Kennett River Nature Walk Visitation Data
For those of you who have been following the visitation numbers on the Kennett River Nature Walk, and visitation continuing into the back of our community, including residential streets, located near the river we have an update…
Kennett Community Action Group members diligently recorded counter readings every Monday from 15 December 2025 to 26 January 2026.
Over this seven-week data collection period — which included two catastrophic fire evacuation days and a flash flooding event — the recorded figures were:
Nature Walk visitors: 20,980
Visitors continuing past the easement counter into the back of our community, which included residential streets: 17,753
The implementation of temporary infrastructure changes within the precinct (as outlined in the proposal KCAG submitted to Council) resulted in very few large buses entering Kennett River during that time. Parking became an issue for buses and with koala populations no longer as robust as in previous years - there was no guarantee of sightings. Stopping became less and less favourable with fewer and fewer sightings.
Visitation this summer season was predominantly self-driving visitors. For comparison, during an almost identical seven-week data collection period the previous year (14 December 2024 to 24 January 2025), the figures were:
Nature Walk visitors: 13,756
Visitors continuing past the easement counter into the back of our community, including residential streets: 12,450
KCAG’s data aligns with GORCAPA’s independent monitoring of the two counters installed at our request on 13 June 2024, after crowds chased and cornered kangaroos for photos in a serious wildlife-welfare incident.
While there has been a marked improvement in inappropriate wildlife interactions through our community-led and funded Keep the Wildlife Wild education campaign; supported by both the Colac Otway Shire and the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority tourists are still trespassing onto private properties looking for an up close encounter — a safety and amenity issue for impacted homeowners. Heavily impacting families who rely on their AirBnB bookings.
In 20 months, the Nature Walk has hosted more than 100,000 people.
These growing visitation numbers are unsustainable and not appropriate for our small community. It is anticipated that the visitation numbers will increase exponentially as tourism grows on the Great Ocean Road with estimated projections of 6.6 million tourists a year in our region.
Within a 6-month period - October 2025 to March 2026, the Kennett River Nature Walk’s Google profile has received 30,000 views, 9,900 interactions and 15,000 searches.
The internet and on-ground data being collected offers valuable insight into the resourcing required to develop and implement strategies to manage and sustain mass tourism at Kennett River - if we are to ensure the protection of riparian-zone habitat and vulnerable wildlife populations.
