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From Summer Holidays to a Life on the Murray, Our Story
How a family holiday more than 30 years ago became a lifelong connection to Echuca Moama, and eventually, Wisps of Wool Retreat.
Sometimes the smallest decisions in life take us somewhere we could never have imagined.
More than 30 years ago, Rowan and I packed up our four children and headed to Echuca Moama for a summer holiday. We had no idea then that those few days on the Murray River would become an annual family tradition, let alone shape the next three decades of our lives.
We stayed at Riverside Caravan Park in Moama, now known as Moama Riverside Holiday Park, and like so many Australian families, we quickly fell in love with the simplicity of summer holidays by the river.
I remember thinking that we hadn't needed a jumper once!
Family and friends enjoying a summer holiday at Moama Beach
The children practically lived in their bathers. They fished from the jetty, rode their bikes around the caravan park, swam at Moama Beach and made friends with other holidaying families.
Our mornings often began with a walk across the old bridge into Echuca, and the days seemed to stretch on forever.
One of my fondest memories is of the caravan park caretaker riding around ringing his bell as the sun began to set. All the children knew that meant it was time to come home.
There was such a wonderful sense of freedom in those days. Nothing particularly organised, nothing complicated. Just long summer days, the river, and time together.
Looking back, I think that was what made those holidays so special.
A place we kept coming back to; year after year we returned.
As the children grew, so did our connection to the Murray. It became so much more than somewhere we went on holidays. It was a familiar place filled with memories, a place we looked forward to returning to, and somewhere we could simply enjoy being together.
Eventually, Rowan and I began to wonder what it might be like to live here.
We even rented a house in Echuca for six months, just to see whether we loved the region as much outside of holiday mode. We did.
In 2009, we found a beautiful piece of land at Torrumbarry, surrounded by black box trees and only a short distance from the Murray River.
There was something about that place that felt right.
We had no grand plan to create a tourism business. We simply wanted somewhere our family could continue to come together, somewhere our children, and eventually our grandchildren, could make memories of their own.
In 2011, our family holiday home was completed.
A home filled with memories
Our first Christmas at Torrumbarry was one we'll never forget.
We moved into the house on Christmas Eve 2011, just in time to celebrate our first Christmas there the very next day.
It was the beginning of a new chapter for our family, and I can't think of a more fitting way to have begun it than being together at Christmas.
Over the years, the house became part of so many more family memories.
Our son married at Perricoota Station in 2013, and later our nephew celebrated his wedding at our property. There have been countless family gatherings, shared meals, celebrations and quiet moments in between.
In 2019, Rowan and I made the Murray region our permanent home. And somewhere along the way, our family holiday house began another chapter.
What was originally known as The Shearing Shed House evolved into Wisps of Wool Retreat, a place where we could welcome others to experience a little of what had drawn us to this part of the world all those years ago.
Today, Wisps sits among the trees at Torrumbarry, around 20 minutes from Echuca Moama, offering a peaceful country retreat close to the Murray River. It's a place for slowing down, spending time with the people who matter, celebrating life's milestones or simply enjoying a few days away from the everyday.
Although the house has evolved, the feeling we hoped to create has never really changed.
The Way We Holidayed, our story comes full circle
Earlier this year, Murray Regional Tourism invited people to share their memories and photographs as part of The Way We Holidayed, a campaign celebrating the holiday traditions that have connected generations of families to the Murray region.
I began looking back through our old family photographs, remembering those summers at the caravan park and the children playing on the sand beneath the old bridge.
It was quite emotional revisiting those years.
So much has changed, of course. The children have grown, we have grandchildren now, and life has taken us in directions we could never have anticipated.
But the Murray is still here, and so is that sense of belonging we felt all those years ago.
Our family's story was chosen to be brought to life in a beautiful animated film, using our own photographs and memories, with me narrating the story.
Seeing those memories come together in this way has been a very special experience.
With thanks to Murray Regional Tourism for including our family in The Way We Holidayed campaign and bringing these memories to life.
From holidaymakers to hosts
There's something quite wonderful about the way life sometimes comes full circle.
All those years ago, we were the family arriving in Echuca Moama, excited about another summer holiday.
Today, Rowan and I are the ones welcoming people to this beautiful part of the Murray. And I often wonder about the families, couples and friends who come to stay at Wisps.
Will they look back on their time here in years to come and remember the laughter around the table, the quiet mornings, the river, or simply the pleasure of being together without the usual distractions?
