You’re a hippie
Fifty years on from the legendary Summer of Love, there are still plenty of places around the world to peace out on holiday, writes
If the daily grind is killing your vibe, it’s probably high time you took the kind of physically and mentally restorative holiday that’ll really get your groove back.
Say what you like about the hippies, they knew a thing or two about cheap and meaningful travel. Determined not to let The Man get them down, they sought out destinations that would help them shake off the shackles of capitalist society and embrace alternative ways of living. Following the fabled ‘‘Hippie Trail’’ westward through Europe, the Middle East and Asia, these free thinkers were chasing spiritual enlightenment as well as a good time.
Fifty years on from that highpoint of hippie culture – the Summer of Love in San Francisco – there are still plenty of places to go if you feel like dropping out of your regular routine for a while and embracing your inner bohemian. Which isn’t to say you need to ditch the shampoo and deodorant and dial a dealer. Unlike the original hippies, who sought nirvana in psychedelic drugs, modern-day hippies are more about finding peace and happiness through yoga, meditation, clean and sustainable living and embracing the outdoors.
Here are a few places to consider the next time you need to peace out for a bit and indulge in a spot of soul-searching or pure, unadulterated pleasure-seeking.
Raglan
Diehard surfers are often hippies at heart, finding solace and a sense of connection to something greater than themselves in the open ocean. Champion surfer Kelly Slater once described surfing as his religion, likening riding through the barrel of a breaking wave to being in the womb. It makes sense then that Raglan – with its world famous surf breaks set amid stunning native scenery – has become a haven for surfers, modern hippies, artists, environmentalists and alternative lifestylers. Stay in ecofriendly digs and hang 10 at broad, black-sanded beaches like Manu or Whale bays before refuelling at one of the many health-focused cafes and restaurants.
Browse local artists’ creations in the innumerable galleries, take a head-clearing bushwalk to Bridal Veil Falls or simply get your zen on at often deserted Ruapuke Beach. Yogis should check out The Raglan Yoga Loft, where you can flex your way back into alignment in a light-filled studio in the Old Dairy Co-op Building and take special classes such as the divine-sounding candlelit yin yoga set to ‘‘live music to travel around the world’’. Nearby Solscape is a modern hippie’s dream with a surf school, yoga centre and holistic therapies and workshops aimed at improving your health and wellbeing. Its onsite cafe, The Conscious Kitchen – open November through April – serves up organic, plant-based fare, with many ingredients sourced from its permaculture gardens.
Byron Bay, Australia
It’s the vibe, locals say, that sets Byron apart from the myriad other surf towns scattered along this long stretch of squeaky whitesanded coastline. Byron is set in the basin of a volcano that was active 23 million years ago; some say the substratum of black obsidian it left behind has infused it with a special energy. Its original inhabitants, the Bundjalung people, honoured it as a site for sacred rituals and healing and, these days, it’s an epicentre of New Age living.
It’s impossible not to feel at one with the world as you walk the Cape Byron Track, passing Bangalow palm-fringed Wategos and Little Wategos beaches and rounding the easternmost point on the Australian mainland below