May-June 2020

The Reef

Dream becomes realityLive your Palm Lake Resort dream here at Bargara in our bloomin’ great Hibiscus home

Wedding bellsMeet Christine and Aaron - a match made in community lifestyle resort heaven!

We’re (still) here for youCOVID-19 is not putting a dampener on our residents or our Sales Centre. It’s business as (un)usual!

Business as (un)usual!

COVID-19 has pushed the pause button on life as we know it -

but not at Palm Lake Resort. We are keeping our re

sidents safe and

maintaining their lifestyle, while our Sales Centres are still m

aking

your over-50s lifestyle resort d

ream a reality. Elbow bumps all ‘round!

Let us do the hard

work for you

Ready-built homes are available

now. We’ll help sell your house and

we’ll even move your fu

rniture!

From where

you’d rather be...

There’s still plenty to do at our

resorts - we’re even live-streaming

activities to keep residents engaged

We’ve adapted, evolved

and continue to inspire

Learn about all the new ways

you can explore our resorts and

homes, from the comfort o

f yours

SPECIAL

EDITION

your time. this is PALM LAKE RESORT COVID-19 EDITION 2020

Important datesDon’t forget that Mother’s Day is on Sunday, May 10. Even though we might not be able to physically visit those special women in our lives this year, make sure you connect via Facetime, Skype or one of the many other platforms bringing groups together for video calls. Also, make a note that the Queensland winter school holidays will officially run from Saturday, June 27, to Sunday, July 12.

Nurse on standbyPalm Lake Group has engaged the services of an Endorsed Enrolled Nurse in preparation for any required COVID-19 response and for the potential additional impacts the upcoming flu season may bring.

Read all about itPalm Lake Resort has just published a special edition of our “This is your time” magazine featuring all the company news around COVID-19 (pictured right). There’s plenty of information about how our resorts are keeping residents active, healthy and engaged, as well as other information about how it’s business as (un)usual at our Sales Centres. Plus, we’ve included ideas on things to do, immunity boosters and how to keep your fitness up while you #stayhome. If you haven’t already received a copy in your mailbox, check it out on our website.

We’re prepared

In the face of COVID-19, Palm Lake Group has provisioned $500,000 worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) for residents and staff including gloves, face masks, hand sanitiser and temperature monitors, as well as heavy duty SGV 8/5 Karcher steam cleaners for our company-wide Preventative Sterilisation Program.

News briefs

Kitchen delightsWhile we can’t enjoy the social aspect of our weekly dining nights right now, our resort kitchen is still cooking up some delicious and nutritious food for all residents. Until the end of May, our FREE soups will still be available weekly. But from now onwards, we are also adding a hearty comfort meal to the weekly offering (voucher required, takeaway only). Bon apetite!

Welcome to the latest edition of our resort newsletter, The Reef.

Well, haven’t the past few months been... unusual? COVID-19 has required our company to change the way we’ve delivered our coveted product - both from the perspective of the residents living in our resorts and also from our Sales Centre.

Here at Palm Lake Resort Bargara, and right across the Palm Lake Group, we are treating the time as “business as (un)usual”. Our residents are still enjoying their ‘community’ lifestyle, albeit with slightly differently benefits. They feel safe and secure in our gated community with our caretakers and maintenance teams ensuring our resort is kept sanitised and clean, while providing residents with all the physical and emotional support they need. Our residents are enjoying free nutritious soups from the resort kitchen while also having their likeminded neighbours around for support - on all levels. We are also glad to see our residents still out and about enjoying exercise time in our delightful tropical location with their four-legged friends. Our Sales Centre is also operating on a “business as (un)usual” approach. We have quickly developed our sales tools and we are embracing all the modern technology available, to enable us to take you on video tours of our resort facilities and homes from the comfort or yours. We are also still taking private tours through our resort, while abiding by all the government requirements for social distancing. Simply phone our office to make a booking. We’d love to see you! In fact, the Sales Centre has remained busy throughout the past few months and we are pleased to announce that we only have three brand new homes remaining right now. If you are interested in our popular Hibiscus design, you should act quickly as these three last remaining properties are all Hibiscus homes (you can check out the design in more detail on Pages 6-7). We look forward to connecting with you soon!

