Virgin Australia Voyeur — December 2017

H

ow long was it before you reached a hand out for

your mobile phone after waking up this morning?

Was it five minutes? Ten? If you made it through to

15, you’re doing well — one in every two Australians is already

scrolling by that stage. And that’s just the start of it. By the end

of the day, Australians will have collectively looked at their

phones an estimated 480 million times.

It’s no surprise then, that being separated from our

devices can cause anxiety. Science has even come up with

a term to describe this particular feeling of device-induced

distress: nomophobia, short for no-mobile-phone-phobia.

Going on holidays is no exception, with wi-fi typically

viewed as a non-negotiable accommodation feature. But for

a few years now, the trend towards low-tech and no-tech

tourism has been growing. The main benefit on offer from

not having phone reception or wi-fi? Regaining our sanity.

“I think it’s increasingly difficult for people to switch

off without a bit of help,” says Tanya Goodin, who is the

founder of UK-based digital detox consultancy Time To Log

Off and the author ofOff. “Our devices are designed to be

‘sticky’ and keep us coming back for more,” she says. “Going

to a location where the temptation to be online is completely

taken away from you is very appealing.”

Entrepreneurial types and established accommodation

providers alike have taken note. Companies such as Shacky,

which puts architecturally designed tiny houses in idyllic

and untapped locations, offer not just a bed to sleep in, but

an insight into a different, simpler way of life.

“We’ve always got a screen in front of us before we go

to bed and when we wake up,” says the chief executive of

Shacky, Andrew Hubbard. “A true escape from all that is

incredibly good for the mind and the body.”

DECEMBER 2017 VIRGIN AUSTRALIA 111

EXEC STYLE

PHOTOGRAPHY

HILARY BRADFORD PHOTOGRAPHY

Tech-Free Tourism

Wo rd s KATE LE GALLEZ

With the end of the year upon us, now is the time

to recharge mind and body with a digital detox.

Kimo Estate —

JR’s Eco Hut

Gracing a craggy hilltop near

Gundagai in rural NSW, JR’s

Eco Hut is luxury glamping

without a scrap of canvas in

sight. The hut’s architecturally

designed shape is inspired

by an A-frame tent and is

constructed from sustainable

Australian hardwood. Being

completely off-grid, there’s no

wi-fi or TV, but the views of the

Murrumbidgee Flats from the

shower and queen bed should

be distraction enough.

http://www.kimoestate.com.

Shacked Up

Some of the best digital-detox

getaways for short breaks.

Binna Burra Lodge

With accommodation options

ranging from heritage-listed

through to the modern and

contemporary, Binna Burra

has something for every

digital-detox diet. Nestled

in the World Heritage-listed

Lamington National Park

FROM MAIN

JR’s Eco Hut at

Kimo Estate; the

hut’s neat interior.

OPENER

Kimo Estate looks

over hectares of

sweeping New

South Wales

hill country.