The Best Ways to Unwind This Summer (Without Going on Vacay!) 

Forest bathing
Let’s face it, we’ve all spent way too much time indoors over the past 24 months. Coming from the Japanese concept shinrin-yoku, forest bathing is a great way to get reacquainted with the natural world. 

Costing exactly zero dollars, a forest bath doesn’t have to involve a full frontal saunter through your closest Royal Botanic Gardens (although this comes highly recommended) – it can take place at any local park, lake or quiet trail.

Simply take a stroll and practice mindfulness by paying close attention to the sites and sounds around you. Trust us, it pays dividends for your mental and physical health!

Cook something epic
If you can’t handle the heat, head to the kitchen! There’s plenty of incredible cookbooks and websites for you to start your culinary odyssey this summer. For pasta fanatics, Julia Nishimura’s Ostro is packed with plenty of tasty Italian, while Yotam Ottolenghi's Test Kitchen Shelf Love is a bible for foodies. 

So what are you waiting for? Get in the kitchen, hit play on your tastiest tunes and cook up a storm! 

Ice tea steeze
There’s plenty of refreshing beverage options you can make this summer that won’t leave you nursing a hangover. Ice tea has always been a revitalising warm weather option, and it’s a great way to revamp juice left in the fridge. Spend some time customising your own brew and serve it up with some fresh mint. It’ll be sure to impress anyone that drops by! As a general rule, use three tea bags for every litre of liquid.

Tie-dye to die for 
Why not spend some time customising your wardrobe this summer? The tie-dye phenomenon continues to inspire sartorial choices the world over, and the ancient technique is one of the easier methods of reinventing your old garbs. Check out our how-to and tie-dive right in!  

Turn off the TV and get lost in a good book
None of us have read as much as we’d like to in 2021. The summer break is a great time to chew through some classic or contemporary literature, with local bookshops in more need of foot traffic than ever before. If you’re a fan of autobiographies or politics, Barack Obama’s memoir A Promised Land is a ripper, while Anthony Bourdain’s World Travel is a fitting swansong for the culinary outlaw. 

Don’t forget, your state library is also the perfect place to escape the heat Down Under! 

Plantopia 
For a lot of us, the line between work and recreation has become blurred, our home offices inadvertently spilling into our personal lives. Adding a few indoor plants to your digs is a great way to wrestle back control of your all-important feng shui, and there are numerous beginner-friendly options. Consider the mother-in-law's tongue (a resilient cactus) or devil’s ivy to start. 

On ya bike! 
There’s no point reinventing the wheel; in our opinion, one of the best ways to decompress (and get some exercise) is still the bicycle. Whether you’re on or off the road, Facebook marketplace is a solid way to get hold of a bargain, and the amount of top-notch bike routes Australia has on offer is frankly awe-inspiring. Grab yourself some new cycling gear and hit the road, Jack!

Doco-loco
2021 was an epic year for thought-provoking documentaries. The Rescue tells the story of the 2018 Thai cave rescue (directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin previously worked on the death-defying Free Solo), while sports fanatics will get plenty of satisfaction from Matthew Heineman and Matthew Hamachek’s Tiger. 

For music fans, Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry is one of the best music documentaries this year.