The Sales TeamPalm Lake Resort Bargara

Pictured: Make the most of our area’s beautiful foreshore paths during COVID-19. Take your best friend for a walk or roll on through on your bicycle. Either way, the exercise, fresh air and vitamin D will do you wonders! Photo courtesy of Tourism Qld.

Welcome

This newsletter is intended to give general information only. All liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of, or for any error or omission in the information given, is expressly disclaimed.

Contact usIf you have any questions about Palm Lake Resort Bargara or if you are interested in touring our inspired display homes and world-class facilities, simply contact us!

Freecall: 1800 501 119 Email: salesbargara@palmlake.com.au Find us at: 39 Wearing Road, Bargara QLD Visit: palmlakeresort.com.au

Get social: Follow us on Facebook (@palmlakeresort) and also on Instagram (@palm_lake_resort).

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Optimism is proudly our middle name here at Palm Lake Resort. While COVID-19 continues to have a major impact on the world as we know it, in all the unprecedented challenges there have been silver linings – you just need to know how and where to look for them. Palm Lake Group has been given an exciting opportunity to adapt and evolve, to inspire a new way of business for our company now and into the future. In just a few short weeks, we’ve rallied our team to fast-track technologies to expand the way we sell our luxury homes and lifestyle. While we love more than anything to walk you through our inspiring display homes, physically tour you around our impressive resort grounds, and sit and enjoy a cuppa, some cake and a chat with you, there are many other technologies at hand to show you around the grounds, from afar. Here are all the different ways we are ensuring your dream to live at Palm Lake Resort Bargara can still be realised:

PRIVATE INSPECTIONS We are still hosting private resort inspections by appointment. Rest assured that we are following all government guidelines and have established our own additional measures to give you the best resort tour experience while also keeping everyone safe. Our local resort staff are completing tasks on the company’s Preventative Sterilisation Program on a daily basis.

WEBSITE WONDERS Have you scoured our website lately? You can find all our home designs there, each offering a list of inclusions, floorplan and

measurements to give you an idea of the space under each different roof. You can also find out more about our resort facilities and the greater Bargara area on our website. It’s a great place to start your exploration of our resort offering.

VIDEO CALLS Just like you’ve been doing to keep in contact with your family and friends, our Sales Consultants can also video call you. Video calls allow us to easily walk and talk you through our resorts and display homes in real time and give you the chance to ask the questions most important to you.

PHONE CALLS Our Sales Team can take your phone calls as per usual. Once you’ve had a look over our website, we’ve got all the answers you need to help you understand the Palm Lake Resort offering before you come down for a private tour.

INFO PACKS And, we can always mail you our information pack. Easy. This package contains loads of information including floor plans for homes, resort masterplans, newsletters and more.

We are in a strong financial position here at Palm Lake Resort. We will work with you to ensure that your dream to live at a Palm Lake Resort is realised, even during COVID-19. If there’s one thing that’s certain in all this uncertainty right now, it’s that we are here for you - in more ways than ever before.

bargara.palmlakeresort.com.au

The world is definitely in an unprecedented situation right now, but we can assure you that it’s business as (un)usual here at the Palm Lake Resort Bargara Sales Centre.

We’re (still) here for you

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Around the groundsIf you’re new to Palm Lake Resort, you’ll find our grounds packed with great facilities to make your community lifestyle resort dream a reality. Take a private tour today to inspect our facilities for yourself.

Pictured left: Play tennis under lights here at Palm Lake Resort Bargara. Pictured below: Our dedicated wash down facility is a blessing for those homeowners with cars and RVs that require cleaning.

Pictured above and right: Among our homeowners’ favourite facilities are our luxury movie cinema, indoor and outdoor pools, the fully equipped workshop and our championship undercover eight-rink lawn bowls green.

Hibiscusin bloomOur Hibiscus home design is a true seaside delight, befitting our Bargara location. Coastal breezes drift through the open-plan living area. Warm sunlight streams in through loads of glass. Our display homes inspire many people to the lifestyle they could enjoy here at Palm Lake Resort and our Hibiscus display is no exception. Even during COVID-19, we can walk you through this home via video call or via private inspection. This is your time.

We’ve only got three Hibiscus

homes left - act now!

