Council warns against common beach act in popular Aussie tourist town
Noosa Council urged locals and visitors this week to avoid the temptation of making sandcastles in the dunes that line its iconic beaches, which are still recovering months after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred smashed the Queensland-NSW border.
'Digging in the dunes can collapse tunnels, trap people under the sand, and damage fragile vegetation which slows the natural rebuilding of beaches after storms,' the council warned locals and travellers.
The innocent act also 'risks the nests of local wildlife and their eggs like rainbow bee-eaters and sea turtles,' it said.
To help the coastal town's dunes return to their former glory and keep people safe, the council encouraged beachgoers to create sandcastles closer to the shore line.
Visitors should also avoid playing and trampling on the dunes, keep to the public paths and stay off the steep drop-offs, it urged.
While the warning has drawn mixed responses from Aussies online, oceanographer Ruth Reef told Yahoo News there is good reason for the council's concern.
'The beaches along the east coast of Australia have been experiencing erosion due to a series of storms in the recent past,' the head of the Coastal Research Group at the School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University explained.
The beach now has a profile that is steeper than those typically seen in calm conditions and a 'lot of the beach sand in front of the dunes has moved offshore', she said.
'The remaining sand is the sand held together by the dune vegetation, so it is very important to leave the vegetation intact to prevent further erosion in this vulnerable beach state.
'Beach vegetation is fragile and easily destroyed. The cliffs formed by erosion are exciting for children especially who love jumping off them, but again, it is important to maintain the sand as is,' Dr Reef told Yahoo.
Playing in the sand in 'the more mobile part of the beach, the beach slope and what remains of the lower berm' shouldn't be a problem, as any sandcastle will be redistributed when the tide comes in, she said.
Aussies warned against 'prohibited' act causing major beach damage
Beaches will take 'years' to recover after wild weather batters coastline
Devastating change taking place at Australia's 'best beach': '20 million of them'
Earlier this year, volunteers with Coolum and North Shore Coast Care captured photos of people walking atop the area's delicate dune systems, raising concerns about safety and the potentially dangerous impact on nesting native birds and endangered turtles.
'The beaches have copped an absolute flogging all along the coastline. It will take a few years for these beaches to come back to their pre-cyclone state,' Sunshine Coast's Beach Matters president Rachael Bermingham told Yahoo News at the time.
While it might take time, the 'good news is that beaches most often recover their pre-storm shape' once conditions are calmer, Dr Ruth said. 'But again, the dunes are part of this and the sand they hold is precious and hard to recover, so please listen to the restrictions and stay off the vegetation.'
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'Everybody's a real estate agent,' she says. 'But they really aren't. (It's an) everybody has a friend who has a friend, who has a friend kind of thing.' After moving in and out of several places, Victoria eventually settled in Sanur, a quiet coastal town with a strong Balinese community that is known for its beautiful beaches. It is, says Victoria, jokingly referred to as 'Snore' due to its laidback atmosphere, and popularity with retirees and families. Victoria lives in a small, modern, gated house, which features traditional Balinese-style sliding glass front doors and high ceilings, with one bedroom, a living room, kitchen and bathroom. 'My neighbor's dog barking is the only noise I ever hear here,' she says. 'So it's almost like my wake-up call or a reminder of the outside world.' Victoria, who describes herself as an 'avowed introvert,' concedes that she socializes even less in Bali than she did in the US, but says that this suits her just fine. 'I was one of those people that loved Covid,' she says, recalling lockdowns implemented during the pandemic. 'I was in heaven, because I live kind of like a hermit.' While she's been trying to learn Balinese, Victoria says that most of her friends in the country speak English and she often finds that locals prefer to speak her native language with her, even though she wants to practice. 'I think it's really important in any foreign country to learn the language, not only to benefit you and understand but also as respect,' she says. 'I'm actually more interested in learning the language to read the signs on the street and things, more so than speaking.' Although she's encountered many other foreigners who've moved to Bali, Victoria says she feels more connected to Balinese people and her friends are mainly locals. 'I haven't met a single expat here who is on that same path as I am,' she says. 'So, I spend my time with locals, not foreigners. Because I have more in common with them spiritually.' Victoria says she's an admirer of how family oriented local culture is. 