Perhaps a first visit will become a family tradition, just as ours did.
Because when I think about those early holidays, it's not the things we did or the places we visited that I remember most.
It's how those days made us feel.
And more than 30 years later, I think that's still what makes a holiday truly special.
With warm wishes,
Lynn
Come and make some Murray memories of your own
Nestled among the black box trees at Torrumbarry, just 20 minutes from Echuca Moama, Wisps of Wool Retreat welcomes guests for restorative country stays, intimate celebrations and time together near the Murray River.
Whether you're returning to a place you've always loved or discovering the region for the first time, we'd love to welcome you.
Explore Wisps of Wool Retreat: www.wispsofwoolretreat.com.au
Discover more about Murray Regional Tourism's The Way We Holidayed campaign.
Bring the Boat: the Murray is just 3.1 km from Wisps
There is a particular kind of summer that belongs to the Murray River.
Bare feet. Sun-warmed skin. Towels over the fence.
The hum of a boat being readied in the morning, and that delicious tiredness that comes after a whole day spent on the water. And when you stay at Wisps of Wool Retreat in Torrumbarry, near Echuca Moama, you don't have far to go.
The Headworks Road Boat Ramp on the Murray River is just 3.1 kilometres from Wisps of Wool Retreat.
Bring the boat, bring the waterskis, bring the wakeboard. The Murray is 300m from your doorstep.
Murray River boating, just minutes from Wisps
One of the quiet pleasures of staying at Wisps is just how easy it is to make the Murray River part of every summer day.
Just 3.1 km from the retreat, the Headworks Road Boat Ramp provides easy access to a beautiful wide, deep stretch of the Murray River at Torrumbarry. It's a wonderful part of the river for boating, waterskiing and wakeboarding, with the added pleasure of being away from the busier stretches of the Murray closer to Echuca Moama.
No long drive before the day begins.
No long journey home when everyone is sun-kissed, hungry and tired.
Load up the boat, pack the esky and towels and, within minutes of leaving Wisps, you can be at the boat ramp ready for a day on the Murray.
River days, Wisps evenings
Head out while the morning is still soft.
Take turns behind the boat. Waterski, wakeboard, swim, find somewhere beneath the river red gums for lunch, then head back out and make the most of those long summer afternoons.
When you've had enough water and sunshine for one day, your Murray River accommodation is only a few minutes away.
Back through the gate.
Boat parked.
Wet towels hung up.
Something cold poured into a glass.
Dinner sizzling on the BBQ while everyone retells the day's adventures.
Then perhaps a soak in the warm magnesium plunge pool as the light begins to disappear through the gums.
This is the other half of a Murray River holiday.
Boat-friendly accommodation near Echuca Moama
Wisps of Wool Retreat is a whole-house stay at Torrumbarry, around 20 minutes from Echuca Moama, with four queen bedrooms and accommodation for up to eight guests. That makes Wisps particularly suited to families and groups of friends planning a Murray River boating holiday together.
Bring another family. Bring your grown-up children. Gather the friends who love being on the water as much as you do.
And if not everyone wants to spend the whole day behind the boat, that's perfectly fine too. Some can head for the Murray while others stay behind for a quiet morning at Wisps, coffee on the verandah, a book, a wander outside, or simply nowhere they need to be.
Everyone comes back together at the end of the day.
A quieter side of the Murray River
There is plenty to love about the energy of Echuca Moama, but sometimes summer calls for somewhere a little quieter.
Here at Torrumbarry, the bush begins to take over.
The pace softens.
And this beautiful stretch of the Murray offers space for the kind of boating days summer holidays were made for.
All while your home away from home is just 3.1 km from the Headworks Road Boat Ramp.
Planning a Murray River boating holiday?
If you're searching for Murray River accommodation near a boat ramp, Wisps of Wool Retreat gives you the best of both worlds.
Bring the boat.
Bring the waterskis.
Bring the wakeboard.
Bring the towels, the esky, the children and the friends you never seem to have enough time with.
Spend your summer days boating, waterskiing and wakeboarding on the Murray River, then come home to the bush, the BBQ, the magnesium pool and the stillness of Wisps.
Wisps of Wool Retreat, Torrumbarry, near Echuca Moama.
Headworks Road Boat Ramp, just 3.1 km away.
Close enough to make the Murray part of every day.
Far enough away to come home to quiet.
