• Your accommodation features large safari tents furnished with ceiling to floor drapes, canvas, leather and recycled wooden furniture, deep luxurious beds, large decks with hammocks and rocking chairs looking out over the river.
• Separate en-suites with handmade wooden bathtubs and rain showers.
• The Lodge also has comfortable fireside lounges, decks and fire pits, and is connected to the tented rooms by a boardwalk.
• Signature amenities and bespoke details have been chosen with great deliberation to provide every comfort and care. Furniture and furnishings have been selected with an emphasis on luxurious comfort, and an eye for an elegant rustic design concept reflecting both world-class standards and Truffle Lodge’s unique Australian Bush Camp character, but always keeping in mind that this is a rural property requiring practicality and functionality.
• Once you have worked up an appetite, head to the dining room to replenish your energy stores. Breakfasts & dinners & drinks are available in Truffle Lodge’s communal areas. All meals are served at set times and visitors are encouraged to share tables with their fellow guests. Expect buffet breakfasts and daily-changing dinners, all using local Derwent Valley produce.

• Enjoy the outdoors with riverside chairs and hammocks, take a dip in the ‘waterhole’ or just soak your feet off the rocks.
•  Take up one of the activities available in the surrounding area – kayaking, fly-fishing, rafting and swimming in the river.
• The Lodge also has a guest lounge, a bar and timber deck.
• Pick out one of the games on offer in the lounge, choose a read from the bookcase or chat with some new-found friends by the fireplace.

From the Owners:

“We believe that building sustainably and in sympathy with the natural environment, is the way things should always be done. It should not require certification, or labelling, or proclamation – it is both common sense and good business sense, to husband the small piece of the planet for which we are temporary custodians.

Truffle Lodge has been 10 years in the making. Purchased in 2007, the property was neglected, and the riverbanks were overgrown with blackberry, hawthorn and gorse. The Trufflerie, which was one of the first established in Australia, had been abandoned and was feral and covered with blackberry.

Advice and assistance was obtained from Eve Lazarus, from the Derwent Catchment project who assisted with advice and and sourcing for trees and seedlings, and assistance was also provided by the Australian Conservation Volunteers. We are a Member of the Derwent Catchment Natural Resources Management Group. The property has a population of wildlife, including possums, wallabies, wombat, echidna, and in the river, platypus. The riparian area is rich in birdlife, and the riverside gums have ample nesting hollows.

Energy Use

• In Tasmania, all mains power is hydro-generated, and therefore sustainable and minimal carbon emissions.
• Led lighting, both 240 v and 12 volt is used throughout Truffle Lodge
• Pathway lighting is solar.
• Water heating is instantaneous gas – this means that water is not stored but only heated when being used.
• Heaters are sited close to use points, to minimize heat wastage.
• Food heating is carried out by induction, which is energy efficient, and sous vide, which reduces waste, and minimises energy use.
• Truffle Lodge will operate from October to May. During this time of year, the climate of Tasmania can be both mild and hot and the Lodge buildings are sited to minimise the impact of summer heating, and cool westerly winds. Openings are faced to the east for morning sun warming, and the river for cooling effectiveness.
• The Lodge buildings are heated by wood fires, roofs are 125mm metal foam sandwich, zincalume reflective, walls are 75mm metal foam sandwich clad with plantation pine timber. The 5 metre long sliding glass doors can be closed for warmth, or opened fully to allow clear access to the open decks. Curtains provide an additional insulating layer. Sliding door glass is Comfort Plus laminated, for thermal efficiency.
• The Safari tents have triple roofs, and double window covers. They are also sited to minimise western sun heat and western winds cooling.
• Bathrooms are repurposed plastic water tanks, providing a simple, recyclable structure, water impervious, with excellent thermal effectiveness. The tank inspection openings are covered with a clear skylight, for daytime lighting, and a wind-powered whirlybird vent provides ventilation.

Water Use

• Water for the property comes as rainwater from the roofs of the lodge buildings, or is pumped directly from the river. It is stored in a large tank. The water pump is variable speed, which minimises power consumption.
• Because of the property’s close proximity to the Derwent River which is the main source of water for Hobart, grey water cannot be re-used.
• The development shares the river pump and main irrigation system originally installed for the truffle orchard. This was a micro sprinkler system, and has been converted to a dripper system for more effective water use. Trees planted around the lodge and tents use a dripper system.

Recycling

• We do not use any disposable items – our office is virtually paperless, and our waste is, of course, sorted for recyclables. Our food waste is composted.
• The floor sections of the tent bases use recycled plywood from formwork for swimming pools.

Chemical Use

• We use a non-chemical cleaning system and orangebased disinfecting materials. We use totally biodegradable detergents, and advise clients of the limitations of our septic system.

Buildings

• Our lodge buildings are built on foundations of Mega Anchors. This are low impact supports, which require no ground works, minimal energy to install, and can be removed without disturbing the land.
• The buildings and low and small, and flat roofed, and have minimum visual impact on the landscape.
• The cladding is plantation pine, and the buildings are linked by a series of walkways and breezeways, all of plantation timber. All timber is uncoated, to allow it to weather naturally, for a landscape sympathetic colour.
• All buildings are thermally very efficient, built of insulating materials, minimal openings, positioned for sun and wind efficiency. Interior timber work is local plantation timber, unpainted.
• All of our buildings are designed to be easily removable, without any impact on the local landscape.
• Recycled shipping containers are used for storage. These are, again, minimal impact, can be removed, and are clad in plantation timber for visual and insulating effectiveness.
• The tent bases are built from plantation timber, and rest directly on the ground. Again, they can be removed without landscape impact. The tents are linked by a walkway of plantation timber. This rests on top of the ground, and can be removed without impact. This walkway also covers the above ground water pipes, which reduced the ground disturbance for services.
• The tents are manufactured from double wall canvas, have triple roofs and double windows, are thermally efficient, and provide accommodation with minimal use of resources.
• The bathrooms are re-purposed plastic water tanks.They also rest directly on the ground, require little energy in manufacture, can be recycled, and are excellent thermally. They also fit in visually with the rural landscape.
• The bath and basin are hand-made from plantation timber.
• All vehicle traffic is restricted to the entry roadway and parking area

Creating Tree Habitats for Endangered Swift Parrot

• Truffle Lodge is continuing its tree planting initiative with a new bent – we are now planting groves of Eucalyptus Ovata and Eucalyptus Gobulus to develop a habitat to encourage breeding of the endangered Swift Parrot.”