I am really excited to offer you the chance to learn and grow and share with me my favourite corner of the world.

Fernleigh is a large, working cattle station that sits in the gorgeous Upper Hunter Valley, New South Wales – about an hour out of the quiet town of Scone.

Hours from the hubbub of the city, it’s the perfect place to enter a reflective mood. The close connection with nature allows people who come there to reattach themselves to the earth and appreciate their own humanity. The isolation also offers a unique opportunity to connect with other participants in an intense and meaningful way – we often find that our guests to Fernleigh become friends for life.

Our newly built facilities include a lecture hall, 8 deluxe and 4 standard rooms. All food is prepared by Kerrie, who lovingly cooks sumptuous meals, often from home-grown vegetables, lamb and Angus beef. Special meals for people with dietary requirements can be arranged, within reason. Though if it comes to a matter of preference we prefer to encourage that everyone eat the same food, together – as we’ve found that is a powerful bonding experience.

Nights can be spent around the open outdoor fireplace, roasting marshmallows, discussing the learning’s or just staring at the stars. The clarity of the night sky that far from lights and smog of the city is absolutely awestriking – and really very humbling to observe the expanse of the Milky Way shining brightly overhead. These experiences will often strike to the core of a person, and drive the learnings deeper – adjusting one’s sense of self to align more neatly with their purpose.

I find that a change of pace, a change of place is exactly what I need to make the necessary adjustments to my life. The most profound change came when I left the incessant noisy buzz of Mumbai and went to South India for one of Sue’s courses. It was that change that caused me to move from the glamour and craziness of Bollywood to offer this course!

I feel that Fernleigh might similarly offer a sanctuary of calm, provide new challenges, and allow visitors to construct a new perspective on their life. One of the days will include a visit to ‘The Hut’ a quaint stone cabin we’ve built way up in the back country, 4,000 feet above the homestead, where we can play a friendly match of softball overlooking the Barrington tops, sip locally produced world-class wines, or simply stand and breathe the freshest air in the world.

We must offer a word of warning though – aside from the odd creature that we might spot, a few roos, an echidna, perhaps even a snake or a wombat, there is a real danger: You might never want to leave.

But that’s no problem – we’re always on the lookout for a new Jackeroo or Jillaroo.

There’s a new video about Sarah Key’s Back-in-a-Week program, which is frequently hosted on Fernleigh Academy: