Safety fears as pair lost on trail

IPSWICH City Council will check track markings at Flinders Peak after a 48-year-old man and his young son became lost while walking the popular trail in stifling heat on Sunday.

It was believed the man and 10-year-old boy had climbed to the summit and were on their way back down the mountain when they lost sight of the track and wandered about 400m off course.

Realising they were lost, the pair thankfully stopped and used a mobile phone to ring for help.

A crew of SES volunteers began searching about 2pm, but it wasn't until a search and rescue helicopter was called in that the lost hikers could be found and guided to safety.

SES Ipswich Controller Arie van den Ende said he believed the walking track was vague in places and that this contributed to the pair becoming lost.

“Speaking to a couple of our guys who went searching yesterday, they said that you really need to know where you're going because the track is not really well marked,” Mr van den Ende said.

Ipswich City Council conservation and environment committee chair Cr Cheryl Bromage said the Flinders Peak climb was properly marked but that council officers would survey the area again to decide if any improvements needed to be made.

She urged hikers to take notice of reflective arrows which are positioned on the difficult, rocky sections of the incline and are designed to point unfamiliar climbers in the right direction.

“It is quite a difficult climb - it is rated as a class five so you need to be experienced and quite fit,” Cr Bromage said.

“One of the problems we have is that the abseilers often leave alternative tracks which could confuse people who haven't climbed Flinders Peak before.”

Ms Bromage said council staff visited the trail yesterday to ensure the markers were still clearly visible.

Council has just announced new camping and horse riding facilities at the base of Flinders Peak to cater for increasing numbers of visitors.

The facilities will be ready in 2010.