Great Ocean Walk B&B accommodation, Australia
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Our property borders the Great Otway National Park and native animals are often seen in our grounds. The back paddock is a meadow where our resident troop kangaroos graze in late afternoon. They are getting used to us now and often we often sit and watch them and the sunset at the same time.
Our dam is full of lots of frogs and "bonk-bonk" bullfrogs and in our bush we see black cockatoos, bower birds, welcome swallows, wattle thrushes...and many more...all good fun for the twitchers....
All our organic waste is separated - it either goes to the chooks; the worm farm or the compost heap. All paper and cardboard is saved of reuse or for fueling the boiler. Bottles and cans are recyled and the small amount left is disposed of in the local recycling plant.
The only water we use on the property is that which we collect ourselves. We ask our guests to be mindful of this and use water wisely by limiting shower times and not leave the tap running when cleaning teeth or shaving etc.
We still have lots to do in the grounds, we have a very small vegetable garden started but inside is very nearly finished. And we are loving every minute of it...so glad we made the move from Melbourne. It is certainly different living in a semi-self sufficient house in the country. We are learning how special this home is and met the builder. He actually cut the stone from the quarry and milled the timber from the forest and he knows the house very, very well. Consequently he is a mine of information and whenever we see him we have another list of questions about how things work ...the bolier,the stove, water pumps heating ...the list goes on. Currently the only utility service we need is electricity and we plan to have this rectified in the new year when we will be installing solar panels.
Community
We moved into our new home in October 2011 and as new comers into the Otway region we are taking some time in getting to know our neighbours and local community. It takes time to know what is going on in a community but the local post, school office and tourist information office has been valuable in finding out what is going on. Consequently we have already become involved in a number of local community events and organisations.
We took part in ‘Operation Ridge’, an initiative of the Lavers Hill school, Country Fire Authority, police and State Emergency Service and community , to practice a fire drill for the entire community. From this activity CastleAire is also to be involved in the local CFA by providing support to the local fire crews and leading a hand in the administration of fund raising events.
It was during a visit to the local farmers market we met up with the organisers of the Southern Otway Organic Food Co-operative. Their aim is to support local families by purchasing in bulk organic and biodynamic foods and reducing the amount of packaging used in the supply of food stuffs. CastleAire plans to volunteer support and contribute surplus vegetables to the food co-op once our vegetable gardens start tproducing.
Throughout the year CastleAire hosts special event weekends – walking tours, life drawing classes, embroidery workshops, fishing tours, woodworking workshops and more. Each class is run by a specialist tutor and are open to both guests and the local community.
Finally, Sue has submitted a couple of her paintings to the annual Apollo Bay Art Exhibition 2012.
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