WHEN you build a tourism accommodation venture on an escarpment to fully embrace the natural beauty of Lamington National Park you realise you will be prone to occasionally copping the brunt of Mother Nature.
And so it has been for the Binna Burra team that has offered wilderness style accommodation in one of the most picturesque locations in the Scenic Rim at Woonoongoora for more than 90 years.
In their latest brush against the full force of Ex-Cyclone Alfred, their popular Tiny Wild Houses and the safari tents were badly damaged when hit with 100kph plus winds and torrential rain.
Fortunately no-one was injured as Binna Burra had evacuated all guests well before the onslaught began.
The Lodge’s Chairman, Steve Noakes, in speaking about the havoc did find a silver lining, saying that the repairs to the small homes would now include new improvements.
The timing of the damage ironically coincided with Binna Burra opening its new Welcome Building and Maintenance sheds that were destroyed in the 2019 Black Summer Bushfires that swept the area.
“It will take us many months to make the repairs, which also saw us having to close our safari tents operation, but the good news is all our other accommodation escaped damage and is still operating,” Steve said.
“We were well into recovering from the damage from the Bushfires and unfortunately this latest incident has probably pushed us back by two years.
“We have had just four close downs over the 90 years we have been in operation and unfortunately these have all been in the past five years on my watch.
“We are beginning to think we have to be prepared for something annually now.”
The cyclone’s attack on Binna Burra is bad news for their financial operation with 19 Safari Tents and six Tiny Wild Houses now available to be booked with Easter just around the corner.
“While they’re temporarily out of action, we’re taking the opportunity to work on some exciting improvements to enhance our guest stay experience for the future,” Steve said.
“We can’t wait to share what’s next for our Safari Tents — they’ll be back soon, better than ever.
“Now we are looking forward to good weather over Easter so day trippers will come up and visit us.”
