When the city starts to feel like it’s closing in, Spa Lucca at The Anchorage in Port Stephens is not only the ideal weekend driving distance from Sydney, but offers apartment-style rooms dotted along the harbour, fine dining that’s as healthy as it is moreish and a Lomi Lomi massage that leaves you feeling as though you’re floating. The treatment starts with a tea or water in the relaxation room before heading into the sun-filled treatment space where your therapist will run through any ailments and your preferred massage style (hint – strong). The massage technique, developed in Hawaii, aligns the physical and metaphysical aspects of healing, using long strokes that traverse the body from top to bottom and wrap around the middle.

Note – you will be naked (yes, completely) for this massage but, of course, the bare essentials will be covered. Working your muscles, frame, meridian line and energy pathways, the results can aid detoxification and benefit your immune system. Post treatment you can enjoy the spa and steam, utilise the showers or simply spend the rest of the day letting your skin soak up the massage oils. If we can give any advice: take it slow, take note of your emotions and sink into that floaty feeling.