Rob Kent and Kim Bates

May 2008 - Coming from very diverse backgrounds we have found our way here to one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Eager to continue with the passion in which Peter and Jill Madden created the retreat we are soaking up as much of their wealth of knowledge as we can, whilst bringing our own fresh skills and ideas to the mix.

Rob was born in the picturesque south west of Western Australia, moving to the east coast at just 17 and Kim is originally from Newcastle. We love hospitality and have been managing properties and a restaurant in the VIC and NSW alpine resorts of Falls Creek and Thredbo.

Sharing an appreciation for the outdoors, the diverse beauty of Australia and environmentally sustainable living we are continuing our journey at Bombah Point. We hope you will love it here just as much as we do.

Peter and Jill Madden still reside at the residence at the top end of the property and welcome visits from guests and old friends.

How it all began

With a background in the building industry, a desire to move out of Sydney and an interest in environmental issues Peter and Jill Madden came up with a crazy idea - build an eco retreat!
This project provided the perfect opportunity for Peter to design and build a modular house he had had on the drawing board for some time and for Jill to be able to promote environmentally sustainable development and encourage appreciation of Australia's flora, fauna and natural history.

During 1999 - Researched and surveyed the site.
Drew and submitted plans to Great Lakes Council including a report from the Environmental Consultant with plant and animal species lists from the site and a Fire Assessment and Management Plan. The Environmental Engineering Consultant designed the sewerage system and produced a report for Council.

During 2000 - Plans passed by Council for: 6 eco cottages, 1 reception/guest facility building, 3 equipment sheds, 1 residence
The sheds are constructed. Several kilometers of loop and boundary roads and tracks around the property are built while 2 pairs of linked earth dams for habitat and emergency water supply for fire fighting are constructed. A 100,000 litre concrete reservoir to hold bore water is installed while overhead power lines are moved underground. Part of the sewerage system is completed.

Early 2001 - Commencement of the earthworks for the services e.g. electricity, sewerage, bore water, phone and gas which will all be underground. Hundreds of meters of trenches crisscross the property while we struggle to juggle plumbers, electricians, council inspectors, Telstra and the wettest May for 5 years!

August 2001 - Most underground services are now in place and ready to be connected to the cottages when they are built. We now have power, water, sewerage lines and gas to each of the sites. The reed bed filtration system for sewerage treatment is finished with the reeds planted and the drip irrigation garden beds in place and ready for planting. (see diagram in "Ecotourism") We have assembled a team of carpenters and work commences on Cottage 1.
We now have up to 18 workers on site every day!

September 2001 - Solar array consisting of 48 solar panels on 4 light sensitive trackers is installed and connected to the electricity grid. Cottages 2, 3 and 4 are under way.

December 2001 - Cottages have floors, frames and roofs. The modular design means that the progress is quite rapid. The garden is producing large numbers of chillies, tomatoes and capsicums.

March 2002 - Internal work progressing on the cottages. Lots of decisions regarding positioning of lights and switches and other minor last minute changes.

April 2002 - The Guest Facility Building has the floors down and the roof on. Work on the pool begins. In the garden we are now picking 6 varieties of chilli.

June 2002 - All the major construction work is complete. The website, designed by Jamie Madden, is up.

September 2002 - The finishing work seems to take forever - making the fly screens (80 of them), building the bathroom vanities and coffee tables from an old growth log found on site, stringing and tensioning the 7 strands of stainless steel wire around all the balconies are just a few of those tasks! Bushfires burned in the local area late this month forcing us to test our roof top sprinklers and fire hose reels and prepare a bush fire plan.

October 2002 - Furnishings and fitting appliances this month, landscaping and first filling of the pool. First bookings received. 200mm of rain hamper our feverish preparations but fill the water tanks.

November 2002 - Our first guests, family and friends, stayed in the cottages this month. We had 14 here for the weekend and enjoyed a walk across the dunes to the beach and a drive to Seal Rocks lighthouse. We feasted on local seafood, garden fresh vegetables and Hunter Valley wines. Our first guests left with good memories and lots of brochures to hand out to friends and at work. Many discussions over cottages names, but finally signs were made and installed.

December 2002 - Friday 13th! We are now officially open with bookings through to the end of January.

December 2003 - As our first year draws to a close we look back at the steep learning curve and the fun we have had visitors from Scotland, USA, Asia, Belgium and all over Australia. Early bushwalks to see the kangaroos, night walks to listen to the frogs in the dams, the evolution of the vegetable garden, the spring wildflowers in the National Park and the return of the migratory Channel-billed Cuckoos, Koels and Flying Foxes and wondering what surprises our second year will bring.

December 2004 - We now have a 4 Star AAA Rating. The cottages now have carports and April saw the Rotating Chook Palace completed and 7 brown hens in residence.

February 2005 - Sydney Morning Herald Saturday Travel feature gives us 19/ 20!

November 2006 - National Parks and Wildlife Service grant our property “Wildlife Refuge“ status. We have dedicated the majority of our property as wilderness and not to be developed.