Te spa (above) has been designed with a mix of Asian, contemporary and Rococo influences and includes an outdoor Aboriginal garden room for two (right) offering treatments from Sodashi or Li’tya; a third of food comes from an organic garden onsite (leſt)


ſt (69sq m) spa, which features nine treat- ments rooms and an outdoor, Aboriginal sacred garden room for two. Other build- ings such as the main Kukura house – now with the reception, offices, kitchen, relaxa- tion lounge, library and giſt shop – and 20 villa bungalows, were completely renovated. Other facilities which have had an entire makeover include an outdoor saltwater pool, a spa bath, a sauna and a tennis court. Te whole process took nine months, from design through to completion. Te treatments, which use local ingredi-


ents and the Australian products Sodashi and Li’tya, are extensive – they include facials, 13 different massages, body polishes, wraps and baths; and the spa specialises in alternative therapies such as facial acupuncture, an Aus- tralian flower essence consultation and an Esoteric Breast Massage. Meanwhile, work is underway on new treatments which use ingredients from the


SPA BUSINESS 3 2010 ©Cybertrek 2010


Amazon Herb Company. Newton-John married the founder of the company, John Easterling, two years ago and the pair have made it their mission to educate the public about the role of the Amazonian rainforest as the world’s largest natural pharmacy. With a commitment to rejuvenating guests,


there’s a wide selection of daily activities from early morning yoga, t’ai chi and meditation, through to group exercises classes and hiking and biking on the surrounding land. Healthy, organic food – 38 per cent of


which comes from the onsite garden and orchard – completes the offer.


WALKING THE TALK Newton-John is the brand ambassador for Gaia Retreat & Spa, although Cave says this wasn’t always going to be the case. “Ini- tially, Olivia was going to be a silent partner because we wanted the retreat to stand up on its own and not be the ‘Olivia Newton-


John retreat’,” he says. “But word got out and as Olivia showed herself to be such a great ambassador for all things health and well- ness, we embraced the fact that she embodies everything Gaia Retreat & Spa stands for.” She certainly walks the talk: taking her


dogs out for two miles every day, playing tennis frequently and saying she loves eat- ing bowls of steamed vegetables from the organic garden. Reiki is one of her favour- ite treatments at the spa, although she never misses the chance to spend time with medi- tation teacher and counsellor Lani. “Lani works from the heart, on the heart,” says


Newton-John. “She’s helped me at times when I’ve needed someone to talk to and I know she is similarly there for guests. She’s a very special person. It was Cave, rather than Olivia, however,


who introduced the aforementioned Eso- teric Breast Massage two years ago. The 90-minute massage is the only one of its kind


Read Spa Business online spabusiness.com / digital 47


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