Finishing Touches

On Saturday the 30th of January we were to have our official opening for Bimbul. We bravely decided this because we were so close that we thought, sometime near the end of December 2015, a month’s work would see us through to the finish. You can’t blame us for being optimistic. The build has been going now since July, albeit, off and on. And of course who had ever heard of a wet January. Whatever happened to El Nino?

So the opening got cancelled but some die-hards turned up anyway. The party, as it turned out to be, was well handled by the slightly unfinished Bimbul and only one guest had to be towed out of a bog. Still to go is the hydro (80% done); painting and oiling (90%) done; entrance gate and fence (10% done); landscaping (60%) done – but ever on-going as it merges with restoration works on Wongari.

In fact Wongari, along with SEQ Catchments, are about to work together now on our second joint project. In the land adjoining ours and next to Bimbul is a ravine that is engulfed in weed and notorious for land slips. It runs from Christmas Creek Road down to the creek and would be a great asset to all when it is cleared up and stabilised with new plantings. Not only will silt and other sediment not be washed into the creek, and the ground made suitable for regrowth, but animals will have more habitat at the same time as visitors to the area will get yet another great vista of our creeks and rolling hills from the road while they are passing by. We are particularly targeting habitat trees for Koalas. More about that in another blog.

And talking about wildlife. We have finally had a positive sighting of the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly. If you ever see this butterfly you will know why we’re pleased. The colours on this 120mm wide butterfly are dazzling. Once common they became restricted to a very limited range of habitat survival and were considered endangered. 25% of species in this country has been lost over the last 200 years so prospects were looking grim. Fortunately, a targeted programme for habitat renewal seems to be paying off with many more sightings, ours amongst them, have been reported this year. At each of our cabins we have planted their specialised vine, it takes their name, and we are now hopeful that some guests will get to see the butterfly for themselves.