42 Coll Street, Glenorchy, Queenstown-Lakes
Queenstown-Lakes Community Halls
New Zealand's first Net Zero Visitor Accommodation opened in 2018, an admirable achievement in one of the coldest parts of New Zealand.
Built on the site of the old campground and Information Centre, Camp Glenorchy is a full-service campground, with tenting and caravan/RV facilities and the rebuilt general store. The jewels in the crown here are 10 cabins constructed in a sustainable fashion, complete with recycled materials and passive energy features, especially for heat retention. A bank of solar panels contribute to the camp's energy needs, and feed back into the grid, the system already having proven itself to be energy neutral.
A set of principles was employed in this project for each of equity, beauty, health and happiness, water, energy, place, beauty and materials. These are based upon the "Living Building Challenge™" and explained in the 'Discovery Centre' where visitors can learn about the process of building the camp. The goals of the sustainability ethos stretch as far as a hope that the experience will inspire visitors to also carefully consider their choices in their home environments.
Even the General Store is not what a traveller might commonly expect from a camping provider, they specialise in organic produce, have a range of retail products from coffee to clothing to groceries, and toys and tools. Artwork by way of sculpture is another feature of this campground, artist-built stone mosaics are installed along the pathways by Jefferey Bale, and another local artist (Dan Kelly) combined with builders on the sculptural campfire and associated water feature. A community room is planned, to be constructed from stones in the traditional Otago settler fashion.
It planned that the finished facility will include:
And if that all isn't enough, this is a community benefit! The Trust which owns the campground returns all profits to the community for 'vibrancy and resilience.'
This camp and it's parts go by, and have gone by, a variety of names: Glenorchy Camping Ground, Camp Glenorchy, Glenorchy Marketplace, Mrs Woolly's General Store, Mrs Woolly's campground, Glenorchy Cabins, The Headwaters. The general message "A warm welcoming destination in harmony with one of the most beautiful places in the world" is less complex.
Nearby at Kinloch, the Lodge has provided two complementary pods called Eco-Scape, which subscribe to Glenorchy's new sustainable focus.
Image Credit: The Headwaters Camp Glenorchy, Booking.com
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