Sustainability in focus
Developing our Innovate RAP
A sneak peek at our biophilic amenities
Dive into Hawks Nest pool
Partnering with Rous County Council
The Sustainable Fishing Series casts off
Summertime at Reflections means our holiday parks are brimming with an array of guests, many of them families who have for decades packed up their cars and vans to stay at the same site.
It’s a privilege for our organisation as a Crown land manager to be able to help people create lifetime memories in some of the most spectacular locations in New South Wales, and to care for the community reserves that are enjoyed by so many.
Far from being simply a holiday provider, Reflections is quickly building a reputation as an events specialist, choosing to form partnerships in order to host experiences that our guests and regional NSW communities can enjoy.
In the 2024 calendar year, we expanded our Reflections Cadet Cup, a 5500-rated event on the surfing calendar. The inaugural event at Bonny Hills in February 2024 was such a success we backed up with a second competition in Tuncurry in December. It was a treat to see the next generation of surfers compete then enjoy the pop-up food trucks and live music in our holiday park.
Our partnership with OzFish grew stronger when we launched the Reflections Sustainable Fishing Series – three competitions in our inland parks of Copeton Waters, Burrinjuck Waters and Lake Keepit. The Series is genuinely the “five-star” experience in sustainable fishing, encouraging and educating participants to play a part in protecting the waterways they love. We saw that first-hand at the inaugural event at Copeton Waters (you can read more about it on Page 11).
Our parks are a beautiful and natural backdrop for these thoughtfully planned events and experiences. We believe that Life’s Better Outside, and that life’s better taught outside, too. We’re passionate about teaching future generations about the importance of connecting to nature, as well as the importance of protecting it.
This summer, our focus on sustainability has never been sharper as we implement numerous measures to reduce our environmental footprint across our parks.
We are installing 28 electric vehicle chargers in eight Reflections parks stretching between Eden and Bermagui on the NSW South Coast and Ferry Reserve, near Byron Bay, rendering travel far kinder on the environment and more convenient for many.
This issue of Campfire Stories reveals a host of other measures, including installing solar panels and smart meters as we seek to continually reduce our environmental impact.
Wherever your favourite holiday destination is, I hope you can carve some time there this summer with friends and family and encourage them to do their bit to care for the land they are on, too.
Enjoy the season and this issue of Campfire Stories.
Nick Baker, CEO
of the land in our care is nature reserve, and we work with local councils and community groups including OzFish to protect it. 94%
Step by step, Reflections reduces its environmental footprint with a range of meaningful measures.
It’s been a busy spring and summer period for Reflections as we continue to review and improve our operations to make
them more sustainable.
Highlights on our continuing journey to improve our energy efficiencies include:
Installing 1078 solar panels in eight parks: Lennox Head, Terrace Reserve, Massy Greene, Ferry Reserve, Ballina, Seal Rocks, Moonee Beach, and Corindi Beach.
installing
In a joint $20,000 project between Reflections Holidays and Byron Shire Council, 28 solar-powered lights were installed along the tree-lined footpath along Simpsons Creek, stretching from The Terrace to the Brunswick Heads Bowling Club. The path is used by many people walking or riding in and out of “Bruns” and the lighting has been welcomed by the community.
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Installing 43 smart water meters in 25 parks using mains water.
Establishing a Revolving Sustainability Fund (RSF) with an initial investment of $2.1 million towards sustainability programs. In FY24, about $650,000 in savings across electricity, gas and water was realised and will be reinvested in the RSF, which increases annually as more sustainability projects bring new cost savings.
As a Category One Crown land manager, Reflections manages 41 holiday parks, campgrounds and unique properties as well as 47 community reserves spanning 25,100 acres.
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Reflections is developing its second Reconciliation Action Plan as it continues to celebrate Aboriginal culture and partner with First Nations peoples.
Reflections operates on 12
First Nations and has a Reconciliation Action Plan it developed under the framework of Reconciliation Australia.
Reflections is proud of the initiatives it has completed and the relationships it has formed with First Nations peoples during the implementation of its first Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan. At every opportunity, our park teams have celebrated the vibrancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture as we embark upon our (second) Innovate RAP.
Highlights of our Reconciliation Journey include:
Identifying Aboriginal nations on our website, social media channels and handouts to park guests
Acknowledgement of Country canvasses in all our park offices
Welcome to Country by Traditional Owners at significant events
Across our sphere of influence, we established initial relationships with 33 Aboriginal businesses/custodians, 11 Local Aboriginal Land Councils and 3 Native Title Corporations
Staging cultural tourism activities during school holidays across 13 parks
Launching online Cultural Competency Training for all employees and staging on-country Cultural Training sessions with Worimi Local Aboriginal Land Council and Bundjalung of Byron Bay Aboriginal Corporation- Arakwal
Partnering with Aboriginal-owned business DeadlyEd to build a bush tucker garden at Reflections Forster Beach
Launching a Cultural Art Trail at Reflections Jimmys Beach, engaging Worimi artist Tyson Jolly
Plans completed for a custom-built, cultural design fireplace at Urunga by Aboriginal artist Chris Edwards
Staging two Reconciliation Week events for employees - Lunch and Learn with University of Newcastle Reconciliation Partner, Loren Collyer, and with NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce (NSWICC) CEO, Deb Barwick.
