Different ways to build a resort

A large development is usually built in three basic stages. First the land is cleared of all vegetation and other obstacles. Then the actual building takes place. Finally the area is landscaped–new plants are carefully arranged around the buildings.

At Couran Cove Resort, this normal method of construction would have destroyed everything that made the resort worth building in the first place. All building was carried out around and among the existing mature trees and environmentally significant areas.

Although every effort went into minimising the impact of work, obviously some clearing, levelling and replanting had to happen. Even this limited amount of disturbance raised two problems: how to deal with the sinister effects of acid sulphate soils and how to find appropriate plants for the resort.