Page 12 - Rotary Matters - September 2021

Waikerie Cliff top walk

When a club wins a $356,000 grant from the Murray Darling
Basin Authority to repair, replace and refurbish its Cliff Top Walk;
it knows it has long term credibility for doing good in its community.

The Cliff Top Walk project started in 1988 by the RC Waikerie and
was completed as a Waikerie Centenary Project in 1994, to mark
the centenary of the town itself. This 2km walk stretches eastwards
from the Waikerie Ferry through the pumping station grounds to
the lookout, and then along the picturesque clifftop.

The height of the cliffs gives a fantastic view over the River Murray
and the meandering floodplain. River floods are now not as frequent, but high river activity is still evident
in a complex of terraces, hollows, wetlands, billabongs, backwaters and anabranches.

In early 2020 the Rotary Club, with the support of the Loxton-Waikerie Council, decided it needed to
refurbish what is one of the major tourist attractions in the town. In a modest beginning the club and the
council shared 50% each for the cost of new signage on the walk. Rotary Volunteers designed and installed
the new and more detailed signage.

Members of the Club then prepared a detailed report on the entire walk, with suggested upgrades and
repairs, to a sitting of the Loxton-Waikerie Council. The entire Council supported the presentation and
having knowledge of the Federal Government Grants Program facilitated a Grant Writer to apply for
funding for the project. The Club was duly rewarded with a successful application outcome.

The club is busy not only repairing the track itself and installing safety
features; it is also adding steps, renewing a bridge, extra seats and lookout
viewing areas. It has also decided to construct a specific viewing area
designed to cater for universal access to enable disability access to all.

The club expects to complete the works within
12 months so it is a major project this year.

Project Manager Graeme Thompson and a small
management team oversee the work. Assisting with
the project are Waikerie Community members and
Cadell Training Centre volunteers.

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