Parks Australia and the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council will maintain the COVID-19 protections at Booderee National Park by extending the park closure to 23 June 2020, to protect the health of Elders and vulnerable residents.

Director of National Parks Dr James Findlay said the safety of vulnerable members of the community remained the highest priority.

“Booderee is a hugely popular holiday spot but that brings risks for visitors, staff and the Indigenous community,” Dr Findlay said.

“We understand that this will come as a disappointment for many locals and travellers who are frequent visitors to the park, but we are committed to ensuring we take a cautious and considered approach to re-opening the park.

“As we continue planning for a re-opening that makes the park accessible to visitors in a manageable and safe way, park staff are also focussing their efforts on maintenance and upgrades throughout the park.

“We’re grateful for the support and understanding our loyal visitors have shown during this time and we hope that you will continue to be patient, and rejoin us when we can re-open safely.

“Until we reopen to visitors our message to anyone who is not a Jervis Bay Territory resident is that the park is closed. That means no entering the park to fish, surf, launch a boat, camp, bike ride or bushwalk,” he said.

Traffic management will be maintained at the entrance to the park, and regular patrols by park rangers will continue to ensure the park remains closed to those not permitted. Penalties for entering the park when it is closed vary between $1,050 and $10,500.