Bedarra Island Resort is set to make its long-awaited re-opening on July 1, 2013.
Since the island was devastated by Cyclone Yasi in February 2011, the Charlton Family acquired the resort and have undertaken extensive renovations to the property, including replacing the island’s services and utilities.
“Our first initiative was to conduct a sustainability analysis to assess the population density the island could support, particularly in relation to waste, water and energy requirements,” said Bedarra Island Director, Sam Charlton.
He said the “outcome of this analysis led us to reopen just seven villas (as opposed to the original 16 villas), convert the resort to solar power and close for three months during the wet season”.
Situated on the Great Barrier Reef, ten kilometres from the coastal township of Mission Beach, nestled amongst the tropical ‘Family Group of Islands’, Bedarra is unquestionably worth protecting, Charlton said.
Traditional operations at the resort were heavily reliant upon diesel and with changes implemented so far, diesel consumption has been reduced by 95%.
“The hum and smell of a diesel generator just seemed so inconsistent with the natural beauty of the island,” Charlton said. “It was an easy choice to upgrade to solar.”