In the heart of the World-Heritage listed Daintree Rainforest, I discovered an unexpectedly unique spa treatment combined with an authentic Aboriginal eco-tourism experience.

At the start of Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa’s guided rainforest walk our Aboriginal guide, Juan Walker, tells the story of how his grandmother escaped the plight of being part of Australia’s ‘Stolen Generation’.  With news of men on horseback traveling through the area looking to remove Aboriginal children from their families to be placed in state custody, Juan’s grandmother was hidden in a woven ‘dilly bag’ and hung from a tree as the officers passed by.

It’s just one of the fascinating stories that Juan shares about his ‘bama’ (people), country and tribe, the Kuku Yalanji, that have lived in this part of the World Heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest for thousands of years and are claimed to be one of the oldest intact surviving Indigenous communities in the world.

Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa’s site is important in local culture. The property was occupied by forefathers of the Kuku Yalanji tribe and used as a resting place as it provided spring water, an abundance of edible, medicinal plants and bathing holes, including a natural waterfall that to this day is still considered to be sacred to women. Read more …

As a yoga therapist, she specialises in content development and presentations for the mass media and is best known for her role as the host of Australia’s YOGA TV (Network Ten and the Lifestyle Channel), which has been on air in the United Kingdom, United States, Turkey, Israel and New Zealand. She has taught for Elix’r Health Club in Sydney, Virgin Active in Cape Town as well as corporate providers – Karma Yoga and Yoga for the Seasons.  She was co-founder of the Karma Detox Yoga Program and now teaches in Sydney in Rushcutters Bay Park (when the sun is shining) and runs yoga retreats with Peppers Salt Resort & Spa at Kingscliff, NSW.

As a freelance writer, author and editor Kris specialises in yoga, health/wellness, and travel with a focus on body and soul escapes. Kris currently writes for Australian Yoga Journal, dumbo feather … pass it on and female-friendly travel website, Holiday Goddess. She co-authored Yoga for Switched on Living (Pan McMillan 2002) and has written for marie claire magazine (South Africa) and was a regular columnist and feature writer for body+soul (Sunday Telegraph, News Limited Australia) and Spa Life Magazine in Australia.

As a marketer, Kris draws on her 15 years experience as Group Marketing Manager with Peppers Retreats Resorts & Hotels, and as Group Synergies Manager for Stella Group. She recently worked in the Media Unit of the Australian Red Cross and now works as the Editor-in-Chief/Writer for strategic communication and design consultancy, gen.a. Kris is also the Founder of Exchange for Change – a fundraising campaign in support of Oxfam Australia.