Spiritual Down Under
Australia & NZ (UK): July 2007

With awesome mountains, mesmerising ocean vistas and contemplative forests and bush retreats, Australia and New Zealand are the perfect places to get back in touch with yourself. Jo Hegerty discovers the best places to find serenity.

From a luxury hideaway in Byron Bay to spiritual surfers and ashram retreats, Australia has a lot to offer to those looking for a place to relax and reconnect. Be inspired by the world’s oldest rainforest, challenge your faith while dangling from a rope or learn to quiet your mind far from cars, businesses and email.

It’s not all big, brash and bold when it comes to Down Under, there’s a quiet side to the country, a movement of peace and quietness of mind. Australian spiritualism draws on the world’s traditions, but with that easy-going attitude adding a distinctly Aussie element, and you can choose from a great range of retreats, holidays or centres dedicated to the art of quiet contemplation.

Gaia Retreat & Spa
Bangalow, northern New South Wales
Best for: a luxurious, tailored escape
www.gaiaretreat.com.au
Costs: Three-night packages, from $A1205 per person; 90 minute massage from $A135.

High in the hills above hippy chic Byron Bay in northern New South Wales, Gaia Retreat & Spa is exactly that: a retreat.
It’s said that the rock beneath the Byron area has spiritual properties, which makes for the relaxing, earthy attitude of its inhabitants, and this is imparted to guests at Gaia. Whether it’s the pull of the granite or the billowing saffron curtains, greys and dark wooden décor, from the moment you walk into Kukura House, a quietness comes over you.
Apart from morning tai chi or yoga, there are no rules, codes or principles and guests can pick and choose from a host of practitioners from town for readings, kinesiology or meditation sessions and more, plus private yoga, pilates or zen shiatsu in private luxury.
This sophisticated hideaway, which has room for 36 guests, opened at the beginning of 2005 and is the brainchild of Olivia Newton John.
People come here for different reasons and divide their time between pursuing personal goals, being pampered in the Amala day spa and tucking themselves away in a little alcove to read, write or stare at the foliage. The atmosphere at Gaia is warm and nourishing and, although no-one will begrudge you a glass of wine or an organic steak for dinner, meals are tailored to each guest’s needs and are fresh and healthy, utilising local organic produce. 
Gaia regularly runs specialty retreats including yoga, woman’s life balance, cooking and sculpture workshops, and can arrange detox and fitness programmes for guests.

Prema Shanti
Cape Tribulation, far north Queensland
Best for: low-budget, rainforest, reef.
www.premashanti.com
Costs: From $70 per person, includes breakfast and dinner

Learn the gentle art of stillness at the Prema Shanti meditation and yoga retreat. Enveloped by the world’s oldest rainforest – the majestic Daintree – this B&B style retreat is a great place to learn or master meditation, or just hang out and let stress melt away.
The heart of Prema Shanti is the Temple, an open room with wooden floors. Dawn and evening meditation are held here and Mara Staffieri leads the mostly unguided sessions. She has a knack of putting first-timers at ease and explaining that stillness of mind is something to be learnt, not a natural skill.
There’s a daily yoga session, too, but otherwise the day is yours to enjoy. Visit the Great Barrier Reef, just 5km off-shore up here, or learn about the crocs, cassowaries and wallabies that inhabit the area at the Daintree Discovery Centre. There are bikes to hire, sweeping beaches to explore and an affordable day-spa across the gravel road.
Prema Shanti has five basic rooms beneath the temple with shared outdoor bathrooms, plus composting toilets. Double rooms with ensuite are available, but as they’re away from the main building, you won’t hear the tinkling bells that wake guests up for morning meditation.
Breakfast and dinner are included, simple vegetarian meals served on the balcony. Don’t miss the waterhole.

Well-Aware-Ness meditation retreat
Lord Howe Island
Best for: learning meditation in a non-intensive environment
www.zululines.com
Cost: From $A1750, all inclusive

You couldn’t find a more inspiring location for a meditation retreat than Lord Howe Island. Just 11km long and with a limit of 400 guests, it’s the perfect place to learn or master ‘Mindfulness’. Leading the retreat is John Carter, who was a Buddhist monk for 11 years before studying to become a psychologist.
The five-day residential retreats  are held at magnificent Arajilla (www.arajilla.com.au), a luxurious haven nestled among the banyan trees and kentia palms, and are generally themed, for example: ‘Life in a Relationship’ or ‘Incorporating Buddhism into Everyday Life’.
The day starts with yoga held in a light, airy Mongolian yurt and then morning meditation takes place, beginning with dhamma insights into the eight-fold path. Beginners, don’t be turned off by the lingo, John excels in giving his teachings in everyday, clear language. He has a mildly hypnotising voice and the serenity you’d expect from a forest monk.
Well-Aware-Ness retreats aren’t intensive; guests are free to wander the beaches, go bushwalking or do some more private reflection during the day. Arajilla serves alcohol and decadent desserts and although intoxicants aren’t advised John doesn’t prohibit smoking, drinking or caffeine.
Another retreat is held over New Year’s at Sangsurya in Byron Bay.

