G'day from Queensland Australia

G'day folks, thought I better introduce myself here.
Been lurking for a while and finally decided to join up.
Found the forum after I found the permaculture playing cards on Kickstarter of course I bought a brick

Currently living in a rental house on the Gold Coast hinterland after I sold my house in preparation to buy acreage and setup a permaculture homestead/farm.
Have read most of Joel Salatin's books which really got me inspired, and am looking at getting a few permaculture books soon (suggestions welcome).

I already have a couple of bee hives - 2 x apis melifera and 1 x trigona carbonaria (native stingless), and have converted most of the honey bee frames to foundationless.
Have grown different veges at home in the vege patch, and am currently really getting into growing mushrooms (have white oyster fruiting right now, king oyster colonising, plus reishi and king stropharia on petris).
I have a thing for compost
Have done a fair bit of brewing (mainly beer but lately honey mead), hunting & butchering, love working with my hands etc.

Am just started doing the free PDC through Regenerative Leadership Institute, and have a few of Geoff Lawton's DVDs that I've been watching.

My main problem/question/sticking point at the moment is how to select a good property to purchase?
What constitutes good land for a good permaculture property? So far my knowledge tells me I need water, not too steep of a slope, and sunlight (a north facing aspect here).
Again any feedback, or suggestions are welcome, especially if there are already some good threads on here to do with selecting land.

Looking forward to immersing myself in all the info that's here!

Mat

Hi Mat!

Welcome to permies!

The first thing that came to mind is something that you may have already seen: it's Geoff Lawton's free video on selecting land:
http://www.geofflawton.com/fe/33811-property-purchase-check-list

Mariamne

Thanks Mariamne, yes I have watched that video, and it was good at giving me a different perspective - makes me look at the lay of the land differently now.

Apart from permaculture: train connection, bushfires.
And how do you want to generate an income?
Which climate do you want to live in?

Angelika Maier wrote:Apart from permaculture: train connection, bushfires.
And how do you want to generate an income?
Which climate do you want to live in?

Good questions, thanks.

Which climate do you want to live in? That bit it pretty well decided - Gold Coast Hinterland, so subtropical.

Train connection - Pretty well no train connections anywhere nearby, or even bus connections for that matter. Public transport in QLD sucks at the best of times, but around here there's nothing.

Bushfires - Very good point. That is 1 concern I have, and I guess that will also come into the design of things once I buy and setup, however that's another good reason I don't want a steep block. More specifics to consider on that one.

How do you want to generate an income? - I am still contemplating that one. My current logic is that I will continue on with my current job as is, transition to growing as much as possible, if possible drop my hours to 50% at work, then ideally one day I would love to generate my entire income from the property.