'Uproar' over three-year closure of core of Namadgi National Park

Parts of the fire-ravaged heart of the park will be opened "as soon as it is safe to do so" but the public may not get access to the worst-hit sections for three years.

"The Honeysuckle, Orroral Valley and Bimberi Wilderness precincts were severely damaged and more time is required to complete repairs to make these areas safe again," ACT Environment Minister Mick Gentleman said.

"Access roads into these areas have been deemed unsafe, making some sites unreachable.

"The rangers and staff undertaking recovery efforts love the park and they are working to get people back into all areas as soon as possible."

Two thirds of the path, to the north and south of the core, have been reopened but the 655-kilometre Australian Alps Walking Track goes through the closed section.

It stretches from Baw Baw National Park in Victoria and finishes in the ACT, except that this finish will now be shut off.

There is anger among some long-distance bushwalkers, who say the closure blocks one of the most treasured routes in Australia.

They accuse the ACT government of being over-cautious.

"I think it's ridiculous," one walker told the Sunday Canberra Times.

The row is playing out amongst the 3900 members of the Australian Alps Walking Track Facebook group.

"Yass Man" (who didn't want his real name made public) said that fire and flood-damaged parts of parks in NSW have been opened to the public. He couldn't see why the same couldn't happen in the ACT.

"The ACT has 70 kilometres of the Australian Alps Walking Track and that means nobody can complete it until 2023 when they open it," he said.

He dismissed the idea that it was too dangerous.

"There's inherent risk going into the bush. It's not a maintained path," he said. "It's meant to be wilderness. How can you have wilderness which is too dangerous?"

"Yass Man" suggested warning signs saying "enter at your own risk".

But his outrage at the continued closure isn't shared by all enthusiasts for the Australian Alps Walking Track.

The convener of the community, Vern Fitzgerald, said that what he called the "uproar" was because "people feel their rights are being impacted - but it's madness."

He said some walkers had a "completist mentality", meaning they had to do every section of a track - but others just enjoyed walking.

"A walk's a walk," he said.

He understands why the ACT government has kept the central part of the national park closed. "Regeneration after things like this is vital," he said.

"Animals need a chance. They are vulnerable. Just give them a break. Give them time to recover."

Some in the Australian Alps Walking Track group think the path should be diverted for the duration of the Namadgi closure, perhaps taking it to the Brindabella National Park in NSW.