Attending the premier annual event of NSWICC which provides attendees the opportunity to explore and celebrate best practice in Indigenous procurement
• Attending the National Indigenous Disaster Resilience Gathering in Lismore
Advertising job vacancies encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to apply
Member of The Tourism Australia Reconciliation Industry Networking Group to identify best practices in reconciliation within the tourism sector
We are proud of the progress we’ve made and the involvement of our teams and we are looking forward to finalising our Innovate RAP this year.
Reflections has a head office, or “base camp”, in Newcastle with a team of and in its parks it employs a team of
76 461
were completed after extensive research to respond to guest feedback.
Interior designer Hayley Ferguson was guided by Reflections Holiday’s core belief that Life’s Better Outside when considering what features would enhance the park amenity experience for guests.
“The brief for the design was to reflect the core of what Reflections is about – bringing people back to nature - and we did that by using biophilic design principles, which promote wellbeing,” Ms Ferguson said.
The
Reflections wins kudos from Rous County Council for its water-saving initiatives.
The collective effort of eight Reflections Holidays parks to save up to 8.9 million litres in water – the equivalent of almost four Olympic-sized swimming pools – has been recognised by Lismore-based Rous County Council (RCC).
Bringing the outdoors inside – that’s the ambitious goal of Reflections’ first biophilic-designed amenities at Forster Beach.
Biophilic design aims to increase people’s connection to nature and at the new amenities this is evident: a large and central landscaped garden, shower and toilet cubicles crafted from warm, local timber, generous natural light, ‘nature inspired’ music and a signature Reflections scent.
The Forster Beach amenities completely reimagine the design of a standard camping amenity block and
central garden is at the heart of the design and really pays homage to the core of what Reflections is trying to achieve – encouraging people out into the beautiful landscapes surrounding our parks.
Reflections – which reinvests profit back into the holiday parks and nature reserves in its care –has committed $6 million in FY25 to build new amenities or improve existing amenities at several of its holiday parks across New South Wales.
Reflections achieved the recognition from RCC for targeting immediate leakage issues in its parks, installing water-saving shower fittings and digital water metres to monitor and detect leakages.
The water-saving initiatives were just one part of a sustainability strategy by Reflections which also includes initiatives to improve energy efficiency across its parks.
Reflections CEO Nick Baker said the recognition from Rous County Council validated the organisation’s comprehensive work to make a genuine difference in its operations to protect the land in its care for future generations.
“As a Crown land manager we are privileged to not only manage holiday parks but to also care for 47 nature reserves on behalf of the NSW public, we have a responsibility to constantly review our
operations so we can save energy and help nurture the environment,” Mr Baker said.
“In addition, we encourage our guests to try and do their bit to help us reach our goal of being a true low-carbon holiday option.”
Cr Robert Mustow, Chairperson of Rous County Council, said that the Council’s Water Partner Program had been supporting businesses of the Northern Rivers to improve efficiency since 2009.
Rous County Council is proud to partner with local businesses like Reflections Holidays who are committed to investigating and optimising their water consumption and improving their water sustainability.
Rous
The new pool at Reflections Hawks Nest brings sweet relief.
In an early Christmas Eve gift to guests, Reflections opened a large saltwater pool at its Hawks Nest park, the latest improvement project at the popular Hunter and Mid North Coast tourist destination.
The star of the new pool precinct is the heated, hourglass shaped pool – it’s 7.7-metres wide and 18m in length with a long underwater bench on one side, and sun lounges for guests to enjoy in the upcoming festive holidays.
The $1.4 million, stage two works also includes the refurbishment of existing amenities near the pool, with plans in the new year to plant native gardens and install an Aboriginal cultural trail.
The $5.075m stage one refurbishment at Reflections Hawks Nest in late 2023 included 14 new contemporary cabins (two of them accessible, six of them dogfriendly) with solar power and recycled rainwater.
We’ve strengthened our partnership with OzFish and launched our inaugural Reflections Sustainable Fishing Series.
The first competition was held in November, 2024, at Reflections Copeton Waters, with two further competitions to be held at Reflections Burrinjuck Waters in March, 2025, and at Reflections Lake Keepit park in May, 2025.
The Reflections Sustainable Fishing Series is exceptional because it has a firm focus on protecting waterways and is the “five-star experience” in sustainable fishing, says OzFish CEO Cassie Price.
“Yes, it’s catch and release, but it takes one step further by educating competitors, asking them to consider how they catch, and how they release their fish.
“We recommend barbless hooks, avoiding soft plastics, using the right type of net, having a wet handling rag or gloves available, avoiding hot boat surfaces and holding the fish carefully in the water for a gentle ‘swim-away’ release. All of these factors mean that fish are largely unharmed by their capture,” Cassie explains.
At our Reflections Sustainable Series, OzFish has a Tackle Loop repair tent to help anglers fix rods or reels and the series aims to minimise plastic and waste and promote recycling.
Last but not least, all entry fees go to OzFish and their work to restore local fish habitat.
Our Cultural Tourism Program, developed in partnership with Crown Lands, shares indigenous cultures in our parks. Programs that are run in parks include yarning circles, didgeridoo playing and bush tucker gardens.