2008 Australian Retreat - the official blog!

Posted January 30th, 2008 by Chris.S

I was the official photographer for this retreat so it is my duty to share the photos!

As you may know the Australian Retreat is held at the beautiful Bunya Mountains which is just under 4 hours drive from Brisbane.

The Majestic Forest - and the wonderful walks!

The Bunya Mountains features lush forests of breathtaking beauty.

In fact the area was so sacred to the native aboriginies, that they would not sleep or live there - only visit. Newcomers saw it's value in a different way and began to log it for timber! Luckily it was made a National Park.

The Mystical Nights

There's nothing like the atmosphere of the night in the mountains. We were blessed to have such a clear night for our bonfire. It was so clear that the Milky Way really did look like the edge of our galaxy in space, not just a bunch of stars here and there like the Milky Way I know at home.

Magical Mornings

The blessings continued on our final day with a spectacular morning and the rare mix of sun and fog. Each morning we were greeted with the various songs of the birds of the forest.

In the Hall

We spent alot of time in the hall called Camalot - eating, socializing and doing practices like mantra's.

Best buddies Cliff (left) John, and David G (right)
Sensational Salads!	Delectable Desserts!

The Group Shots

With such a huge turnout (54, the biggest retreat so far) taking 1 group shot just wasn't clear enough. So we took group shots by categories such as by center, online students, international attendees - even by those with the same names!

Everyone say CHEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Brisbane	Sydney
Perthies Unite!	Online Students
Melbourne - looks like half the retreat!	From Overseas
The Dave's: Dave, Dave, Dave, and - Dave!	Trent, Trent, Cam, Cam, Cam, Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave...

Around the Grounds


Dave practices his powers of telekinesis, matrix style.
Adam practices relaxation

Meet the Locals

Stay tuned!

More to come: More pics, videos, and sounds!

- Chris S

syrimes's blog
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Those are some amazing

On February 8th, 2008 Jim B. says:

Those are some amazing pictures :) I had to die a little to that jealousy, wish I could have been there ;)

Hello Chris! What amazing

On February 8th, 2008 Olga says:

Hello Chris!

What amazing photos! Do you work for the National Geographic : ) The retreat looked absolutely breathtaking, it is so uplifting to see such a successful turnout. I will have to make my way to Paradise one of these days : )

Take care,

Olga