NOVEMBER 2019
 

Croc from grey nomad a great attraction

Bright future planned for park
rescued from 'bowels of monster'

A TOWNSVILLE caravan park in an area once ravaged by floods has been given the go-ahead to carry out an ambitious project to breathe new life into the business.

The Bush Oasis Caravan Park says it is overjoyed that the local council has approved a development application from the family-owned and operated park at Nome.

"This is great news for our region after being devastated in the floods earlier this year," the park's Fiona Lidgett told Caravanning News.
 
"It will provide a new offering and further jobs."

The plan proposes to have 10 glamping tents with luxurious bathrooms, 13 powered sites and an event centre over an artificial wetland.

Ms Lidgett said there would be three core values and objectives with the development ... waste, water and energy.

"We believe they are driven by the consumer demand and of environmental experiences caring for nature," she said.

The park has its own recycling system for glass and plastic which is supported through Envirobank and it is looking at ways to compost all green waste within the park.

It will install a new waste treatment plant which will have no emissions or noise and will treat water to A-class conditions.

Resident 'crocodile' at the Bush Oasis Caravan Park

"Another benefit of this new system will be that it's flood resistant and underground and will ensure our continued operation in future events," Ms Lidgett explained.

"Once treated, this potable water will be transferred to our constructed wetland."

With the park not being on town water, it is supplied by bore only.

All household, facility and site bore water is purified through a reverse osmosis system prior to being sent to relevant areas for consumption or use.

A reverse osmosis system removes the need for inline filters because it removes 99.8 percent of particles.

"Water from our constructed wetland will be used to water gardens, reducing the need to pump additional water and essentially saving thousands of litres of water annually," Ms Lidgett said.

"After the Townsville floods earlier this year we looked for ways to increase our resilience in the event of future power failures.

"In the next two weeks we will be resealing our reception and manager's house roof, repainting with reflective paint prior to installing solar PV and battery backup."

Ms Lidgett said the artificial wetland would further provide a nature habitat to the local wildlife and an opportunity for Edu tourism.

"With the Townsville region having 400-plus of the 800 bird species in Australia, this will provide an extension for the wetlands in the region that are suffering due to drought and seasonal rains by offering a year round water source."

She thought this would be "great for bird watchers or Twitchers as they like to be called".

"Studies have already commenced with Birdlife Townsville to provide a list of before and after bird species within the park."

Ms Lidgett said the grey nomad community had been very supportive over the years, with one even staying after the floods to give a helping hand.

"This shows the amazing contribution they bring to communities and business and regional Australia," she said.

The travellers had even made a feature for the park ... a crocodile!

Made from chicken wire, expander foam and fibreglass, it had become a great attraction in the park.

"It's also a reminder for us after the devastating floods that we had gone into the bowels of the monster and will be triumphant," Ms Lidgett said.

"Whilst we don't have any live crocs in the creek, they can be viewed across the road at Billabong Sanctuary."

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