MY TRAVEL JOURNEY
Away from it all
Sporting champion. Public figure. Mum of four. At Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef, former Australian basketball player and Australian rules football player, Erin Phillips, found something she hadn’t had in years: stillness. In this My Travel Journey, Erin reflects on what four off-grid days gave back.
AS TOLD TO Katie Goss
It had been eight years since Tracy and I had been away together without our four kids. A night here or there, sure, but a proper trip? This was the first. A trip to celebrate my 40th birthday – we were so excited. Nervous too; evident in the very detailed childcare roster we left with both our parents. So, when we flew into Exmouth (Ningaloo), landing over that impossibly blue water, it honestly felt like we were entering another world. Neither of us had been to this part of Australia before, but from the moment we were greeted at the airport by a member of the Sal Salis team and hopped in the shuttle, we could feel the pace start to slow. I could feel my shoulders dropping a little with every kilometre as we drove through Ningaloo National Park and learned more about the rugged Cape Range. Sal Salis is a place that brings you close to nature in the best possible way, while still enjoying luxury and the staff ’s attentive care. The safari-style tent was beautiful and comfortable, but what really made it special was sitting out on the deck, looking out on the ocean, just the two of us and the view. And no phones. That was huge. Not having a device buzzing in your pocket or pulling your attention away. You could just… be. On our first night, we set our alarms for 2:00 a.m. and wandered outside to gaze at the stars. It was the most beautiful sky I had ever seen in my life. You could pick out the Milky Way with your bare eyes, and the shooting stars were so frequent it didn’t feel real. I’ve taken a mental photo of that sky, because no photograph (or description) could do it justice.
What this trip gave Tracy and I, more than anything, was quality time together. You get caught up in life’s hustle and bustle – routines, kids, school, and your own work – and forget what it feels like to be a couple. We drank our coffee slowly, took naps in the hammock and chatted. It was like when you first meet and you’re getting to know each other.
Not that we spent the whole time relaxing. Each afternoon, the next day’s snokerlling and hiking tours were listed on a chalkboard in the main lodge. Tracy, true to form, wanted to do all of them — and I’m so glad we signed up. A tour we booked in advance was swimming with whale sharks, something I’d never imagined I’d get to do, and it was one of the trip highlights. Even the juveniles are huge – gliding past you with majestic grace. You think they’ll be slow, but they move with power and speed. You’re only in the water with them for a few minutes at a time, but the experience stays with you.
Those types of never-leave-you moments happened again and again at Sal Salis. Completing the Mandu Mandu Gorge hike at sunrise. Watching stingrays and turtles flicker past while snorkelling. It was all unreal and life-affirming.
One of the unexpected joys of our stay was the communal dining. Every night before dinner, we’d gather with other guests on the deck – people from all over the world, from solo travellers to honeymooners to fellow parents like us. With no phones at the table, conversation came easily. We talked about the reef, life back home, the food, and the hikes. We shared a bottle of wine and enjoyed incredible meals with strangers, leaving us feeling like we’d known them for years.
For my 40th birthday, the team at Sal Salis even set up a candlelit dinner for two – a beautiful gesture. It was really special to have that quiet moment together and celebrate just the two of us
Part of the magic of Sal Salis were the staff – they were incredible. Every tour, every detail, was handled with such care. You could tell they loved where they were and believed in what they were doing. It didn’t feel rehearsed. You could see it in the way they spoke about the reef and the region, in how much they knew and how much they wanted us to understand it too. I came home from that trip with a new kind of clarity. I missed the kids, of course, but it reminded me how important it is to disconnect sometimes. To put the phone down, to go outside, to be present. It’s something we’ve tried to hold onto since. We even bought a caravan not long after our trip, so that we could have more of those moments as a family. More time in nature. And I think every parent, every couple, every person feeling stretched thin deserves that. Even just for a few days.