Blue Spirit
Margaret River, south tip of Western Australia
Best for: surfing plus spiritualism
www.bluespiritretreats.com.au
Cost: From $A1750, all inclusive

Blue Spirit retreats are surfing adventure holidays with yoga at heart. As well as daily surf lessons, expect kayaking, abseiling, bushwalking or caving, all pitched at a beginners’ level.
Husband and wife team Blair and Merome are bright, young and passionate about two things: the Margaret River area and surfing, and after five days on one of their mixed or women-only retreats, you’ll share their passions.
Everyone, from the cook to the massage therapist, at Blue Spirit is a surfer, so you’re in good hands and if the confidence of the teachers isn’t enough to dispel any fear, then the sheer beauty of the beaches they take you to will. 
Every day starts with an hour’s yoga, specially designed to complement the proceeding surf lesson, and the adventures continue after lunch. Evenings are given over to massages, twin hearts meditation or possibly belly dancing.
A trip to Margaret River wouldn’t be the same without a wine tour and this is a nice way to wrap up the retreat with your new friends.
Guests stay in an expansive beach house surrounded by dense forest. The deep verandas are a great place to watch the wheeling black cockatoos at dusk. An in-house cook looks after all meals and snacks, and the food is superb: fresh, local and varied.

Satyananda Residential Yoga Retreat Centre
Mangrove Creek, near Sydney, New South Wales
Best for: ashram life
www.satyananda.net
Costs: from $60 per person per night

If you’re looking for authentic ashram life, head to Satyananda in Mangrove Creek, just a couple of hours north-west of Sydney.
Simple, environmentally aware living takes place here surrounded by sandstone cliffs and gum trees. Gongs for meals and bells for classes set the tone and pace of the day, and chanting takes the edge off the 5am weekend starts.
A weekend stay here is enough to reset your clock or you could join in on the programme of weekend to weeklong events, including bush regeneration and the creation of mandala, which are geometric designs created to aid meditation and reflect the universe. There are also kids’ weeks.
The retreat’s daily programme includes daily Satyananda yoga, which is more of a gentle stretch than traditional poses, plus chanting and yoga nidra. Selfless service and noble silence are observed throughout the day, but this is no vipassana retreat, so expect to meet and chat to people. Bushwalking, kayaking, volleyball and swimming are also on offer.
Accommodation is in single/bunk three-to-a-room dorms, pay extra for one/ two per room / en suite / family rooms or less $10 to camp on the lawn. Three hearty, healthy meals are included each day.

Pujjis Relaxing Wellness Retreat
Nelson, South Island, New Zealand
Best for: reconnecting with your partner
www.pujjis.com
Cost: from $NZ150 - $NZ275, includes breakfast, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. Yoga/meditation/movement classes $NZ50; Bodywork, massage, individual yoga therapy, postural awareness, conscious communication, couples therapy and individual tuition are $NZ100 an hour.

Based in a large wooden villa backing onto the Maitai River, Pujjis Relaxing Wellness Retreat was created by husband and wife team Arvind and Jane, who between them practise yoga, Hellerwork – the study of body alignment – massage and counselling.
The boutique retreat boasts just four guest rooms, providing an unparalleled level of intimacy and one-on-one – or two-on-two – nurturing. As well as relaxation, integrative bodywork or cleansing detox programs with fasting, Pujjis offers Heart Matters packages, which include conscious communication skills and marriage counselling in a spiritual, nourishing environment.
The former is meaningful communication with training in how to express yourself effectively and to identify and fulfil your needs in relationships.
The packages are only a guide and can be tailored to each guest to include as much or as little activity as you want. Meditation, postural awareness and beauty treatments are all on offer, as are bushwalking, bikes, a sauna, spa or the deep hammock on the veranda. Pujjis has a green globe tick as a responsible tourism destination.

Nan Tien Temple
Wollongong, New South Wales
Best for: authentic Buddhist retreats
www.nantien.org.au
Costs: A twin or double room in Pilgrim Lodge costs $95. Weekend meditation retreat from $A90 to $A125.

In keeping with Australia’s penchant for all things big, the southern hemisphere’s largest Buddhist temple is found just 90 minutes drive from Sydney in Wollongong. Nan Tien, which means paradise of the south, is one of a branch of 120 Fo Guang Shan temples worldwide and has been an important part of Australian culture since 1965.
The sprawling complex comprises two large shrines, a museum, accommodation for 100 people, conference facilities, gardens and the striking pagoda, a sight to see at dawn as it appears before Mount Kembla.
Don’t expect spartan accommodation or rustic settings if you come to stay – and guests are welcome all year round – the Pilgrim Lodge has 3½ star rooms with colour TV and other mod cons. Visitors are invited to join in the evening mediation, early morning bell and drum ceremony, chanting and tai chi.
Weekend meditation retreats are held every second weekend of the month and offer a taste of monastic life. This is not a social affair and noble silence is observed throughout the weekend. Eastern Awareness weekends are a chance to learn more about Chinese and Buddhist culture and get involved with tai chi, meditation, cooking or learn more about Chinese medicine.