Maybe I was always meant to live here

A 20-Year Journey Through the Magic of the Great Southern and Finally Home Near Greens Pool

Sometimes I look back at the places I've lived and feel incredibly grateful for the life I've been given. I've been lucky enough to live in some truly magical places, and each one has left me with memories I'll carry forever. Looking back now, I realise I've been collecting these little pieces of magic all along, without knowing where they would eventually lead me.

In 2006, I arrived in Perth from the UK. I'd only ever seen the east coast of Australia before that, so Perth was completely unfamiliar to me. And honestly, I didn't like it. I remember driving down the coast thinking, I really want to go back to Queensland. But our container was arriving by sea, so we had to wait for it, and in the meantime we started driving south.

Then I saw Greens Pool.

I remember looking at that incredible water and thinking, If I can live near that, I would be happy forever. It was an instant connection. I had no idea then that I would spend the next twenty years living in and around this beautiful part of the world, or that one day I'd come full circle and find myself moving into a home just six minutes from Greens Pool.

But there were many beautiful places between then and now.

There was Emu Point, where I had a view I never took for granted. Then Middleton Beach, where I lived for around seven years during so much of my son's childhood. The house sat high on the hill with floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the entire beach, so it felt like we were floating above the ocean. We could watch the waves crashing onto the sand and wake up to incredible sunrises, while the deep roar of the ocean filled the house. It was pretty magical, and I feel incredibly lucky that my son got to grow up with that as his everyday view.

Then there was the farmhouse, with the land backing onto the horse training stables. We saw a beautiful black horse being born and watched him take his very first steps, and over time I became incredibly connected to all those horses and their individual personalities. One morning at sunrise, in the rain, one of them walked over to me and licked my entire face. I just stood there, completely relaxed and without a hint of fear. It was such a pure and unexpected moment, and one of those experiences that reminds you how extraordinary life can be when you simply happen to be there.

I've also been fortunate enough to live outside the Great Southern through my work, retreats and wellbeing contracts. Byron Bay has always held a particularly special place in my heart. In 1999, I spent six months there and even climbed Mount Warning in the dark to watch the sunrise. Those months were so life-changing that when my visa was running out and I had to return to the UK, I decided then and there that I would find a way to come back to Australia for good. The process of emigrating is definitely another story for another time!

I returned to Byron in 2024 for four months through my work. For part of that time I lived centrally and could ride my bike everywhere, soaking up the music, people and energy of Byron, which made my heart beam. Later I stayed in a beautiful mansion, out near the Arakwai national park, around Tallow Beach, where the bike rides became considerably longer, but somehow that was part of the magic too. Northern NSW will probably always feel like home in my heart and I will invest more time around that area creatively. I feel super inspired there. 

Then there was the South West. I lived in Old Dunsborough on Smith Street for six months, where I had some dreamy moonrises and sunrises over the water. I later spent four months in Yallingup, between two of my favourite beaches, Smiths Beach and Yallingup. Watching the sun set at Yallingup is something I will never get tired of, there is something truly magical about that place at the end of the day.

I also loved six months in Cowaramup, living in the cutest little cow cottage, surrounded by cows and their babies. I'd sometimes practise yoga with them wandering around me, which sounds slightly ridiculous until you've actually experienced it. It was wonderfully peaceful and one of those quirky little chapters of life that I wouldn't trade for anything.

When I look back at all these places, I don't feel like I'm leaving them behind. I feel incredibly grateful that I've had the opportunity to experience them at all. Each one gave me something different,  the ocean, animals, sunrises, moonrises, my son's childhood, horses, beaches, bikes, yoga, nature, freedom, beautiful people and so many moments that could never have been planned.

Some of these homes came through wellbeing contracts and work, giving me the opportunity to live in places I might never otherwise have experienced. Others were simply chapters that unfolded as life does.

And now I'm moving again.

I'm leaving my cute little valley home just outside Denmark, near the maze on Monday, heading to Bremer Bay for a little refreshing visit, then moving into my new home on Thursday.

And here's the part that makes me smile.

I'm going to be six minutes from Greens Pool.

Twenty years ago, when I first saw that place, I said that if I could live near it, I'd be happy forever. I've lived 45 minutes away, then 25 minutes away. I've been close enough to visit, but never close enough for it to become part of my everyday life.

Until now.

I think that's why this move feels so different. It's not just about finding another beautiful place to live. It's about coming back to something that has quietly stayed with me for twenty years.

I know myself well enough now to know that the ocean is where I get my energy. At my new home, I won't have to make such an effort to get to it. Greens Pool will be six minutes away, the beaches I love will be close, and I can swim, paddleboard, walk, watch the sunrise or sunset, or simply head down there because I feel like it. I can even see Parry's from my new home.

The ocean will become part of everyday life again, and perhaps that's the icing on the cake.

After twenty years of living in and around this beautiful part of the world, after all the different houses, contracts and chapters, I'm finally moving to the place where I first felt that little spark of this feels like home.

I don't know what the next chapter will bring, and I don't need to. Right now, I'm just feeling incredibly grateful.

Grateful for every place I've lived. For the waves crashing onto Middleton Beach while my son was growing up. For that black horse taking his first steps. For the horse who stood in the rain and licked my entire face. For dreamy Meelup moonrises around Dunsborough and sunsets at Yallingup. For cows and their babies wandering around while I practised yoga. For Byron Bay, Mount Warning, bike rides, beaches, beautiful homes, incredible landscapes and all the people and experiences that came with them.

And grateful that sometimes, without even realising it, we really do find our way back to the places that made our hearts stop for a moment the first time we saw them.

Twenty years later, I'm finally six minutes away.

Maybe that girl who arrived in Australia in 2006 knew something after all.

Greens Pool, I'm coming home. 🌊❤️