Hikes to recharge our health & connection
Location: Cooloola track, Sunshine Coast, Qld
Date & Duration: 25-26 March - 2 days & 1 night
Last year (2021) on the Larapinta Trail - 13 day hike with my 69yr old Dad.
Join us, and cathartically process & heal… step by step.
Hi, I’m Janelle, naturopath, owner of Seeds of Health and facilitator of our in-person 2 day hiking adventures, which I hope extend to longer in time.
Hiking for me is one of my happy places & has been for the last 17 years. It is a way to simplify life & get back to basics. Conversation, connection, nature, hydration, sunshine, silence, listening, sleeping on the Earth, cooking outside & physically moving my body. All with adventure woven through.
What makes the biggest difference to the success of a hike:
1. Preparation;
2. Adaptability; and
3. Resilience
Our hiking experiences have been designed with this in mind. Every element will be considered & discussed before we take the first step. The 2 weeks leading into our hiking adventure we meet weekly via Zoom to ensure all the materials, resources & food are discussed, simplified, purchased & prepared to ensure a beautiful experience. Once on the trail I want your focus to be in the moment, not worrying about the details. That’s for me to take care of! With adequate preparation our adaptability & resilience is stronger - setting the stage for a transformational experience.
As your guide, my experience with hiking is extensive. Having done multiple multi-day hikes from 2-21 days in various countries, including Papua New Guinea, USA, Nepal & Australia I feel absolutely confident that you are going to experience and receive a unique, fully supported and safe hiking experience. You can read more about my experiences here & a blog post I wrote about the 13 day hike I did last year in Central Oz.
How Does a Group Hiking Expedition Work?
What’s it all about: Designed to connect you back to nature, yourself & remind you of how resourceful & resilient you are. These hiking expeditions are not about pace, but I do encourage you to stretch your comfort zone. They are about coming together with like minded souls & being in nature, while cathartically processing your thoughts, emotions, joys, sorrows, etc one step at a time. Hiking for me has always been a way to ‘process’ but without an agenda or timeframe. Just a gentle invitation. It is also a feeling of ‘coming home’ - to myself, the essentials/basics & the rhythms of nature which can only nourish our nervous system. It is a permission to pause - pause from your routine, your phone, your to-dos, your children, your everyday pressures & commitments. To reboot, reconnect & rediscover yourself on so many levels. I find creative ideas or resolutions appear because I carve out space simply to BE. Time to catch your breath. Layer by layer your body will begin to release & shed, restoring vitality or revealing something that needs greater attention, which is perfect as I can guide you through the next steps.
Preparation: Including weekly preparation calls via Zoom in the 2 weeks prior to our hike, I endeavour to educate you on what equipment to purchase or borrow from a friend. You may choose to hire some things or even pair up for the experience with a friend & share the costs if you are new to the game. I am open minded to the beginning stages - if you have the means I encourage you to buy brands that last, however there are always options. We will talk a lot about food prep & clean choices while on the trail, making your own dehydrated meals if you choose, however not essential. Lastly, we will discuss eco products so we have no impact on the Earth while on the trial (another one of my loves!).
On the expedition: The trip will be 2 days & 1 night sleeping in tents & carrying all that we need in our packs. There will be a spot to bathe at the end of the day or swim & loads of time to relax & connect. I will be suggesting supportive stretches & tools to make the experience more enjoyable but it is all your choosing. I hope that these nature experiences are a chance to discover new stunning spaces over & over again, together or otherwise a leverage point to give you the confidence you need to take some time out in nature solo.
““When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” ”
The Accommodation
All our hiking expeditions are hosted in beautiful nature escapes that vary in terrain but are always beautiful. This next expedition is held on the Sunshine Coast & we will be doing part of the Cooloola Track. This provides the perfect environment for relaxing, pausing, allowing, letting go and rebooting your nervous system.
13 day hike - Larapinta Trail, 2021
21 day hike - John Muir Trail, 2016
Why Hiking is So Healing
Hiking investment
For our first group hiking experience I am welcoming you in at a heavily reduced rate in exchange for thorough feedback & testimonials
All participants are invited to experience the journey (weekly zoom calls & 2 day hike) for $200 pp.
