Disgusting habits of travellers visiting Cape York enrages traditional owners

Stripped-down tourists who graffiti, defecate in the scrub and litter have continued to enrage locals of Australia’s iconic northernmost tip.

Despite traditional owners threatening to close access to Cape York, holidaymakers have continued to air out their kit for photos and desecrate the idyllic site.

Local land councils have warned they could close the popular location altogether if tourists don’t clean up their act. 

Locals stripping down by the sign at Australia’s northernmost point at Cape York could be prosecuted by local police to curb the behaviour of ‘disrespectful’ travellers

The sign at Pajinka (pictured) is a popular photo spot for tourists who are proud of how far they’ve travelled but the behaviour of some has offended local custodians

Both ladies and blokes frequently pose either partially or fully nude by the sign informing people they have reached Australia’s northernmost continental point (pictured)

It wouldn’t be the first time traditional owners have locked down access to the tip of Cape York, Pajinka, to kerb unruly tourist behaviour. 

In March 2021 local owners briefly brought down the boom gate on the location after photos appeared online of tourists nuding up for pictures.

The local land council thanked the majority of tourists who were respectful but warned others about disrespectful behaviour while visiting. 

Disrespectful visitors in recent years have graffitied cliffs (pictured), littered, defecated and used unregistered guns in the Cape York area

Far North Queensland boasts an idyllic and largely untouched natural environment (pictured) loved by travellers and four-wheel-drivers

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Many locals are fed up with half-naked tourists on the site managed by traditional owners: ‘If you’re coming up here please learn a little about country, culture and respect’

A now-deleted Facebook group featured pictures of men and women with their junk out next to the sign which reads: ‘You are standing at the northernmost point of the Australian continent.’

Far North Queensland is extremely popular with adventure tourists and four-wheel-drivers boasting long stretches of challenging roads and breath-taking nature and wildlife. 

Most locals don’t want to discourage tourists from visiting the area and surrounding towns, but urge travellers to be respectful.

The boom gate has previously been brought down on popular areas of the northern peninsula region after photos appeared online of tourists nuding up for pictures and graffiti appeared on rocks

Some told Daily Mail Australia that tourists are welcome to share in the area’s natural delights but a minority of visitors are ruining the site.

Others believe tourism to the location isn’t worthwhile given the disrespect shown to the site and to locals.

Travel groups online with cult-followings, like ‘T**s Out at the Tip’,  have proved divisive as the local community weighs the pros and cons of tourism.

Managed by the Gudang/Yadhaykenu Aboriginal Corporation, the areas was cleaned after graffiti, litter and damage were discovered in the area last year, but elders are upset the disrespectful behaviour seems to have continued.

Talking to the Courier Mail, a Gudang/Yadhaykenu Aboriginal Corporation member said it was frustrating travellers weren’t seeming to get the message.

‘We feel very disrespected, it’s like if I go into their yard and stand naked in front of their house,’ he said. 

‘We have strong beliefs and disrespecting our country, something bad might happen to them by our ancestral spirits.’

Traditional custodians of Cape York, in Far North Queensland, banned travellers from visiting Australia’s most northern point last year (pictured, camping in the area)

Torres Strait Patrol Group Inspector, Nick O’Brien, encouraged witnesses of nude photography and disrespectful behaviour to contact the police.

‘Whilst Cape York is considered isolated and remote, visitors to the area should be advised that acts of this nature are considered extremely disrespectful and culturally insensitive to the traditional owners of the land,’ he told the Courier Mail. 

In online forums, outdoor enthusiasts slammed the behaviour of tourists flaunting their tackle in Pajinka’s rock pools.

‘Another case of ‘me me’ attitude with no respect in many ways pity we didn’t have a stock whip handy,’ wrote one under a tourist’s nude shot.

‘This dude and his mates will be the first to complain when sites are closed or restricted. If you’re coming up here please learn a little about country, culture and respect,’ wrote another in reference to the man in the picture.