Hidden Valley Cabins
Property Information
Property Locality: Hidden Valley Cabins is located one and half hours northwest of Townsville near Running River on the western slope of the Coastal Range in North Queensland.
Type of Property: Resort
Children: Suitable for children
Rates (per couple per night)
Price Range: $79 to $149
Rustic cabins: $149
Homestead: $79
Mid week specials are often available. Some include Platypus Tours and Night walks, some with breakfast, bottles of wine etc. Please feel free to enquire about packages which may suit your requirements.
Special Conditions:
Rates are inclusive of GST and are subject to change without notice.
Property Description
Hidden Valley Cabins is an award winning eco friendly resort offering a peaceful, comfortable holiday in an "off the beaten track" environment. It is Australia's first carbon neutral resort and tour company and operates on 100% solar power.
The resort is located one and half hours northwest of Townsville, near running river on the western slope of the Paluma range in Queensland, Australia. It is ideal for a relaxing holiday to recharge your batteries and experience the Australian outback tranquility.
The area is abundant with varying species of birds, butterflies, wallabies, Lace Monitors, platypus, nocturnal animals such as gliders and much more. Hidden Valley Cabins is a great area for bird watching and wildlife enthusiasts, there are also regular sightings of Platypus in the nearby Running River.
Total Cabins: 6 Cabins ( Double and two single beds)
Bathrooms: 6 ensuites
Total Rooms: 4 Homestead Rooms (Double or Twin)
Bathrooms: shared bathroom
Group bookings:
23 people (individual beds)
31 people (couples in double beds)
Maximum Persons: 4 in the rustic cabins, 2 in the homestead rooms.
Environmental Initiatives:
Hidden Valley Cabins & Tours has made a substantial commitment to environmental sustainability and minimizing their environmental footprint. They are Australia’s first carbon neutral resort and tour company and operate on renewable energy.
Hidden Valley Cabins and Tours has completed in-house audits following the guideline set down by Climate Friendly to reduce carbon emissions. After reducing their carbon based emissions Hidden Valley Cabins & Tours purchased carbon credits to offset the rest of the operational activities to make Hidden Valley Cabins and Tours the first resort and tour business combined in Australia to be Carbon Neutral. Their carbon neutral certificate is available for viewing.
Energy Use
Solar power
Hidden Valley Cabins & Tours is 100% solar powered saving 78 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. This is Australia's first stand alone system for a tourism resort with no support from grid power.
Power conservation
Hidden Valley Cabins has replaced conventional light bulbs with energy-saving compact fluorescent, which has reduced our power consumption on lighting from 2220 watts to an amazingly low 430 watts. This results in 18 tonnes of CO2 emissions saved every year (calculated by Rainbow Power, Nimbin). Hidden Valley Cabins turns off (at the switch) the TV in the bar and entertainment area each night. They found that leaving a TV set on at the power point draws 20 watts per hour, 0.48 KWH per day, 1226.4 KWH per year, resulting in 1.2 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Guest are encouraged to be energy wise and ten hints in each accommodation unit are left for guests on how to be energy efficient. Hidden Valley Cabins promotes the 10 steps to Energy Efficiency.
Waste management
Waste is minimized by composting food and paper products for use in gardens. Currently the owners are researching worm farms for use in waste management.
Education
Hidden valley Cabins are conscious of their environmental footprint and encourage others to follow suit. They gently and subtly educate their guests and the public on the value of renewable energy. They have developed and conducted renewable energy workshops and constructed an Interpretive Centre. During check-in, all guests are briefly informed about power conservation, the 10 steps to Energy Efficiency and the renewable energy system and are presented with a “Certificate of Sustainability” at check out. There is also detailed information in the compendiums in the cabins on their sustainability initiatives.
Hidden Valley has been a key motivator and encouraged other operators in the Townsville regional to adopt a similar approach to environmental sustainability.” Our message reaches a far wider audience than just our guests."
Walking tracks
The tracks are very low impact and are maintained for aesthetics, ease of access and designed to prevent of erosion.
Recycling
Hidden Valley Cabins recycles all aluminum cans, cardboard, papers etc… We have also used recycled products wherever possible to build the resort.
Accreditations & Committees
Hidden Valley have received a special award from the Queensland Premier, for leadership in environmental sustainability in the tourism industry. Each guest is given a “Certificate of Sustainability” as a reminder of their stay that serves as a reminder of their carbon-neutral experience.
Native Plants
Hidden Valley Cabins has planted over 2000 trees and shrubs around the resort, mostly native. These complement the natural landscape and encourage birds and animals to visit the resort, which they do in large numbers.
Buildings
Hidden Valley Cabins was designed to blend in with the natural environment. There are no steel structures, only local timber. The majority of timber used in the resort is either recycled or selectively-logged hardwood for minimal impact on the environment. The furniture has been handcrafted from local timber. This minimised the need for machinery and incurred no delivery expense.
Contact Details
Hosts: Ian and Bonnie McLennan
Address: CMB 46, Hidden Valley. QLD
eco friendly accommodation, ecotourism, responsible green travel
