Team Retreat: A Week at the Grampians.

We're a digital company, so we spend the majority of our time glued to our screens. Every now and then we like to take some time away from the office for a team getaway. This year we packed into a rented Kia Carnival and headed east to the Grampians.

Four-and-a-bit hours from our hometown, we are met with the grandeur of the Grampians. A stunning National Park packed with incredible landscapes, implausible limestone mountains, epic peaks, and abundant wildlife.

Our home for the week was a spacious Airbnb on the outskirts of town. With a communal dining table and lounge room, it was the perfect place to get together and talk big picture. Oh, and most of us slept in bunk beds.

Day 1

After dropping our gear at base camp, we made our way off the beaten path to a little waterfall 20 minutes from the house. We made some friends along the way (an emu and a blue tongue lizard) and settled back to watch Andrew fire up his drone to capture some of the amazing landscape we were experiencing.

After a very suitable feed at the local (4 parmas were ordered - parmA not parmY), we headed back to our Airbnb for beers and games of Texas Hold'em into the wee hours.

Day 2

We started the day off with a trip to the monumental MacKenzie Falls. Strong winds threatened the drones ability to fly but Andrew managed to navigate them to take some truly spectacular footage of this natural wonder.

With a cheeky smile Tony then surprised us with the group activity he had been secretly planning - abseiling and rock climbing over looking the beautiful Grampians scenery. Focusing on being a supportive team and being there for each other - I can happily report each team member made it to the top of both climbs and successfully abseiled down the rock face. An exhilarating experience that certainly left some bruises and sore muscles but one everyone would happily do again.

We cooked up an early dinner and made a quick dash to The Pinnacle lookout over sunset. Truly breathtaking views surrounded us, it was a perfect end to the trip.

Day 3

Our last morning in the Grampians before the drive home we got one last walk and view in before we headed home. Having asked the team to write down what we wanted to get out of the trip on day one Tony had held off having work discussions over the last three days. We had all expressed that we wanted to have a few days of getting to know one another more and escape from the office together.

We then managed to squeeze in 3 days worth of talks Tony had planned on the way home. Discussing the processes we have in place, how we could improve them, where each team member wanted to be and any new ideas or pathways forward for the business - 2018 was shaping up to be our best year yet.