SORREL WILBY ‘OLDER WOMEN BRING MORE TO THE TABLE'
AFTER A CONTROVERSIAL AXING FROM GETAWAY, SORREL CARVED OUT HER OWN PATH
Sorrel Wilby is whale watching through her kitchen window as she washes up. The former Getaway presenter has finally found her perfect destination after a lifetime of travel, buying the easternmost house in Australia on beautiful Norfolk Island.
Even the dullest chore seems special when there’s a school of playful humpbacks frolicking in the deep blue sea below the clifftop home she shares with husband, Chris Ciantar. As Sorrel says, “It’s quite crazy seeing whales in the ocean right outside, and hearing them slap their tails on the water. We just love it.”
It’s more than 15 years since the intrepid TV presenter, filmmaker, writer, photographer, artist and adventurer was controversially
dropped from Getaway.
Then in her early 40s, Sorrel’s “use-by date” had expired in the eyes of executives, despite nine years reporting for Australia’s longest-running lifestyle program, from 1996 to 2005.
“Cosmetic surgery is not my scene, you know, definitely not,” grins the vibrant mother of two, who recently turned 60.
“Older women probably get more opportunities now. Let’s hope so! I’d like to think we bring something else to the table for sure, that we are more valued for our experience than our looks.”
If success is the best revenge, Sorrel certainly showed those ageist bosses their mistake. In a shrewd future-proofing investment, she and cameraman Chris bought Norfolk Island’s TV station and moved their young family there in 2001. Next Sorrel went on to front, direct and produce documentaries for National Geographic, the ABC and Australian Geographic – whose film division she
‘COSMETIC SURGERY IS NOT MY SCENE ... DEFINITELY NOT!’
started – among other highprofile gigs. Ironically, one of her recent jobs involved “repurposing” old Getaway footage to make a new “world’s best” natural history series.
Wandering off the beaten track is something
Sorrel has always relished. She was the first female Westerner to trek 3000km solo across Tibet and became part of the Australian Bicentennial Everest Expedition. She cycled 17,000km through Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and Thailand, climbed Africa’s highest peaks and, with Chris, notched up another first: crossing the Himalayas on foot.
“It’s no secret I did the more adventurous stuff on Getaway too. It’s in my DNA,” Sorrel admits. “I’m just so grateful I got to film in Antarctica in the early days when hardly anyone travelled there. I remember standing in a crowd of 100,000 penguins. My idea of heaven.
“There were about a billion experiences like that on the road, but also the people
I worked with – and the relationships I still have with all of them – were fantastic. They are my best friends and we just had such a good time.
If anyone said it was hard work, they are definitely lying!
“I don’t regret a single day of that life or the life I’ve led since. To be honest, if the best place you’ve ever been isn’t where you are on any given day, you’re not getting the best out of your life. Everywhere is special.”
But nowhere, according to Sorrel, is more special than her beloved island. She missed it horribly when the family relocated to Canberra for three and a half years. Son Aden, now 22, gained his Bachelor of Science degree at the Australian National University (ANU) and daughter Ruby, 18, graduated from high school in the national capital, but Sorrel “pined for Norfolk [no pun intended] every day” she was away.
She and Chris, 64, always planned to return but COVID-19 – and finding their ideal home for sale online – hurried the plan along.
“We thought we couldn’t afford the house, but in the end it kept telling me I couldn’t afford not to buy it,” Sorrel smiles. “This is paradise, regional Australia, but surrounded by ocean, with whales.”
The couple, who celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary this year, moved to their two-bedroom, clifftop slice of paradise in January. With panoramic sea views and a lush green garden, they grow most of their own produce and even plan to make a signature gin, Sozzled!
“We love where we are because we’re really immersed in nature here,” says Sorrel, who still rides her bike every day and bush walks several times a week.
“We watch the dawn every morning and see the full moon rise out of the ocean, which is freaking incredible – too beautiful for words. It is very, very difficult to work here, which is why I have retired!”