February 7, 2025
A significant number of people are visiting the South Burnett to walk, run or ride pushbikes on the rail trail, Cr Ros Heit told January’s South Burnett Regional Council meeting, and the numbers are continuing to grow.
Cr Heit presented figures automatically collected by counters placed along the trail by the South Burnett Rail Trail Users Association (SBRTUA) as well as camping data collated daily by volunteers.
The counter data showed 12,409 passes in 2024 at Wondai, compared with 10,509 in 2022.
Cr Heit stressed these were not “absolute” figures of users, as people could pass a counter more than once, but comparing the relative figures pointed to a big growth in numbers.
“In 2013-14, when the rail trail was first started, there were a lot of people who said ‘what a waste of money’ and ‘don’t do it’, but … look at those figures,” Cr Heit said.
“We really are having significant numbers of people bringing bikes, staying in our area and spending money and using the rail trail.
“We are reasonably close to the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast and Brisbane where there are a lot of people looking for holiday weekends, and we want them to come to our region and spend money.”
The data presented to the meeting also showed a growth in campers staying with bikes, from 460 in 2021 to 1364 in 2024.
The SBRTUA figures showed almost $900,000 in estimated local spending by visitors staying near the trail.
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The SBRTUA is hoping for another big influx of visitors to the region over the Anzac Day weekend.
The association is assisting Bicycle Queensland with the organisation of “A Weekend In Wondai”, a series of events which stretches from April 24-27.
Hundreds of cyclists will be camping at the Wondai Sportsground, attending local Anzac Day services, enjoying different length local rides, exploring the region with planned visits to various local attractions, nightly entertainment and fully catered breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
The SBRTUA is also looking for sponsors to help make the weekend even better! Contact Jason on 0455-896-749.
More information about the weekend is available on the Bicycle Queensland website
