Who we are
Your host: Mandi Gunsberger
Founder & Retreat Curator of Nourish Travel | Serial Entrepreneur | Soulful Connector
Hi, I’m Mandi Gunsberger, founder of Nourish Travel, storyteller, and passionate believer in the power of pressing pause.
Over the last two decades, I’ve launched and grown multiple businesses (including one that was acquired), raised three daughters, moved across the world, and learned that the most powerful moments often happen when we simply step away. Step away from the noise, the inbox, the to-do lists and give ourselves the space to reconnect with what really matters.
The idea for Nourish Travel first took root in Tuscany. In 2018, after selling my media company, my family and I spent a life-changing year living in the heart of the Italian countryside. While consulting from a villa, our daughters enrolled at the International School of Siena, and I fell head over heels for the people, the pace, the pasta, and the possibility of something more.
That one magical year became a mission: to design retreats that nourish not just the body, but the mind and soul. And while it all began in Tuscany, it didn’t stop there.
Today, Nourish Travel hosts boutique retreats across the globe from the rolling hills of Italy, to the untamed beauty of Botswana, to the soulful landscapes of Australia’s coastlines, vineyards, and mountains. Each retreat is curated with care, connection, and creativity for people who are ready to slow down, tune in, and experience something extraordinary.
These are not cookie-cutter holidays. They’re immersive, deeply personal experiences, filled with storytelling, movement, meaningful conversations, shared meals, quiet moments, and the kind of beauty that sneaks up on you.
Our guests are curious, open-hearted humans, men, women, solo travellers, partners, friends, from all walks of life, united by a shared desire to step off the treadmill and into something a little more nourishing.
And wherever we go, I bring with me some of the incredible people I’ve met along the way, including authors, winemakers, artists, yoga teachers, chefs, guides, and storytellers, people who help make every retreat feel rich with authenticity and connection.
So if you're craving something a little different and a little deeper, I’d love to welcome you to a Nourish retreat.
Come for the scenery, stay for the soul food. Leave feeling like you’ve come home to yourself.
Our Next Soulful Escapes With
Leigh Sales, AM
Award-winning journalist, best-selling author, master storyteller, and beloved co-host of Chat 10 Looks 3
Leigh Sales is one of Australia’s most respected and admired journalists, with a career spanning more than three decades of bringing clarity, compassion, and fierce curiosity to some of the nation’s biggest stories.
Best known for her decade-long tenure as the anchor of ABC’s flagship current affairs program 7.30, Leigh has interviewed everyone from prime ministers and global leaders to everyday Australians, navigating moments of triumph, heartbreak, and change with unmatched precision and humanity.
A gifted writer, Leigh is the author of several best-selling books, including Any Ordinary Day, a deeply moving exploration of resilience in the face of sudden life upheaval and Storytellers, a celebration of the art and craft of journalism.
She is also one half of the wildly popular Chat 10 Looks 3 podcast, where her wit, warmth, and love of books, music, culture, and connection have endeared her to a loyal audience of "Chatters" across the country.
Leigh’s rare ability to combine intellectual depth with genuine empathy shines through in every conversation she leads — whether grilling a world leader, championing a debut novel, or swapping book recommendations over a glass of wine.
At the retreats, Leigh brings her extraordinary storytelling gifts into an intimate, welcoming space, creating the perfect setting for thought-provoking workshops, fireside chats, and relaxed conversations that invite reflection, laughter, and genuine connection.
Whether you come with a story ready to tell, a question in your heart, or simply a love of books and big ideas, Leigh's sessions promise to be memorable, inspiring, and infused with the magic that happens when open minds and kindred spirits gather.
Kate Kendall: Yoga, meditation & breathework
Kate is the Co-Founder and Director of Spiritually Fit at Flow Athletic in Paddington.
With over 20 years of experience teaching locally in Australia and around the globe, her knowledge and interests move beyond the asana (physical yoga) into energetic practices, breathwork and emotional freedom techniques.
She is the author of Life in Flow, a contemporary guide to living your yoga off the mat and loves inspiring her wide audience to return to self through the science of slow. Yoga came into her life as a teacher when she needed it the most. Struggling mentally and having surrendered to the idea that she may be medicated for the rest of her life to treat depression and a chronic eating disorder, yoga and its many gifts kept her buoyant throughout her healing journey.
With her yoga teachings featured on Gaia and having Founded Flow After Dark, Australia’s largest yoga silent disco, Kate is committed to and passionate about bringing spiritually expansive experiences to all.
Her current passion project is Spiritually Fit, a three-month container during which participants undergo daily practices to return to self and get clear on what feels most important, most alive and what wants to be expressed. It’s a course that is deeply respectful of the yogic traditions and all the teachers before her and is equal parts practical and magical; it’s science meets spirituality and she returns to this curious question of “what is it to be spiritually fit in this modern world” through all her offerings both in the studio and online.
Learn more about Kate’s messaging and how she endeavours to live a life in flow at @activeyogi and www.spirituallyfit.com.au
