Willalooka Eco Lodge – Outback Magazine
Willalooka Pastoral Company is the featured station in the Dec/Jan issue of Outback magazine. Incredible country in SA’s Upper South East, with its own spectacular 810ha wetland precinct featuring a series of interconnecting basins.
The Marcollat Watercourse
The owners, Kate and Thyne McGregor, have opened the property to overnight guests. This self-contained, four-bedroom Eco Lodge set in total seclusion amongst gum trees is all yours for as long as you like.
Imagine kicking back by a roaring fire looking looking out over Big Reedy Swamp…
If you’re tempted, you can book here, and read more about my article on the property here.
The warmest of welcomes for a refugee
After moving to Australia as a refugee late last decade, Lal Lian was lured to Mount Gambier in 2010 by the promise of work in the horticulture industry.
Photography by Sharyn Cairns
But the opportunity that knocked was beyond even his dreams. Kalangadoo apple growers Chris and Michelle McColl offered Lal almost a hectare of highly prized fully certified organic soil to produce his own crops.
Photography by Sharyn Cairns
My story about this kind family man who accepted a helping hand in a new farming land is in the November 2013 issue of Country Style magazine. Editor Victoria Carey writes:
The story of how a couple of apple farmers at South Australia’s Kalangadoo gave Lal a plot of land on which to grow organic market vegetables, and the way he seized the opportunity with both hands, is one of the most inspiring we’ve had in the magazine recently.
Favourite Bride – Real Weddings Style
I have lots of articles in the new issue of Real Weddings magazine. It’s impossible to pick a favourite – what bride doesn’t look amazing! – but Monique Sola was a standout. Divine looking girl, exquisite headpiece and smoking eye make-up. Photography by The White Tree.
She and husband Daniel make a stunning couple! They married at Barwon Heads in Victoria, adding a fresh touch of glamour to the coastal town.
One of many sweet love stories in the latest edition. And as always, so many ideas to inspire.
Outback Magazine: Spotlight on Depression
Grab the thickest, heaviest, grey woollen blanket you can find. Soak it in steaming hot water, and completely cover yourself with it while lying in bed. Then, try to climb out and go about your normal day with that suffocating weight hanging over you.
Queensland’s Rural Woman of the Year, Alison Fairleigh, says this is what depression feels like. She knows, because she has worn this cloak of misery, and she is using her award to encourage others to emerge from such a dark place. Alison was fascinating to interview – her profile is in the latest Outback magazine.
Penola’s Best Kept Secret
A thriving herb garden is tucked beyond a rustic picket fence and two timber slab cottages on Penola’s Petticoat Lane in South Australia’s Limestone Coast.
Entry is free, and visitors are encouraged to wander and enjoy the bounty of some beautiful volunteers.
I’ve shared their story in the latest edition of Australian Country Style, and was delighted to read the following in the editor’s opening letter:
As we put the magazine together, my team often tells me which stories they like the best. One that has inspired more comments than most is Gretel Sneath’s piece on the National Trust Herb Garden.
Yay!
The May issue also features my article on Wagner’s Rose Nursery which features in an earlier blog post. More gorgeous people and their roses are the best I’ve seen – magazine pix are exquisite!
Selector Autumn Edition
It’s always a pleasure to head to Coonawarra to research an article, stock up on some wine and chat with a great bunch of locals.
There’s also some fabulous photo opportunities – here’s my shot of the Coonawarra siding, a true local icon. You’ll find it along with my words in the new Autumn edition of Selector.
Click here to read the article in my Portfolio.
Cover image by Sharyn Cairns.
Smell the Roses
My latest magazine assignment delivered me to a field of roses. While the uber talented Sharyn Cairns snapped away, I was busily planning planting schemes for my garden at home. Oh and doing interviews.
The scent was just incredible – these were your true garden bush roses.
A tricky day trying to escape the harsh sunlight and find pockets of shade, and I was able to take several buckets of blooms home, so there are now beautiful vases everywhere.
Here is the article in my portfolio.
Weight Watchers Magazine – Best Family Walks in Australia
Weight Watchers magazine requested a feature on the best Autumn walks for its fabulous March re-launch edition. Perfect, as we’ve taken some terrific family hikes in the past 12 months. My most memorable? Wilsons Promontory in Victoria…
The Ayers Rock base walk…
And Mitchell Falls at the top of Western Australia…
All three get a mention in the article appearing in the latest edition. My hot tip: never underestimate how far littlies can walk, especially when a crystal clear waterhole awaits at the end of the trail.
Real Weddings – Terry Biviano and Rebecca Twigley
And here we are in 2013! Let’s go….
I used the holiday break to catch up on a mountain of magazines, including the Real Weddings Summer Issue, which features a collection of articles I have recently written.
There’s some exquisite brides in there, including shoe designer Terry Biviano, who wore J’Aton Couture when she married rugby league player Anthony Minichiello.
“The designers poured their love, sweat and tears into every inch of the dress, and literally made the lace embroidery fabric. It was a true, one-of-a-kind, handmade couture gown,” Terry said.
J’Aton Couture also made the dress of another Real Weddings bride – Rebecca Twigley – who married AFL star Chris Judd. I was lucky enough to write about that wedding, too, and you’ll find it in my portfolio click here .
The Secret Garden
I have been enchanted by walled gardens ever since reading Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden as a child. Imagine my delight when I visited this beauty today on a magazine assignment. Tucked away on a country property, it took my breath away…
I’ll be sure to share the article once it goes to print.
I’m Gretel Sneath, accomplished freelance writer & storyteller. When I'm not on the road, you'll find me on South Australia's Limestone Coast.