The Injury That Changed Everything: How a Cancelled Trek Led Julie to the Bali Retreat She Never Expected

Postcards Home … with Emily Darlow

When Sydney woman Julie Dufficy boarded a plane for Bali in June this year, it wasn’t the holiday she’d planned.

The 54-year-old, who has spent the past 19 years working in child protection, was supposed to be heading to Sumatra for a demanding 10-day trek with a group of women she’d previously completed the Kokoda Track with. Instead, a knee injury just six weeks before departure forced her to withdraw from the adventure she had spent months training for.

“I was devastated,” Julie said.

“Doing these hikes has become my way of getting away, meeting new people and challenging myself. Having to pull out so close to leaving was really hard.”

Hiking had become an important part of Julie’s life a few years earlier. After her two sons left home, she found herself looking for something that would keep her fit, challenge her and introduce her to new people. She joined a women’s hiking company that specialises in overseas treks for women over 45 travelling solo and soon found herself tackling hikes across Australia, New Zealand, England and Scotland before taking on the Kokoda Track in 2024.

It was the toughest challenge she had ever faced.

A serious fall left her with a fractured knee and she had to be airlifted out, followed by months of rehabilitation before she could start hiking again. Determined not to let the injury define her, she set her sights on a 10-day trek through Sumatra in 2026 with the same group of women she had met on Kokoda.

Then, just six weeks before departure, she injured the same knee during a training run.

Rather than cancelling the trip altogether, Julie realised she could still travel to Indonesia before continuing on to Sri Lanka, where she was due to meet her husband for a holiday. Looking for another way to spend the week, she stumbled across a yoga retreat in Ubud.

“It felt like exactly what I needed.”

That search led her to Goddess Retreats, which happened to have one place available.

“It honestly felt like it was meant to be.”

The timing couldn’t have been better.

Like many women in their 50s, Julie had been navigating a season of enormous change. Along with the physical and emotional challenges of menopause, she was adjusting to becoming an empty nester after her two sons left home. She had also spent the previous year caring for and advocating for her mother through illness before she passed away in early 2025.

“I just wanted to reset, get out of my head for a while and find some comfortable silence.”

Travelling alone wasn’t something that worried her.

She had travelled solo before and says Bali is one destination she has always found welcoming and easy to navigate. The warmth of the Balinese people and the fact everything at the retreat was organised, from airport transfers to accommodation, made the experience even easier.

From the moment she arrived in Ubud, she knew she had made the right decision.

“Walking through the gates felt like stepping into an oasis.”

She was greeted with a welcome drink and freshly baked banana bread before being shown to her room, where flower petals spelling out her name decorated the bed. A swimming pool sat just outside her door, while massages, facials and wellness treatments had already been scheduled for the coming days.

“I remember sitting by the pool with a smoothie thinking, ‘Yes … this is exactly what I need.'”

Life at the retreat quickly settled into a gentle rhythm.

Each day flowed between yoga sessions, nourishing breakfasts, healing treatments, spa appointments and quiet moments by the pool. There was no pressure to rush anywhere or tick off a sightseeing list. Instead, the focus was simply on slowing down.

“You were completely looked after from the moment you arrived. I found myself just floating through each day.”

Although she initially struggled to quiet what she calls the “head noises”, she gradually found herself switching off.

One treatment, in particular, proved life-changing.

For months, menopause had robbed Julie of a decent night’s sleep. Hot flushes, night sweats and the familiar 2am wake-up followed by racing thoughts had become part of her nightly routine.

At the retreat she experienced the Celestial Somatic Sleep Therapy, beginning with an infrared sauna and mineral bath before moving into red light therapy, a scalp and temple massage and a vagal nerve massage designed to calm the nervous system.

“I’ve never felt so relaxed,” she said.

“The therapist practically had to help me back to my room because I was so sleepy.”

For the first time in months, she slept soundly through the night.

The change was so dramatic she even slept through two morning yoga sessions.

“I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept in,” she laughed.

While the treatments were unforgettable, Julie says it was the women she met who made the biggest impact.

Thirteen women from Australia, England, Kuala Lumpur and the United States had all arrived on their own, each carrying their own story.

Some were navigating career changes, others were recovering from relationship breakdowns, grieving the loss of loved ones or simply looking for a fresh start.

Although they came from different backgrounds and generations, they quickly found common ground.

“As we sat in a circle introducing ourselves, I realised I wasn’t alone.”

Listening to the other women share their stories helped Julie recognise many of the same worries and self-doubts in herself.

For someone who doesn’t naturally find meeting new people easy, she was surprised by how comfortable the environment felt.

There was no pressure to share more than you wanted to, no judgement and no expectation. Some conversations were deeply personal, while other moments were spent simply enjoying the rare comfort of quiet company.

The experience also changed the way Julie thought about menopause.

She believes many women silently battle symptoms such as sleep deprivation, anxiety, brain fog and irritability without feeling they have permission to talk about them openly.

“It can be minimised as, ‘You’re just in a bad mood today’, when sometimes you’re simply exhausted,” she said.

Being surrounded by women who understood those challenges without explanation became one of the most valuable parts of the retreat.

Julie also fell in love with Bali itself.

Beyond the peaceful surrounds of Ubud, she found herself inspired by the kindness of the Balinese people and their strong sense of family, community and gratitude.
“The culture and warmth of the Balinese people really stayed with me. It’s a beautiful reminder of what is important in our own lives.”

After the retreat ended, Julie wasn’t quite ready to return to everyday life.

Instead, she spent three peaceful days alone in Sanur before flying to Sri Lanka to meet her husband.

She wandered along the beachfront, browsed local shops, swam, read books, enjoyed room service on her balcony and happily took herself out to dinner each evening, spending hours simply watching the world go by.

Rather than feeling lonely, she discovered a real sense of freedom in travelling alone.

Each morning she could wake up and decide exactly how she wanted to spend the day, with no plans, no commitments and nowhere she had to be.

She never once felt unsafe and says Bali is an ideal destination for women wanting to experience solo travel for the first time.

Looking back now, Julie believes missing out on the Sumatra trek turned out to be one of life’s unexpected gifts.

“What started as a huge disappointment became one of those sliding doors moments,” she said.

“The retreat gave me the reset I needed. I quietened the head noise, slept properly and came home feeling like myself again.”

Her experience has also changed the advice she gives other women who are thinking about travelling on their own.

Whether it’s worrying about eating in a restaurant alone, not knowing anyone or stepping outside their comfort zone, Julie believes those fears are often far greater than the reality.

“You don’t need to know anyone. You don’t need to be brave every minute. Just book the trip,” she said.

“You might be surprised by what you find when you give yourself permission to put yourself first.”

To learn more about Goddess Retreats or explore the range of wellness experiences available, visit https://www.goddessretreats.com/