22 1 2ACTIVITY OUTDOOR

LIVING

The grounds for love

When Christine Mills moved from Sydney to Palm Lake Resort Bargara in October 2016, she had resigned herself to the fact that her perfect someone was not out there and that she would most likely grow old alone. And she was OK with that. Christine reasoned that there was no better place to grow old alone than in a community lifestyle resort where she could throw herself at the world-class facilities and fill her diary with all the great weekly activities on offer while enjoying living among likeminded, similarly aged neighbours. Maybe she’d make even more friends, she thought.

Little did she know that the universe was on her side – like it always is. Aaron also made the trek north, moving from Tasmania to Bundaberg in November 2016 along with his mother, Jan. It would take a little bit more than two years, however, for Christine and Aaron’s paths to cross. In November 2018, Jan decided to move into Palm Lake Resort Bargara and Aaron soon followed in January 2019,

to keep his mum company. Within one month of being here, Aaron attended a tenpin bowling event with the Palm Lake Resort bowlers – one of which was Christine. And guess what happened?

“Our eyes met and there was an instant connection,” Christine recalls, with a smile.

Within weeks, Aaron asked Christine out for coffee. She says they talked all day as if they had known each other for years.

“By April we were engaged and in March this year, we got married! ” Christine enthuses. “And what better place to get married than where we met, here at Palm Lake Resort Bargara with all the new friends we’ve made.”

Palm Lake Resort wishes the newlyweds a wonderful life together here at our resort!

Palm Lake Resort is proud of the fact that we build award-winning homes and world-class facilities. We are also proud of the fact that our luxury communities are coveted among over-50s. But now, we have a new claim to fame – this resort was proudly the grounds for love!

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Welcome our new caretakersA lot has happened already here at Palm Lake Resort Bargara in 2020. With the east coast of our country bracing for bushfires early in the year, we now face a new and completely different challenge in COVID-19. And in the middle of all that, our resort welcomed new caretakers who have already proven they are up for a challenge! Arriving in early February, Glenda and Lee Wilkinson have joined our community with their two fur babies, Kevin and Max.

“We have been so appreciative of the warm welcome we received so far,” Glenda says. “We have certainly been met with some challenges already, but we are definitely overcoming them.”

If you haven’t already met the Wilkinsons, make sure you keep an eye out for them around the resort grounds and wish them well for their new adventure here with us!

Why did Palm Lake Group decide to expand the Bargara resort? Palm Lake Group has made a massive investment in Bargara across our over-50s lifestyle resort and our adjacent Palm Lake Care aged caring community over the years. Palm Lake Resort Bargara has proven a great success. We find that our over-50s homeowners relish the tropical nature of the Bargara area while also enjoying an active lifestyle. They enjoy the security and small-town seaside feel that Bargara offers while also having all those essential services just a short drive away in Bundaberg. They love sharing all the local natural wonders with their visiting family members and friends, including the Mon Repos Turtle Centre and impressive coastline. And they love to use Bargara as a convenient launchpad to exciting caravanning adventures right across the country. Our luxury, low-maintenance homes, world-class facilities and the security that community resort-style living offers are all icing on the cake. Expanding the good thing we’ve going at Palm Lake Resort Bargara was an obvious choice.

What has interest been like so far surrounding this development? We have seen a lot of interest already in our future development. We have more than 100 interested parties on a waiting list already eager to join us in our new extension. Our Priority Purchase Offer has also been popular as it has let new homeowners enjoy the coveted Palm Lake Resort Bargara lifestyle now, while they await the completion of their new home in the extension. They all tell us that it’s the extensive facilities

and the quality of the RV homes we have planned that are the major drawcards.

What types of houses will be available for sale when the expansion is complete and how many? We find that the Palm Lake Resort homeowners attracted to this area are adventure seekers who love trekking the backroads of our country in their caravans and RVs, while equally loving the holiday-everyday feel of Bargara. A large portion of our current community owns some kind of RV. Many of the 100+ homes planned for this extension answer that call - they will feature our larger RV designs with an oversized, over-height, lock-up garage attached to the home. Our residents can park their pride and joy safely, right under the own roof. You can check out the home designs on our website at bargara.palmlakeresort.com.au/home-designs

What about facilities in the extension? As well as 100+ luxury homes, the Palm Lake Resort Bargara extension will also feature a large additional activities and recreation centre for use by all residents and their guests. While these recreational facilities are yet to be confirmed (as we continue to discuss with our residents what they’d like to see included), we are anticipating the inclusion of a tenpin bowling alley, billiards room, bar, outdoor fir pit and more. Palm Lake Resort Bargara neighbours our luxury aged caring community, Palm Lake Care Bargara. Having these two communities side by side provides convenience and a comprehensive solution to ageing well in beautiful Bargara!

