Bombah Point - Eco Cottages

Our Story

With a background in the building industry, a desire to move out of Sydney and an interest in environmental issues we came up with a crazy idea - to build an eco retreat!

We wanted to be active and keep learning but needed more space around us. This project provided the perfect opportunity for Peter to design and build a modular house he had had on the drawing board for some time and for Jill to be able to promote environmentally sustainable development and encourage appreciation of Australia's flora, fauna and natural history.

During 1999 - Researched and surveyed the site.
Drew and submitted plans to Great Lakes Council including a report from the Environmental Consultant with plant and animal species lists from the site and a Fire Assessment and Management Plan. The Environmental Engineering Consultant designed the sewerage system and produced a report for Council.

During 2000
Plans passed by Council for
6 eco cottages
1 reception/guest facility building
3 large equipment sheds
1 residence
The sheds are constructed, one for guests' bikes and boats, one for machinery and one for storage. Several kilometers of loop and boundary roads and tracks around the property are built while 2 pairs of linked earth dams for habitat and emergency water supply for fire fighting are constructed. A 100,000 litre concrete reservoir to hold bore water is installed while overhead power lines are moved underground. Part of the sewerage system is completed.

Early 2001 - Commencement of the earthworks for the services e.g. electricity, sewerage, bore water, phone and gas which will all be underground. Hundreds of meters of trenches crisscross the property while we struggle to juggle plumbers, electricians, council inspectors, Telstra and the wettest May for 5 years!

August 2001 - Most underground services are now in place and ready to be connected to the cottages when they are built. We now have power, water, sewerage lines and gas to each of the sites. The reed bed filtration system for sewerage treatment is finished with the reeds planted and the drip irrigation garden beds in place and ready for planting. (see diagram in "Ecotourism") We have assembled a team of carpenters and work commences on Cottage 1.
We now have up to 18 workers on site every day!

September 2001 - Solar array consisting of 48 solar panels on 4 light sensitive trackers is installed and connected to the electricity grid. Cottages 2, 3 and 4 are under way.

December 2001 - Cottages have floors, frames and roofs. The modular design means that the progress is quite rapid. The garden is producing large numbers of chillis, tomatoes and capsicums.

March 2002 - Internal work progressing on the cottages. Lots of decisions regarding positioning of lights and switches and other minor last minute changes.

April 2002 - The Guest Facility Building has the floors down and the roof on. Work on the pool begins. In the garden we are now picking 6 varieties of chilli.

June 2002 - All the major construction work is complete and the bulk of our team move onto other jobs while we continue at a slower, but somewhat more measured, pace. The website, designed by son Jamie, is up.

September 2002 - The finishing work seems to take forever - making the fly screens (80 of them), building the bathroom vanities and coffee tables from an old growth log found on site, stringing and tensioning the 7 strands of stainless steel wire around all the balconies are just a few of those tasks! Bushfires burned in the local area late this month forcing us to test our roof top sprinklers and fire hose reels and prepare a bush fire plan.

October 2002 - Furnishings and fitting appliances this month, landscaping and first filling of the pool. First bookings received. 200mm of rain hamper our feverish preparations but fill the water tanks.

November 2002 - Our first guests, family and friends, stayed in the cottages this month. We had 14 here for the weekend and enjoyed a walk across the dunes to the beach and a drive to Seal Rocks lighthouse. We feasted on local seafood, garden fresh vegetables and Hunter Valley wines. Our first guests left with good memories and lots of brochures to hand out to friends and at work. Many discussions over cottages names, but finally signs were made and installed.

December 2002 - Friday 13th! We are now officially open with bookings through Christmas and to the end of January.

January 2002 - We are almost fully booked with very little advertising and we are pleasantly surprised that it is all running smoothly. We are starting to realize how much cleaning is actually involved - changing beds, washing floors, spas and windows etc, but meeting people from all over Australia and overseas makes it all worth while. The weather has been very hot and people have been very appreciative of the pool and the fans and the open plan of the cottages. Many visitors have also seen our resident goannas and early risers have spotted the Red-necked Wallabies near the vegetable garden, the house or by the lake at Korsmans Landing. The goannas have worked out that there is an easy meal to be had in an unattended garbage bin, so we have had to be extra vigilant with refuse!

February 2002 - 2 wonderful locals, Mary and Rodney, help us with the cleaning and maintenance. Mary also bakes a great banana and date cake!

March 2003 - After the Christmas rush it is now much quieter which is allowing us to finish a few items we did not get to before December, like the pool table, the hammocks for the balconies and the cushions for the outdoor chairs. We now have a booking for a wedding in November!

April 2003 - A busy Easter/school holiday period with many happy visitors referring friends and rebooking for another stay. The sewerage system is coping well and there are thousands of worms feasting on the food scraps left by guests in their special segregated garbage bin.

August 2003 - The maintenance is daunting - gutters, filters, pumps, pools, fire sprinklers systems to name a few. We aim to make the tasks as efficient and painless as possible! The Sunday Telegraph does a story on us in its Travel section and we receive a huge response.

eptember 2003 - With other commitments the vegetable garden has been neglected so Tim, a specialist in Bio Dynamic farming, is working here 1 day a week to get it back in order. He has us busy making compost and planting out some of the beds with a green manure crop. Most of my old chilli bushes have been removed for new plantings this year.

November 2003 - Installation of the big screen TV projector just in time for the final of the World Cup Rugby! Preparations for the wedding are in full swing. A new deck for the ceremony has been built in the bush beside a water lily covered pond.

December 2003 - As our first year draws to a close we look back at the steep learning curve and the fun we have had visitors from Scotland, USA, Asia, Belgium and all over Australia. Early bushwalks to see the kangaroos, night walks to listen to the frogs in the dams, the evolution of the vegetable garden, the spring wildflowers in the National Park and the return of the migratory Channel-billed Cuckoos, Koels and Flying Foxes and wondering what surprises our second year will bring.

December 2004 - A great year building our name and reputation – we now have a 4 Star AAA Rating. Bookings increased with many return guests and personal referrals. The cottages now have carports and April saw the Rotating Chook Palace completed and 7 brown hens in residence. Tim, our Bio Dynamic gardener, has done wonders with the vegetable garden and the quality of the produce by improving the soil with lots of compost. We are enjoying meeting new people and discussing everything from architecture to sewerage systems to sustainable tourism.

June 2005 - Midwinter and the guests are loving the private cottages, the log fires and the cool sunny days perfect for long beach and bush walks. We now have 10 bikes and 5 kayaks for guests use and many of our visitors are enjoying the NPWS tracks and the lake’s serenity and wildlife.

Our third wedding was a great success with the ceremony on top of the sand dunes at sunset. Several other groups booked us out for 30th and 40th birthdays and for golfing / walking weekends.

The roads on site were tarred in April and this has helped with erosion and mud during wet weather. The chickens are laying 6 – 7 eggs a day and the guests love the fresh produce from the vegetable garden.