This Australian retreat aims to extend your lifespan. I gave it a try

Straight up: you’re going to die.

Soon, or not so soon? Well, there’s a little wriggle-room there.

Trying to tap into our longevity timeline has been a human hobby for centuries, with the legend of the fountain of youth – a spring believed to restore youthfulness – dating back to the fifth century BC.

Gwinganna is positioned on a leafy hilltop in the Gold Coast hinterland.

Unfortunately, said fountain has proven elusive, yet most of us understand the basic formula that gives us the best shot at a long and healthful life – sleep well, eat plenty of veggies, cut back on sugar, caffeine, alcohol and processed food, strengthen and stretch your body and mind.

Here’s the clincher though … do you actually do it? All of it? Regularly?

Not so many people embody the winning blueprint now.

But, fear not, you can pay people to give you a kick up the backside in the form of a longevity retreat – one of the latest trends to emerge in the wellness industry.

One of Australia’s best-known lifestyle retreats, Gwinganna, positioned on a leafy hilltop in the Gold Coast hinterland, got onboard in 2023, introducing their four-day “Longevity Project″⁣.

“We wanted to enhance our retreat program and incorporate some of the exciting scientific developments in the field of longevity and healthy ageing,” says retreat manager Katlyn Martin.

“Gwinganna is the first wellness retreat to discuss telomeres at this level, along with blue zones.”

Telo what?

Villa accommodation.

If you’re not familiar with telomeres, they look a bit like aglets – the pieces of plastic at the end of shoelaces – and are essentially the protective caps on the ends of our DNA strands. The longer they are, the better, and lifestyle choices can keep them long – that’s the bit you need to know.

For blue zones, see Netflix’s Live to 100 about the world’s regions where people tend to live longer than average.

The Longevity Project promises to help create a personal blue zone, so my partner and I sign up to see what we can learn.

Day one is a little strange. Along with 70 other guests, we awkwardly mingle in Gwinganna’s high-ceilinged Wellness Education Centre, waiting for our name to be called for a consultation, where we’ll be recommended treatments based on questionnaire-reported health needs. There’s an air of clinical seriousness, and when a graceful woman in a floating white dress appears a la Nicole Kidman in Nine Perfect Strangers, I do a quick scan for hidden cameras.

Gwinganna has the biggest spa in the southern hemisphere.

I leave my consultation with a menu prescribing a “luminous” facial, foot massage and Chi Nei Tsang, a Chinese-style abdomen massage (highly recommended by the way).

With 33 treatment rooms, Gwinganna has the largest spa in the southern hemisphere. Over dinner, our fellow participants, who range from busy executives, to couples, to parent/sibling duos, to Gwinganna groupies, enthusiastically share the treatments they’ve booked, including acupuncture, massage and vibrational energy healing.

These pay-to-play sessions take place in the afternoon, with the morning schedule forming part of the base program. And that starts with a 5.45am wake up. We are not morning people. What have we signed up for?

Bleary-eyed, we trudge to the dining area for herbal tea, then follow the pack to the large, central lawn. It’s easy to see who are the spritely early-birds versus the sluggish night owls as we awaken our mind, body and spirit with a guided qigong practice. The sun cracks over a mountain, slowly flooding the hinterland below with warm light and making the Pacific Ocean glitter in the distance. The birds give the owls a knowing look: this is what you’ve been missing out on.

There are hard and easy exercise sessions.

Energy channels roused, we’re then given the option of a gentle or challenging bushwalk, and when breakfast is served at 8am, I’m chuffed about how much I’ve already achieved.

The next part of the morning is reserved for another exercise session, such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT), yoga, Pilates or aqua aerobics in the infinity pool. Hard and easy options are always available.

On day three, exercise physiologist Emily Drew guides us through a series of challenges to see how our strength and balance is tracking for our age. This includes standing on one leg with eyes closed, push-ups, planks and sit-to-stand tests. The latter’s benchmark for my age group (under 50 years) is at least 30 controlled sit-to-stands per leg (no hands). Attempts on my left leg provide a reality check, so I make a mental note to refine this simple but important strengthening manoeuvre at home.

Following our daily workout, we attend an 80-minute seminar, learning about stress and its impact on the body from wellness advisor Sharon Kolkka; our genes, telomeres and brain health from Dr Karen Coates; and principles of Eastern medicine from Sifu Marc Webster. All presenters look glowing and agile for their age, so they must practise what they preach.

We take lots of notes (using pen and paper – the program is also a welcome digital detox) and each speaker is bombarded with questions from curious participants. There’s a good handful of us in our mid-to-late 30s, and I quietly think we’re the lucky ones coming into this information early (though, we also learn that the downhill slide to ‘old age’ starts around 30 – gulp).

Do I think what I learn here will have an ongoing impact on my life? Honestly, yes. And I’d say the program hits a nerve for everyone in the room, as we all need an occasional reminder that our lifestyle choices can impact not just our lifespan, but our healthspan.

So, while the fountain of youth remains a myth, we can always try to build our own.

THE DETAILS

VISIT

The Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat is located in the Gold Coast’s leafy Tallebudgera Valley, a 30-minute drive from the Gold Coast Airport. The Longevity Project will run 21–25 January and 7–11 July 2024.

FLY

Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar have regular flights to the Gold Coast, with Bonza offering a number of regional flights. Transfers are available to Gwinganna.

STAY

The Longevity Project includes four nights’ accommodation, with total packages priced from $2640 per person. If you want to prolong your health kick, you can add a Wellness Weekend beforehand and receive a 30 per cent discount on the extra two nights.

MORE

gwinganna.com

The writer travelled as a guest of Gwinganna, with some treatments at her own expense.