Bunjaree was built nearly twenty years ago, long before sustainability became fashionable. All the cottages were built by hand, and sited to least disturb the bush around them.

Our cottages are constructed from earth from the land — which means they are well-insulated and have a beautiful, soft feel to them.

We have real solar power (with no mains connection), in a solar village system. We have a large battery bank, so it never runs out, although we cannot run air conditioning, or electric heating. There is gas for hot water and heating, though.

Our cottages have rainwater. Great to drink, lovely to wash in, and no chemicals, additives and no digging up of the land for massive pipes.

We do use gas for hot water and for some space heating. We also use wood for heating the cottages. Our slow combustion fires are efficient and we purchase already fallen wood from western NSW. There is a small levy for use of wood. This levy helps support a regeneration project in the Capertee Valley — providing a habitat for an endangered species, dealing with problems of erosion and planting native tree species for future generations.

Our luxuries are suited to the environment – a solar powered spa in Wattle, a rainwater fed bath-house in Tea Tree, the special setting of Banksia, our truly unique playhouse for kids situated near Waratah, the ever-present romance of the bush.

At Bunjaree we take care to keep the bush in pristine condition — weeding, but not otherwise disturbing the bush. This means there are habitats for many species, from swamp wallabies (very shy, active only early morning and evening – they’re easier to hear than to spot!), gang gang cockatoos, to the cutest little geckos imaginable.