Two Styx Cabins
Friday 3 November – Sunday 5 November 2023
Cost $270 / $240 NEAS members:  bookings required a $100 deposit.
Option: Additional Sunday accommodation night at $70 per person.

The weekend brought together a small group of like minded people to explore and experience the natural flora and fauna close to the New England National Park with is stunning views and walks. And, traversing the property is the Little Styx Creek, a magical place of bubbling falls, boulders and fallen tree trunks festooned with lichen and mosses where frogs croak and bird’s flit. An exhibition ‘Forest, Farmland & Fog’ is currently on show at the, Armidale Art Gallery.

Two Styx is located on Point Lookout Rd. approx. 80K’s from Armidale on Waterfall Way.  The retreat began on the afternoon of Friday 3 November and continued through till after lunch on Sunday 5 November. The retreat will be self catered yet shared staples were purchased and covered by the fee.

Our Artist Retreat by Maria Hitchcock OAM

Many of us
have a very personal idea
of an ‘Artists Retreat’
Some regard it as a time to get away
to be creative
without the distractions of home
 
Others think of this captive time
as ‘time out’
a retreat from the cares and woes
of everyday life
no phones, no TV, no internet,
no YouTube or TikTok or instagram
a time to heal the spirits
as only an immersion in nature can do
And thus it was…
 
We came together to this place of tranquillity
beside the National Park
A place of dripping wetness
dominated by majestic gums,
a gurgling stream,
sedges, grasses and grazing cattle.
 
And drip it did
dripping fog,
dripping drizzle
which became heavier and heavier…
Enveloping us in a womb
Of creativity and friendship
 
Some of us drew and painted
getting into an artistic mental zone
that drowned out
the laughter and conversation around us
some walked among the trees
photographing,
taking in deep breaths of inspiration for later
others basked in the warmth that only a wood fire can achieve
playing board games and cards…
where did that childhood go?
 
We shared
a motley collection of foods, wine and spirits
a motley collection of stories,
a motley collection of opinions
our own life stories…
 
And so here we are
Our Artists Retreat
On the wall