Kinglake Ranges Wilderness Camp

Inspirational bush experiences for schools, corporates and community groups

Kinglake Ranges Wilderness Camp is a group accommodation facility located just 60 minutes North of the Melbourne CBD sitting atop the Great Dividing Range. The location is a unique camp environment set amidst 800 hectares of mountain bush right beside the King Parrot Creek.

KRWC are well and truly on their way to recovery after being totally destroyed on Black Saturday thanks to the fantastic support of so many. Their brand new ropes course and Tipi village are complete and our accommodation buildings will be completed by Christmas 2010.

Bring on 2011 - Colin French and the team can't wait to see their old friends and new bookings are coming in quickly for the new facilities experience.

This rebuilding effort aims to push the sustainability envelope using cutting edge design and diverse low impact methods and technologies.

An artist's impression of the site reveals an integrated vision for what will become a leading Victorian sustainability retreat centre.

This green rebuild is ambitious - check out The Master Plan. 

The main building (Leadership Centre) which as a massive 44M long and an eye shape is North facing with multiple doors that open up to a huge deck with a grapevine canopy. A double-sided combustion fireplace site just inside the dining room but also provides radiant heat to the deck. 40 beds of accommodation are inside the Leadership Centre but the majority of the beds are in the eight buildings which fan around to its North.

A Tipi village, with two massive 8M Tipis and one 6M now sits at the East side of the clearing just on the tree line above the King Parrot Creek. These include floors, heating and solar lighting. The area where our long time 18ft Tipi was previously is now being developed as a very large permaculture garden which will provide top quality foods to the camp kitchen and form a platform for our new food miles program called "Miles and Miles and Miles and Expectations". EVERY guest that stays at KRWC will be delivered this program.

Activity facilities have likewise been repositioned to better utilize the site. The high ropes has been moved into the quarry on the road adjacent to the King Parrot Creek at the entry to the camp. This location is ideal as we have been able to rebuild on poles instead of trees and yet still have a backdrop of trees and ferns on all sides of the course. Additionally, instruction and spectating can occur at near eye level from the top of the quarry walls. The leap of faith, which now incorporates the traditional pole as well as an "in-line" platform is also on new poles and sits high above the final meters of the driveway as you enter the camp.

Other initiative activities now have more 'elbow room' and isolation and are deliberately placed in areas of the bush to reduce intrusion from other activities. These include a new sky chair ring, a new whale watch, a new prouties landing and the water course remains in its original location. The low ropes and flying fox are not being replaced as the new courses and the included activities are considered by us to offer far greater outcomes potential. The activities on the high ropes are all at up to 10M off the ground (30ft !!!) and include a cargo net, four route climbing wall, caterpillar climb, rope ladder, a postmans walk, catwalk and multi-vine. The preferred exit from the course is a 10M abseil.

KRWC also maintains their 1/3 court basketball, volleyball court (now with sand!) and the original swimming pool.

The Leadership Centre is particularly impressive in design.

This centre will incorporate a range of demonstration technologies with passive solar orientation.

KRQC testimonials tell it all.

Corporate volunteers are urgently needed to make this vision become are reality. Help make this project become an exciting community development initiative in the heart of Kinglake Ranges.