'It would be like in my country a century ago, where the grandparents and the parents and the kids and the grandkids all lived in the same house,' she says. 'Generations resided together. We don't live like that in America. Once you're 17 or 18, you go off to college and you never want to go home again.' She's also noticed that life in Bali, which is a Hindu-majority region of Muslim-majority Indonesia, seems to revolve around ceremonies, which frequently take priority over work or activities. 'There are ceremonies for everything. From the baby being born to the baby being named, to the cremation, to the anniversary of the cremation,' she says. ''The ceremony comes first, which would be unheard of in my country. Except for major holidays like Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving.' Last year, Victoria was invited to a Balinese cremation ceremony, known as Ngaben, and was the only non-local in attendance. 'Hence, I felt like an honored guest, witnessing the traditional washing of the body on the first day and the actual cremation on the second, with elaborate rituals, drumming, music, meals, and processions.' Bali is much slower paced than she's used to, which has its pros and cons, according to Victoria. 'Sometimes I find myself standing in the grocery line and it takes like 15 minutes and three people to do something that in the United States would take five minutes,' she says. 'But it's just the way it is.' As the cost of living is lower in Bali, Victoria's money goes further, which means she's able to afford things that she would once have considered luxuries. 'Ordering from catering services and through the food delivery is so inexpensive, almost embarrassingly,' she says, pointing out that she rarely cooks, and her housing costs are around a quarter less than they were in the United States. 'So, I don't do laundry for the same reason. It's inexpensive to take it next door, a minute away.' She gets around mainly via motor scooter, which she learned to ride at the age of 65, and while she's had a 'couple of spills' on Balinese roads, Victoria prefers two-wheel transport to a car due to regular traffic snarls in Bali. 'I'm cautious,' she says. 'And I'm old. I know my reflexes are slower than the kids. So I kind of drive slowly to the left. People pass me all the time, but I don't really care.' Although Victoria suffers from a chronic medical condition, which causes pain and fatigue, she describes herself as in 'relatively good health,' pointing out that she also walks as much as she can, and goes to yoga classes regularly. She says she's had positive experiences with the local healthcare system, which consists of both public and private healthcare providers. 'I am fortunate enough to be on the government health insurance program, which is very affordable,' she says, adding that she also has a private insurance plan that would cover her for 'something major.' Victoria points out that the standard of care is not the same as 'in the West or other countries.' 'My feeling is, if you're going to live here, you kind of have to suck it up…' she says. 'If you want Western medicine, then stay in a Western country. But overall, I've been pleased.' She notes that 'retirement centers or homes and assisted living options' are 'non-existent' in Bali as families tend to care for their elderly relatives in their later years, quipping that she may have no choice but to return to the US if she lives 'too long.' But after residing in the Indonesian island for three years, Victoria says she can't imagine going back to the life she had before. 'I jokingly say, 'The only way I'm setting foot back in the United States is if I'm demented,'' she says. 'Everyone that has a conscience and a soul in the United States that I know wants to leave now.' Victoria plans to convert her retirement visa to a KITAP visa, or permanent stay permit card, which is valid for five years, within the next two years. However, she admits that she misses simple things about living in the US, such as being able to do all of her shopping in one place. 'I know it seems sort of silly,' she says. 'But the difference is the shopping options – we get kind of spoiled (in the US). 'There's a major drugstore in every corner. You can go in, and buy everything at one place. Here, you have to go to 10 different shops and little markets. You don't have the same kind of availability.' Victoria also misses going to the opera and theater regularly, but stresses that there's 'nothing to be sad about' as she was an 'active participant in those activities for 40 years.' Although she's happily settled in Bali, Victoria concedes that she hasn't ruled out moving 'elsewhere,' describing herself as a 'vagabond.' 'I've learned never to say 'never' and always to remain flexible,' she says. Her main focus now is trying 'to live a little more consciously' and 'being of service' during what she describes as the 'last phase' of her life. 'A person's life is enriched by variety and change,' Victoria adds. 'And, I feel incredibly blessed to finish out my life in such a beautiful, peaceful location.'