," Mr Bell said.
Mr Fleming advised people to do their research and stick to formal tracks if in doubt.
"Make sure you do a walk that suits your capabilities," he said.
Walkers are also advised to register their trip and expected return time.
Mr Dunnett also urged people to check the national parks website before venturing out, be prepared and carry an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB).
He also recommended joining a bushwalking club to learn from so you can rely on more experienced people.
Mr Zamadzki and Mr Umland had an EPIRB with them, but did not set it off because they were able to make contact with family and police by other means.
