Ok so Day 7 is Friday here and my LAST day alone. Back home in New Zealand, Day 7 is departure day for Danielle!

Today i visited the Scandinave Spa in the Blue Mountains. https://www.scandinave.com/blue-mountain/en/

The website doesn’t really do it justice and as a digital detox there are no phones or photographs allowed. This is something they don’t make a big deal about on their website, but is a central theme of the place. If I get time I’ll try to write a more complete review, but for now here are my fleeting thoughts. (Spoiler, I really loved it)

It’s quite a drive so you need to plan ahead.

The drive up was on mostly rural roads with 70-80km speed limits on the way north. While I am still adjusting to driving on the wrong side of the road again I find the driving a lot more tiring and much more concentration required. On the way back I was further east so spent some time on proper highways.

I opted for a massage which comes with free bath access and gave me the better time option. Numbers are very tightly controlled and booking are absolutely required.

I followed the rules and left both my phone and my Apple Watch in my locker. The place has a very serine vibe. The silence envelops you like a weighted blanket.

Normally I would be soo busy trying to take great photos for social media to make sure everyone else knows what a great time im having I’d never really be in the moment. This was something else and really added to the experience.

When you arrive they explain the concept of the cycle. 10 mins or so In the hot, be it pools, steam or sauna. Then as long as you can stand in the cold (plunge pools or Nordic showers) followed by time relaxing. They have forest bathing (no bath involved) and plenty of very comfortable seating options for the relaxing. You then repeat the cycle as many times as you like.

I completed a few ‘cycles’ then it was time for my massage. I was pretty pleased with myself as I was able to decipher an analogue wall clock to know when to go inside for my allotted hour.

After the massage I returned to the baths and completed lots of ‘cycles’ I completely lost track of time and if it wasn’t for a rumbly tummy I don’t know if i would have ever left!

In summary I really enjoyed my experience and the bonus of the digital detox.

Being this far north I decided to tiki-tour around a bit until the heavens opened.

I finished the day off with making sure Danielle arrived as far as Auckland

For those of you who are good with a calendar will have worked out that we always write a day behind so right now it’s actually 9:30am on Day 8, Which means Danielle arrives here tonight! So in 24 hours when I sit down to breakfast it will be with Danielle so going forwards I expect we will return to our combined daily posts.

I have been really surprised how many of you have been reading these everyday. While we write the blog mostly for ourselves to look back on, knowing that people are reading does help keep us up-to-date so really appreciate the kind messages of support for our quirky updates.