If you caught my latest YT video, then you’re all up to speed. But for those of you who didn’t, I wanted to share a little peek at what I packed for our recent trip to the Blue Mountains. My husband turned 40, so to celebrate, I booked somewhere incredibly special; Emirates One and Only Wolgan Valley.
To say our stay was magical is a bit of an understatement. I’ve shared some quick highlights of our trip on Instagram here, but honestly, couldn’t have wished for a more idyllic spot. It was family friendly, and we loved seeing the native wildlife at every turn. Wombat spotting was probably one of my favourite activities…
ON THE AGENDA
First, let’s quickly run through what we had on the agenda, as that hugely informed what I packed.
- Down time
- Swimming
- Hiking
- Horse Riding
- Sunset Safari
- Dinner at the Homestead Restaurant
WHAT I PACKED
Top of mind was the weather. The Blue Mountains get chilly in the winter; often below zero and snowy, so I knew that layers would be my best friend. We got extremely lucky with the weather during our stay. Beautiful winter sun, and highs of around 14-16 deg C (and lows of -1). The weather turned the day after we left, so timing was definitely on our side.
I was also conscious that it was hard to know exactly what each day might look like. We could get there and decide we wanted to do big hikes. Or short ones. Or none at all. If we went hiking early, it might be cold. In the afternoon, pretty toasty. So I compensated by allowing myself some options. Especially for our downtime.
For my suitcase, I took the July Carry-On. I pulled out the charger to make it a little lighter. This is a great size for a three day trip, even in the thick of winter when you’re packing some rather bulky knits. I like that there’s a built in laundry bag (very handy). There’s also a laptop sleeve in the centre – genius as it means your tech is fully protected. I also used their Packing Cells, but found for me, these were best utilised to separate certain items like undergarments, and gym kit/swimwear, as I use the Marie Kondo method of folding to pack, anyway. Let me know if you’d like a proper review of this suitcase – happy to share my thoughts!
BASE LAYERS
Everlane grey pima rib tank (size XS)
Everlane white racer back tank (size S)
Everlane pumice/oat t-shirt (size S)
Ceres Life grey t-shirt (size S)
Arket brown merino long sleeve (size S/alternative)
Arket black turtleneck long sleeve (size S)
KNITS & OUTERWEAR
COS camel cashmere rib sweater (size M/old)
Marle oversized mock neck sweater (size NZ8)
H&M b/w stripe knit (size S/old)
Staple Superior black cotton knit (size M)
Marle ribbed dress (size NZ8/old)
The Curated charcoal boyfriend wool coat (size S)
BOTTOMS
Witchery blue jeans (size AU8/old)
Commando black leggings (size S)
H&M grey trousers (size S)
GYM & SWIM
Everlane navy floral bikini (size S)
Zimmermann black bikini top (size 1)
Country Road black bikini bottoms (size AU10/old)
Girlfriend Collective black leggings (size S)
Everlane black perform leggings (size S)
P.E Nation grey tank (size S)
Grana grey l/s top (size S)
Salomon X Ultra 4 Mid STX Women’s (size UK7)
SHOES & ACCESSORIES
About Arianne pumps (EU40)
Port & Paire boots (size EU39.5)
Sam Edelman nude pumps (size US9)
WHAT I WISHED I’D PACKED
If you want to see what I actually wore for each day, and a little overview of what we did during our stay, then I’d highly recommend fast forwarding to the second section of THIS video. I ended up re-wearing many of the same items, which is so typical of when I travel. A reminder I never need to pack as much as I think.
In terms of what I wished I’d brought with me? Gloves. Hands down the main thing I felt missing, especially on our last morning there. We went for a sunrise bike ride. Grabbed pastries from the breakfast buffet, and high-tailed it down to a beautiful viewing platform around 15 minutes by bike (if you’re racing) from our villa. It was so cold – in fact, it was below zero – and I was pulling the sleeves of my COS knit down over my fingers to try retain some extra warmth. Even if I only wore them once, they’re quite compact and would have made all the difference.
I also would have found a second one of those Ceres Life t-shirts handy. These are fantastic to wear with leggings due as they have a longer length through the body; both front and back. The cotton is also a decent weight, so doesn’t feel flimsy or too light. A good year rounder, in my opinion.
WHAT COULD HAVE STAYED AT HOME
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, I did take heels to an outback homestead. Why? Because the opportunity to dress up is pretty rare for me these days, so any excuse to throw on a heel and feel a little fancy is an indulgence. Did I need them? Absolutely not. I could have just as easily worn either my About Arianne pumps or my Porte & Paire boots and felt just as chic at dinner. While saving myself a little suitcase space in the meantime.
The Staple Superior knit also didn’t get a look in. I doubled down on knitwear on purpose, thinking that if I wore them hiking, they might get a little sweaty. I failed to consider that when it’s cold, you don’t perspire anywhere near as much. Or, that it’d be highly unlikely that we’d be doing any big treks. Three knits truly were ample, and at a stretch, I probably could have even just taken two.
Perhaps most surprising was that I didn’t reach for my merino layers once. These take up such little space so if I were to do the trip over I’d still bring them with me as a “just in case”. As mentioned, we were extremely fortunate with the weather. Had it not been so sunny, these would have been a staple for me.
My scarf. Again, something I thought I’d end up reaching for, but it wasn’t really practical (nor did I actually need it).
Finally, my H&M trousers. Another item I packed to have options. I love the relaxed straight fit through the leg, and they look great with both my boots and ballerina flats. Because we were hiking and being generally quite active, I actually found myself reaching for my gym leggings, and then switching into my skinny jeans when I wanted to feel a bit more dressed up.
The thing I noticed about what I was wearing? There was a commonality in the silhouette. It made putting together an outfit simple, and for a short trip, having that base uniform helps take the guesswork out of outfit planning.
If you’re planning your own trip to the Blue Mountains, I hope this guide proves helpful to give you a sense of what you might like to pack.