Hiking Expedition Highlights
The price of $200 includes the following:
2 full days of adventure including transport back to the starting point
2 weekly Zoom calls leading up to the hike to get you prepared & confident with what to bring - gear, food, etc…of course with a health spin
Education on how to make this trip as healthy & definitely toxin free as possible
Connection with other like minded souls leading in to & on the trail
Morning & afternoon stretch sessions to keep our body limber & loved
Daily meditation sessions on offer
Community support with like-minded individuals & confidence for a safe hiking experience with a helath expert & avid multiday hiker of 17 yrs
Time to soak up sunshine & fresh air
Understanding of how to hike safely & enjoyably with all the right tools & health tricks
Learning how to gain confidence to dive into future hikes
Plenty of space to relax & recharge in nature to deeply unwind
See What Our Past Guests Are Saying about other retreats
About Your Hiking Expedition Facilitator, Janelle
A few interesting facts about Janelle:
She’s lived with Native Indians for 6 months in Saskatchewan, Canada.
She’s taken a 10-day vow of silence at a meditation retreat in the mountains (twice).
She’s done a 21-day fast on the Central Coast of NSW (19 days of that was a water fast).
She’s trekked for 3 weeks along the John Muir Trail on the west coast of the USA (340km).
She’s done yoga on the Greek island of Amorgos for 9 days.
Lived with a family in South Korea for 3 weeks
Hiked Kokoda with her brother & Dad in Papua New Guinea for 9 days
Trekked Hinchinbrook Island twice (4 days - FNQ), The overland track (7 days - Tasmania), Cape to Cape twice (6 days - WA), Larapinta twice (13 days - Central Australia)
Hiked the Annapurna circuit in Nepal over 18 days
Travelled around Australia in a van for 12 months in 2007
These are some highlights. We’ve all got a story & I can’t wait to hear yours as we hike a trail together.
Growing up with a range of health issues like acne & eczema, Janelle started her search for the truth about wellness and what it really takes to feel good at a young age.
Hiking for Janelle has become a huge joy & source of healing. She grew up in a household where camping, nature & road trips were woven through her childhood.
It wasn’t until 2005, at the age of 22, that Janelle began overnight hiking. What started as 1 night grew to a 4 day island hike & then extended overtime to 9, 13 & 21 day hikes in various countries. Australia is a hot favourite, however Papua New Guinea, Nepal & the John Muir Trail in the US have all woven magic through her veins.
She can’t wait to welcome you in to her world & her love of hiking through her hiking expeditions. Each expedition will always have health at its core. They are beginning on the Sunshine Coast with the vision of growing to international locations.
If you are curious, excited or perhaps even a little afraid reach out with questions - Janelle would love to chat. She can’t wait to be adventuring with you soon! Perhaps it will be the missing piece of joy & healing in your world?!
Janelle is certified in Naturopathy, Western Herbal Medicine & Nutritional Medicine, Kinesiology & Reiki 1, plus she’s previously trained & worked as a primary school teacher. She’s also trained as a yoga teacher, dived into hormone yoga therapy, female fertility, Ayurveda and raw food cooking in Fiji.
Janelle figures that if we’re in this wellness journey for life, we may as well tie our boots tight and step out with the determination to make it an adventure filled with optimism, ease and a healthy dose of self-love.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the arrival and departure times of your hiking expeditions?
We will aim to squeeze the most out of the 2 days so will be starting early on the first day at our meeting spot in Tewantin (Sunshine Coast) & finishing around 5pm on day 2. Finer details will be provided closer to end of April.
How is payment made for the hiking expedition?
As this is such a small investment for the hike, the $200 is paid before we begin our first Zoom call early May.
What is your cancellation policy?
As the experience begins 3 weeks before we start hiking no refund is available for this first expedition once you commit. We all step into the container of education together. Being such a small investment for all of the time invested I hope this is understood. This will evolve for future hikes.