Aerial shot over the Cooranbong site
Lake Macquarie is stepping up its bid to draw in eco-tourists and adventure seekers with plans for a new off-the-grid holiday park gaining momentum.
The 30ha retreat slated for Freemans Drive, north of Cooranbong will include 20 cabins made from up-cycled shipping containers, space for 60 camp sites providing a base for visitors enjoying the area’s major outdoor attractions.
Sustainable design principles will be included throughout, with the amenities to be solar-powered and feature capabilities for rainwater harvesting and onsite sewage treatment.
Mayor Kay Fraser said the new venue would help cement Lake Macquarie’s status as an adventure tourism playground.
“This will provide further motivation for people to head to Lake Mac for the weekend or longer, to enjoy all the amazing outdoor activities we have on our doorstep,” she said.
Activities within a short distance of the site range from bushwalking, mountain biking and horse riding in the Watagans to jet-boating on Lake Macquarie and skydiving and aerobatic flying in the sky above.
Development of the planned $2.5 million retreat, which will sit on land already owned by Council, will include a $1.7 million grant from the NSW Government’s Regional Tourism Activation Fund.
A development application will now be lodged and if approved the site is expected to open mid-2023.
