A COUPLE racked up 20 “fineable offences” by accidently violating the rules around sacred sites in a national park – in one case by simply picking up a stick.
Travel vloggers Britt and Tim Cromie were baffled when they got an email accusing them of them many misdemeanours during their visit to Uluru, northern Australia, three months earlier.
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The pair posted pictures and videos of their tour to Instagram and YouTube – oblivious that it would stir up trouble.
Some sites in the Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park are sensitive to the Anangu Culture and there are restrictions on publishing images of them.
Visiting guidelines say: “The rock details and features at these sites are equivalent to sacred scripture for Anangu – they describe culturally important information and should only be viewed in their original location and by specific people.”
Folk are free to take snaps in many other areas of the park, but anyone planning on sharing those images publicly must apply for a permit.
This includes journalists, bloggers and amateur content creators.
The couple were quick to pull their content from their platforms after being told off – but were confused by some of their supposed offences.
They acknowledged that some of their posts featured restricted sites, but explained they had no idea at the time.
In a post on Instagram, Britt also explained they had applied for a permit retrospectively after being made aware of the rules.
Some of the other listed violations, however, continued to puzzle.
Britt wrote: “It’s not actually based complete[ly] on sensitive areas.
“It’s things such as actions, like we picked up a broken branch we were using to swat flies and we’ve been told that we need to remove any footage of doing that.
“And some areas, even though they are photography zones, you need to include a wider area of the landscape.”
One spot which cannot be photographed close up is the north-east face of Uluru, as it holds special cultural significance.
People are advised they can take wider shots from a distance which avoid zeroing in on the sacred sites.
Other more bizarre advice includes “block[ing] out the sacred sites with an object such as a tree, bush, sand dune, person, or even a camel”.
There is a whole 28-page dossier outlining media guidelines for the area.
But Britt revealed they were also pulled up on potential breaches to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
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After processing the accusations against them, the influencer couple decided they had no option but to remove the whole YouTube video shot at the area and all associated Instagram posts.
They emphasised that their post reflecting on the episode was not to complain, but to share a valuable lesson with other content creators and bloggers.
Britt explained they were posting about their experiences “not because we’re mad. Not because we don’t care. But because we do, and we weren’t across the guidelines when we visited.”
The pair recommended that people “do a s**tload of digging if you do want to film, photograph and share any of your content”.
Although Britt and Tim were told their offences warranted fines, they were not actually issued with any.
