The Environment at Kookaburra Hill in Kangaroo Valley

Kangaroo Valley has simply beautiful weather. The temperature is several degrees warmer than the Southern Highlands all year round and is a little cooler than the sea coast at Nowra. The summer usually has some periods of long hot days, just right for swimming. The winters have cool nights and an occasional frost. The valley is famous for the fog that can roll in during the winter months and encourage one to have a sleep-in. The minimum and maximum temperatures in Kangaroo Valley are published. A radar weather watch of today's patterns is also published.

The average rainfall is between 100-150 mm a month. As Kangaroo valley is surrounded by mountains on all sides, the amount of moisture is usually enough to keep the grass and vegetation green although in times of drought even this lush valley is starting to show some dry areas.

Kookaburra Hill has many of the native eucalypts of this region. The one-acre area inside the front gate has a natural forest of over 250 amplifolia (cabbage) gums, through which the driveway winds. It opens to a 1-acre area of lawn and gardens in front of the main house and accommodation. In this area, more than 250 native bottlebrush and grevillias and over 100 perfumed and old-fashioned roses have been planted, most watered by a reclaimed water system. Behind the house is an acre of lawn with more roses, the swimming pool under construction and 50 olive trees and, further up, a 2-acre hillside of natural bushland. Dogs are not permitted in these rear areas for the sake of the free range poultry and the native wildlife and there are fences to keep dogs out.

There are a number of pet animals at Kookaburra Hill and a non-native garden that has been planted. The property is also graced by many native birds including magpies, rosellas, kookaburras, galahs, sulphur-crested cockatoos, king parrots, gang-gang parrots, black cockatoos, eagles and others who seek out the native flora and the bird baths. Bird books are supplied for identification. A family of kookaburras live in an old gum tree in the rear - one can be seen in the photo on a tap outside the guest unit waiting for his morning worm to appear. The kookaburras are not fed by hand as there is plenty of natural food for them to eat in the garden. If we feed the kookaburras, your barbeque might be more eventful than you wish.

Echidnas sometimes check out the garden for ants - photo is taken near the fenced vegetable garden. There are many wombats around but they are not easy to see - although see diary sighting of a mum and baby wombat in the front garden, pictured. From time to time there have been wallabies in the bush above Kookaburra Hill. There are many small brown frogs and lizards that live in the rocks that have been placed in a gully and there are many green reed frogs in the garden - see photo below taken on 3/9/04 in a clump of kangaroo paw at the front door.

A Biocycle system is installed which treats all plumbing outflow, including the sewer, and distributes the tertiary-treated water via sprinklers throughout 2 garden beds and the front lawn. To protect the environment few chemicals are used in cleaning or gardening. Only simple soaps and loo paper are supplied for guests to use and cleaning is achieved with soap and water, sunlight, steam and elbow grease. All water that is flushed, goes down a plughole or lands on the roof ends up in the garden so the use of harsh chemicals might hurt a frog or a bird. Guests are asked to respect the beautiful environment during their stay and not to flush anything foreign, even a cotton bud, down the loo or the sink.

Your host is a member of Kangaroo Valley Environment Group and is committed to protecting the native wildlife and native flora and teaching children and others about it. Guests are not permitted to interact with animals under care.

The solar-passive house, designed by architect Ian Bailey, is north-facing with hills at the rear to the south and the south-west at the side which block much of the wind. Winter sun streams in through the large double-glazed windows to warm the tiled floor and it is rare that any heating is needed during the day right through winter. The roof slope blocks the summer sun. The roof is not guttered and all stormwater flows through underground drainage systems to a natural gully, and eventually, to the Kangaroo River.