HOME | BOOMERAMA | TRAVEL | EATS & DRINKS | THEATRE | MUSIC | ISSUES | HEALTH | NESTS & NEST EGGS | BOOKS | FASHION | ART & MUSEUMS

HOME > TRAVEL > TRAVEL ARCHIVE 2009 >

Gwinganna accommodation ... no television but the beds are very comfy and sleep comes easily!

The stately old cricket stand, which once stood at “The Gabba” in Brisbane.

The main building at Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat.

Gwinganna's resident gardener Shelley Pryor ... always ready to share her knowledge.

Growing green at Gwinganna

It’s not often a health retreat can take the credit for a crop of lush lettuce leaves and other delicious home grown vegies, but in this case the Gold Coast’s Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat is entirely responsible, writes ADRIENNE COSTIN*.

Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat’s resident gardener Shelley Pryor’s expansive knowledge of gardening is the reason my lettuces keep on producing leaves and the carrots grow rather than just produce mountains of green foliage and no actual orange vegetable.

Shelley shares her knowledge with guests at Gwinganna’s Organic Living Weekends, one of the many and varied workshops available at this stunning mountain-top retreat.

Gwinganna is one of those places that needs to be experienced to really understand how special it is. The drive in is through picturesque Tallebudgera Valley, a right turn off the busy motorway, but the experience truly begins when the car rolls to a stop at the locked gate. Press the intercom and the gate swings open to reveal a steep driveway leading to another world!

Old and new buildings combine in this sprawling property, from the stately old cricket stand, which once stood at “The Gabba” in Brisbane, to the state-of-the-art Spa Sanctuary where the healing hands of therapists await and the accommodation, available in two heritage houses — superior suites contained within buildings constructed from reclaimed timbers and the new Gwinganna Villas.

And while the spa is the hub for pampering, the building which houses the dining room is the heart of Gwinganna ... the place you gather before workshops, for morning and afternoon tea and meals.

Mornings at Gwinganna start early with half an hour of Qi Gong (a type of tai chi) followed by a walking or water activity until breakfast where you confirm your “Dreamtime” activities — the afternoon session during which guests enjoy their wellness therapies, rest with a book, or relax in the sauna and steam room.

Mid-morning, guests choose from a range of activities including yoga, stretch classes, weight sessions and so on. After a break for morning tea, it’s workshop time until lunch followed by Dreamtime.

Dinner is a relaxed affair where guests sit around group tables enjoying the meal and each other’s company before retiring to their room for the night. There’s no television but the beds are very comfy and sleep comes easily!

The thought of organic food can scare some people, but once you’ve spent the weekend eating nothing else, seen firsthand the gardens which produce the accompanying vegetables and learned how to grow them yourself you’ll wonder why you ever ate anything else.

Shelley’s love of naturally grown food began as a child, with parents who grew all their own meat, fruit and vegetables. It’s impossible not to be inspired when the tiny gardener raves about the virtues of growing your own sprouts, whips up a worm farm, shares her secrets of nuturing sweet potatoes, then leads an hilarious, hands-on group session to build a no-dig garden, or talks about gardening by the moon!

Gwinganna will hold its next Organic Living Weekend from 22 to 25 October and another is planned for January. The weekends will feature a range of activities including scenic bushwalks and yoga plus two spa treatments in the stunning Spa Sanctuary. All certified organic meals and snacks are included.

And the secret for the ever-producing lettuces? Keep them well watered and pick the leaves from the outside as you need them. That way the plant keeps producing longer as it sends out new growth from the centre.

For more information on Gwinganna and their workshops visit www.gwinganna.com or phone 1800 219 272.

*Adrienne Costin was contracted to write this article by Tourism Queensland.