River days. Bush evenings. Summer at Wisps.
When did we forget that simply living was enough?
Somewhere along the way, many of us learned that every part of life should lead somewhere. Our work should become more successful, our hobbies should become businesses, our exercise should improve our fitness, and our holidays should be productive.
Even rest has become something we try to optimise.
Everything seems to need a purpose, a result, a measurable outcome. I wonder when we stopped believing that simply experiencing something could be enough. It's something I've been thinking about lately.
As I've grown older, success has quietly changed its shape. There was a time when I believed I had to keep striving. Keep building. Keep proving that I was capable, productive, and achieving. Now, at this stage of life, I'm becoming far more interested in something else.
Presence.
Not because ambition is wrong, but because I've discovered that some of the richest moments in life can never be measured. They're found in conversations that wander without urgency. Watching the evening light move across a paddock. Laughing around a table long after the meal has finished. Sitting quietly beside a river without feeling the need to fill the silence.
They don't produce anything. They don't earn applause. No one congratulates you for them. Yet somehow they become the moments we remember.
I think many women reach midlife carrying an invisible weight.
We spend years caring for others, working, organising, achieving, and being dependable. We become so accustomed to being useful that we almost forget how to simply be.
Perhaps that's why slowing down can feel surprisingly uncomfortable at first.
Without the constant doing, we're left sitting with ourselves, and maybe that's exactly where something beautiful begins.
Not transformation.
Not reinvention.
Just a gentle remembering.
Remembering who we are when nobody needs anything from us.
Remembering what brings us joy when no outcome is expected. Remembering that our worth has never depended on how much we accomplish.
The older I become, the more I believe this.
A meaningful life isn't built only through achievements. It's built through moments of presence.
Perhaps we don't need another thing to accomplish. Perhaps we simply need more moments that ask nothing of us except that we arrive.
And perhaps that is enough.
Rest Begins Here: A Restorative Retreat in Regional Victoria
In a world where “busy” is worn like a badge of honour, true rest has quietly become radical.
At Wisps of Wool Retreat, nestled in the bushland of Torrumbarry near Echuca Moama in regional Victoria, we believe rest is not indulgent; it is essential.
The Evening Light Immersion was created for women who carry much. Women who lead, care, build, manage, and hold responsibility with quiet competence. Women who rarely experience space without expectation. This is not escape, it's recalibration.
A Different Kind of Women’s Retreat
Wisps of Wool Retreat is not a resort, and it's not a spa.
It is not a structured wellness program filled with back-to-back sessions; it's much slower than that. Our four-night restorative immersion (Sunday to Thursday) offers privacy, spaciousness, and thoughtful support in a bushland setting designed for deep exhalation, with each immersion being limited to three women.
Why Restorative Travel Matters
Burnout has become common, particularly among professional women, caregivers, leaders, and creatives.
High-functioning fatigue often goes unnoticed. It doesn’t look dramatic. It looks capable.
We recognise it because we have lived it.
Wisps of Wool Retreat is our response, shaped by lived experience, rural grounding, and a belief that regional Victoria offers something increasingly rare: silence, space, and perspective.
Restorative travel is not about indulgence. It is about nervous system regulation, creative renewal, and long-term sustainability.
Four unhurried nights can change how a woman returns to her life.
A Stay That Stays With You
Guests often leave saying the same quiet sentence: “I didn’t realise how much I needed this.” They sleep more deeply, breathe more slowly and they soften.
Sometimes there are tears. Sometimes laughter. Often both.
It is not something we manufacture.
It happens because the conditions are right:
Privacy.
Beauty.
Stillness.
Respect for pace.
When women are trusted to listen to themselves, restoration follows naturally.
The Evening Light Immersion
The Evening Light Immersion is a small-group women’s retreat in regional Victoria designed for:
• Midlife women navigating transition
• Professional women experiencing burnout
• Leaders seeking recalibration
• Women who value depth over spectacle
Ready to Rebalance?
If something in you has been quietly asking for space, not reinvention, simply space, this may be your threshold.
Three women.
Four nights.
Unhurried. Intentional. Held.
Enquiries are welcome for upcoming Evening Light Immersion dates.
📍 Wisps of Wool Retreat | Torrumbarry VIC
A restorative women’s retreat in regional Victoria
📩 Enquire now to begin your Threshold Conversation
When the Ending You Didn’t Choose Becomes the Beginning You Needed
Sometimes what feels like loss is simply the loosening of something that no longer fits.
