A Quiet Step Forward

Sustainability at Kangaroo Ridge Retreat has always been about practical choices, not perfect slogans.

This month, we took another important step forward in our sustainability journey. Kangaroo Ridge Retreat now has 50 solar panels supported by 60 kWh of battery storage, helping us generate and store more of our own electricity onsite while remaining grid-connected.

For us, this investment is not just about reducing our footprint. It is also about resilience.

Anyone who lives or works in a regional, bushland setting knows that blackouts are part of the reality. Storms, high winds, heat events and pressure on the network can all interrupt supply. For an accommodation business, that matters. Our guests come here to switch off, but the essentials still need to work quietly in the background.

By increasing our solar generation and battery storage, we can reduce our reliance on the grid and better support the retreat during those more unpredictable moments. The lights come on, the cabin feels warm, the bath runs, and guests can keep enjoying the view without needing to know too much about the infrastructure doing its job behind the scenes.

This is the kind of sustainability work we care about: practical, useful and grounded in the realities of place.

It also directly supports our TERC commitment and our broader work towards sustainability accreditation. We want Kangaroo Ridge Retreat to be recognised as a small operator leading in a way that is honest, measurable and achievable, particularly from a location where logistics are not always simple. Everything takes more planning up here: trades, deliveries, weather, access, infrastructure, guest comfort and maintenance all need to be carefully managed.

Energy is only one part of that story. Kangaroo Ridge Retreat also operates on rainwater, so we are constantly aware of how precious water is in a bushland setting. Our next focus is reducing our reliance on gas, which will take planning, investment and careful decision-making, but it is firmly in our sights.

We do not want to overstate the story. Kangaroo Ridge Retreat is not off-grid, and we remain connected to the electricity network. But with 50 solar panels, 60 kWh of battery storage, rainwater systems and a clear focus on reducing our reliance on gas, we are taking meaningful steps towards a more resilient and sustainable retreat.

The ridge will always be a little wild by nature. Our job is to keep making thoughtful decisions that allow guests to enjoy it comfortably, while taking better care of the systems and landscape that make it all possible.

The battery installation is one of those improvements. Quiet, useful, not particularly glamorous, but deeply important.

And that feels very much like us.