Your questions answered Palm Lake Resort Bargara’s highly anticipated resort extension fronting Rifle Range Road is such a talking point around town right now. Here are all your most frequently asked questions answered.

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13. Have you been forced to postpone your European adventure? See the Egyptian antiquities, Galerie d’Apollon and even the remains of the Louvre’s moat at www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne.

16. Give your neighbours a surprise treat. Draw a hopscotch on your driveway or put baked treats out for them to enjoy on their afternoon walk. Join the ‘Bear hunt’ movement that is taking over the world, by putting a teddy bear in your front window. Check out the Facebook group “We’re going on a bear hunt Australia” to see what other teddy bear aficionados are doing. It’s not just fun for the young ones!

5. While we can’t dress up, head out and see the orchestra as we once could, we can still enjoy the music via virtual concerts. Head to the Virtual Concert Hall at www.aso.com.au

9. Learn from industry leaders across a range of crafts, whether it’s Natalie Portman teaching you acting or Serena Williams teaching you tennis. With www.masterclass.com, you know for a fact that you’re learning directly from the best.

14. Seeing the works of Vincent Van Gogh in Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum is incredible, but when you explore the collection online at home, you can zoom, scan and understand each piece in a completely new way. See Van Gogh like never before at www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/explore-the-collection.

10. The night sky offers ample entertainment – you just need to know what to look for. Look up at the stars and try to spot the Southern Cross, Orion or the Big Dipper, or have a look online to discover other noteworthy constellations to identify in your area.

11. This free virtual tour allows people all over Australia – and beyond – to experience the HMB Endeavour like never before. Learn about the impacts of scurvy, lightning and scientific collaboration on the ground-breaking voyage of Captain James Cook at www.sea.museum/virtualendeavour.

17. It’s one of the most breathtaking historical sites in the world. Visit the Vatican’s website, www.museivaticani.va and select ‘Explore’ then ‘Museums’ to find their virtual tours, then spend your day “walking” through the Sistine Chapel and more.

15. If you’re missing live music and entertainment, check out www.stayathomefest.com – it’s a curation of the most exciting online music events, festivals, workshops and more presented in a handy calendar.

6. There has never been a better time to pick up or hone a crafty skill. Pinterest will be your (new) best friend at www.pinterest.com.au. Set up separate boards for any and every craft category and pin your way to craft ideas heaven. Here’s a warning: Pinterest is addictive – this is one COVID-19 activity that’ll stick with you long after it's over.

1. Spice up those group video-call catch ups with friends using the PokerFace app. Play poker via live group video chat around a virtual poker table. A fun way to stay social while you also #stayhome

12. Experience the world’s best street art or find out more about iconic garments like the sari with Google’s Arts & Culture platform. It is jam-packed with countless artistic and cultural experiences, from ways to make art to the secrets behind the most recognisable pieces. Find out more at artsandculture.google.com.

8. Have you ever wondered what the NASA research centre actually looks like? Wonder no more! At oh.larc.nasa.gov/oh you can go behind the scenes of some of the most interesting parts of the research centre, from the acoustics lab to the flight hangar.

7. Have you ever wanted to learn justice at Harvard or classical music at Yale? You’ll be excited to know that some of the United States’ top universities are offering virtual versions of their courses. Head to www.classcentral.com

2. If you’re an avid bridge player missing your regular games, did you know you can play bridge online at www.bridgebase.com?

Play against real people from all over the world. We love that!

3. Watch live video of parrots, koalas, echidnas and snow leopards via Victoria Zoo’s ‘Animals at Home’ page, at www.zoo.org.au/animals-at-home. A great experience to share with the grandkids (virtually).

4. We’re living through an unprecedented crisis – a crisis we will (hopefully) never experience again in our lifetime. Those who come after us will wonder what it was like, and you can tell them, in your own words, by keeping a diary. Write down the things you do, think and feel as a sort of time capsule for those who won’t experience it.

COVID-19 has changed life, but not necessarily for the worse – it has forced us to get creative, figure out ways to keep busy indoors and experience things virtually. Here are some ideas to keep you occupied at home - and most are just the click of a mouse away...

Our learning curve