Slow Down and "Mountain Bathe" at Gold Coast Hinterland's Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat

A Gold Coast hinterland wellness destination encourages guests to plug into their elevated surrounds – and switch off.

There’s a grassy track that winds around the curve of a mountain at Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat, about 25 kilometres from Gold Coast Airport. Beckoning walkers past lush bush thick with vines and birdsong, it overlooks a valley of farmland and forest. Here, a visitor might pause, clip the lightweight hammock they’re carrying between two purpose-built poles and settle in to breathe the eucalypt-scented air, closing their eyes against hazy late-afternoon light and allowing a busy mind and body to settle.

The Sunset Trail is one of seven “mountain bathing” locations at this hinterland wellness destination, which has soothed and refreshed guests for 19 years. “We’ve located them in areas of the retreat that really expose you to the natural beauty of where we are,” says general manager Melanie James, who was inspired by the Japanese philosophy of shinrin-yoku or forest bathing. Being immersed in nature means “you get all of that beautiful parasympathetic nerve activity”, she says. But in Gwinganna’s version, “you are also exposed to our spectacular views, sunsets, sunrises, the equine paddock, the fig tree”. The latter, estimated to be 1000 years old, stands majestically in hillside rainforest near the 33-room spa.

From their hammock cocoon, a guest might simply absorb the mood-lifting trill of nearby kookaburras and whipbirds. Or they could settle in with supplied headphones and an MP3 player, selecting from guided meditations, soundscapes or delta brainwave frequency music, which James says “brings you into powerful relaxation”. A siesta? “Absolutely no judgement. We encourage it.”

More peak therapy

• In the French Alps, the Yogiski Week festival combines yoga and skiing, plus a range of wellness offerings. Try a sunset snowshoe hike to Lac du Lou for a hatha yoga session  or salutations at sunrise before clicking on your skis.
  
  
• Hay bathing is said to have originated in Italy’s Dolomites and has been offered at Hotel Heubad, near Bolzano, since 1901. Visitors are immersed in warm hay and the heat of its fermentation is believed to help relieve joint pain.

SEE ALSO: Pamper Yourself at Australia’s Best Wellness Retreats