After 22 years in a workplace where I had given deeply of myself, I accepted a voluntary redundancy. At the time, it felt personal, tender and disorientating. I questioned my relevance, I wondered whether I had quietly become invisible.
With time, I saw it differently; it wasn’t that I had reached my use-by date, it was that my voice had outgrown the room.
What felt like loss slowly revealed itself as space, space to ask questions I had postponed for years:
Who am I now?
What matters at this stage of life?
What kind of contribution feels true?
Many women in midlife reach this threshold. A career shift. A redundancy. A health scare. A quiet sense of misalignment. These moments can feel destabilising, yet they are often invitations.
For me, that invitation led inward.
I immersed myself in learning, community, and self-exploration. I trained as a facilitator, walked the Murray River most mornings, cared for my daughter through her health struggles, and slowly began rediscovering who I was beyond roles and expectations.
When COVID paused the world, I paused too.
What emerged was not a dramatic reinvention, but a deeper clarity: women do not need more pressure to transform. They need safe places to rest and from that understanding, Wisps of Wool Retreat evolved.
From there, the Evening Light Immersion was born, a private women’s restorative retreat in regional Victoria, designed for professional and midlife women who are carrying more than they let on.
It is not a program nor a performance of wellness. It is four unhurried nights of privacy, nourishment, and space to recalibrate.
Sometimes the ending we resist is simply the doorway we cannot yet see.
And sometimes, the light we need most appears in the evening.
When You Outgrow the Room
There is a moment that doesn’t announce itself. You sit in a meeting, hear familiar language but notice something subtle. You no longer fit here the way you once did. Nothing dramatic has happened, but something inside you has shifted.
You have grown quieter, or clearer or less willing to perform.
You begin to sense that the room, the workplace, the role, and an identity that has become too small.
At first, you question yourself.
Am I becoming difficult?
Am I losing my edge?
Am I less capable?
But sometimes the truth is gentler than that; sometimes you have simply expanded. Midlife often brings this expansion.
After decades of responsibility, achievement, caregiving, and leadership, a different desire emerges.
For less noise, less proving yourself and for more alignment and integrity between who you are and how you live.
Outgrowing the room can feel like rejection, but more often, it is refinement, and refinement requires space.
Evening Light Immersion was created for women standing in that space.
Not because something is broken, but because something deeper is asking to be honoured, sometimes we do not need a new room. We just need a quieter one.
begin your Threshold Conversation
As featured in Delicious magazine
"Luxury bush house with an outdoor
bath and river access"
read the full article here:
A Show-Stopper in Australian Design
Renowned architectural critic Gary Takle was captivated by the warmth and innovative design of Torrumbarry’s 'Trishlida on Dhungala.' Inspired by the traditional shearing shed, this unconventional home was chosen to debut on the first episode of Foxtel’s Australia’s Best Homes, showcasing the blend of rustic charm and modern comfort that defines our space.
Introducing Wisps of Wool:
A New Chapter for a Timeless Space
For years, The Shearing Shed House has been a sanctuary, a place where memories have been created, stories shared, and connections deepened. Today, we’re honoured to share its evolution as we embrace a new name that reflects not just what this space is but what it feels like: Wisps of Wool.
Inspired by the soft threads of wool that echo the property’s heritage, Wisps of Wool represents the delicate balance between past and present. It’s a name that celebrates the essence of our retreat—the peace of golden sunsets, the connection to the bushland, and the warmth of moments shared.
In this new chapter, we’re weaving even more into the experience. The addition of our outdoor bath, where you can soak under the stars surrounded by the sounds of nature, and the new plunge pool, nestled into the landscape and positioned to catch the stunning hues of sunset, bring new layers of luxury and tranquility to our guests.
We’ve poured love into every detail, from lanolin-oiled floors to the carefully curated interiors that tell stories of the land and its people. But it’s not just about the place—it’s about what the place makes you feel. At Wisps of Wool, it’s about grounding yourself in nature, slowing down, and letting the beauty of the bush work its magic.
We invite you to be part of this exciting journey. Whether you’re visiting for an intimate event, a restorative stay, or simply to immerse yourself in the tranquil beauty of the Murray region, Wisps of Wool is ready to welcome you.
Stay tuned as we continue to craft and share this evolving story. We can’t wait to see where this new name—and the heart it represents—takes us.
