week thirty eight | yarra valley, victoria

Part of Oaktree life is the retreats one attends. It sometimes feels like we need to retreat from all the retreats.  But seriously though, most retreats are a lot of fun because Oaktree is very focused on team culture. There’s no better way to get a group of people to work well together and to love each other then to put them in a house off the grid for three days!

For this retreat we were lucky enough to stay in one of the most perfect houses on earth. The house is nestled in the Yarra Valley. It was off the grid but still – so gorgeous, sounded by a river, lots of beautiful trees and a veggie patch that would make Jamie Oliver drool. While it was still work, it was nice to get away from all the stress, to have time to sit by the fire and revisit why we do what we do and to get closer to those we work so closely with.

We went on early morning walks, we paddled in the river, we ate great food and we worked hard. I kind of wish every day in the office could be so lovely.

4/5 post it notes 

week thirty seven | driving west, melbourne, victoria to adelaide, south australia

My Mum grew up in Adelaide, South Australia, and this means that the place is home to my great-grand mother, my grandparents and SO MANY aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, third cousins and a whole community full of people who know me but I’m not sure I know them.

A few weeks ago now I was able to join my mum on the drive from Melbourne to Adelaide. We were going across to attend her uncle’s funeral and this trip reminded me of the countless amount of people who really are my people – we share life and food and memories. A shared history. I feel this most strongly when sitting in a pew in my grandparents’ Russian Pentecostal church.

The Melbourne to Adelaide drives is only 726km across southern Australia, but believe me that sounds a lot more fun than it actually is. The drive is painfully slow. Road works really are only making the two-lane highway just a slightly better two-lane highway so for the most part there is no change ahead.As the highway has yet to bypass any of the towns you are forced to take the time to enjoy everything they have to offer.  While it’s slow going there are some adorable and interesting towns that you drive right through and even at a slower 50 kilometers an hour through the towns you’re back on the highway in minutes 

Once you’ve passed most of the towns on the highway you hit start of the Adelaide Hills. Some of the most beautiful country in Australia! But just be careful – we ended up going through it at night and once the fog comes down it is tricky driving!

The best you can hope for is a sunny day and a fantastic travel buddy so you can spend the time talking about life, love and the universe. Plus, at the other end you’re in Adelaide so that’s pretty great.

3/5 take away lattes

week thirty six | the pinnacles, canberra, act

My parents live in Canberra, so for the most part me going home is very much a city mouse in the country house situation. I love it. I hang out in the garden, dig things, make a bit of a mess and pretend I’m ‘helping.’ I also get to hang out with my parents’ wild but wonderful dog Ellie who is the best dog in the world by a million miles.

Ellie rules the roost – and so time with Ellie means doing Ellie’s favorite thing, which is hiking up to the Pinnacles, a ridge of national park above my parents’ house in Hawker. On a summers day the views go out across the entire Canberra valley and you can often get pretty close to the mob of kangaroos that lives up there. From their place it’s pretty easy to take a 20 min walk along the back of the houses or along the paddock, and easy enough to extend that to a 40 min walk up the hill to the crest and look down over the valley. It also makes up part of Canberra’s centenary walk and you’ll often see people walking with massive packs in training for their next big hiking adventure. 

It’s a gorgeous place to go for a walk and even though this trip it was foggy and cold I love these moments with mum and dad and my little sister (and Ellie) and wouldn’t change the foggy Canberra weather for anything in the world.

4/5 kangaroo glances

week thirty five | birrarung marr, melbourne, victoria

Oh my goodness Melbourne – be still my beating heart! This city, I swear! I’m so often discovering hidden gems and new cool things, and one weekend I stumbled across the bells and the big space of Barring Marr on the Yarra River.

Wandering around Melbourne on this particular day lead us through the Thai food fare, along the river and towards the bell sculpture – an interactive art instillation that encourages people to compose tunes for the bells to play. We also watched a helicopter land on a helipad on the river, so there is also that.

Thanks Melbourne for being so interesting, so diverse, so charming - with something to offer just about anyone.

If you are in town, you should really check out the bells – and take a picnic, because there are some lovely picnic spots next to the river as well.

3/5 chimes of the bell

week thirty four | beechworth, victoria

It feels like a lifetime ago that Max and I escaped for the weekend to sit in the sun, eat cheese, drink great beer and enjoy everything Beechworth has to offer. While it does feel like a long time ago now it remains one of my favorite places in country Victoria, I would absolutely highly recommend it for day trips but more then likely for a weekend getaway. It is just about the cutest little country town on earth - except from Stars Hollow, obviously.

The reason Max and I had found ourselves there on this particular weekend was primarily due to poor planning on our part and the fact we had been a few weeks previously for a work conference which was spent at the Beechworth Old Priory. That conference was amazing and we adored Beechworth so much that when we ended up plan free a couple of days out from the long weekend we jumped on the Old Priory once again – keen to see what else was about.

As we learnt the Old Priory is basically where monks used to live. It’s pretty and pretty big – a charming place to stay. It is a shared bathroom kind of deal but we had plans to be lazing in the sunshine and drinking beer so that didn’t bother us in the slightest.

Now apart from all the pretty, the old school candy shop and the famous bakery the very best thing about Beechworth is the Beechworth Brewery. Nothing more to say about it except – BLUE CHEESE PIZZA AND BEER MADE IN NORWAY.

Also, did you know that Beechworth is right in the middle of a good food region? We drank wine, we ate hand cut chippies, we tasted cheese and then we had to go home because sadly holidays cant last forever.

5/5 pints of craft beer