Sun setting between trees giving off a golden glow.

What the Ridge is Saying in Guling

If you’ve been to the Ridge recently, you’ve felt it. The wind, restless and sudden. Wattle in bloom like little bursts of yellow optimism. And wombats, freshly bold, carving fresh tracks across the property.

All great views come with a breeze. Up here, the wind isn’t just a feature. It’s a messenger. It moves through the trees, across the spa, through the folds of your coat. It reminds you you’re on the edge of something. This isn’t just scenery. It’s landscape in motion.

By the calendar, we’re told it’s early spring. But on the land, the story is more nuanced.

In Melbourne, we joke about having twelve seasons a year. There’s “Fool’s Spring”, “Sprinter” and “The Swooping”, a nod to magpie season. As silly as it sounds, it reflects something true. The four-season model we inherited doesn’t quite capture what’s really happening here. The changes are too complex, too subtle, too alive.

The Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation have long known this. Their seasonal calendar includes seven distinct seasons, guided not by dates but by deep observation of the land, the sky and the behaviour of plants and animals.

A. man walking through trees along a path

A old tree framing the right side of the photo with mountains and farms in the background

Right now, we are in Guling. Orchid Season.

In the first week of September, winds pick up. Wattles are in full bloom. Native orchids start showing their faces. Animals emerge from their winter rhythm. Birds call louder and longer. Everything starts to stretch.

It’s not quite spring. Not quite winter. Something in between. A time of transition and reawakening.

At Kangaroo Ridge Retreat, this shows up in little ways. The way the stillness and mist cling to the valley below the ridgeline each morning. The brightness of the wattle lining the drive. The sound of gum leaves whooshing in the afternoon, moved by a wind that means business. And all of it experienced from the safety of your cabin, as the weather plays out across the valley.

A Season of Signals, Not Schedules

The Kulin calendar doesn’t just name the seasons. It invites us to listen for them. Here’s a brief look at the seven seasons observed across Wurundjeri Country, including the Yarra Valley:

Biderap (Dry Season, Jan to Feb): Hot, dry, restful
Iuk (Eel Season, Mar to Apr): Rain begins, eels migrate
Waring (Wombat Season, May to Aug): Cold and wet
Guling (Orchid Season, Aug to early Sept): Windy, orchids bloom, wattles peak
Poorneet (Tadpole Season, Sept to Oct): Flowers burst, tadpoles wriggle
Buath Gurru (Grass Flowering Season, Nov): Grasses bloom, thunder arrives
Garrawang, Kangaroo-Apple Season (Dec)

How to Honour Guling at the Ridge

These seasons mark more than just weather. They shape movement, behaviour and memory. They offer a rhythm grounded in real time and place.

A few ways to slip into the pace of the season:

Go slow. Take a morning walk and spot the wattles.
Tune in. Winds carry sounds differently now. Let them tell you something.
Watch the sky. The light is changing.
Soak while the wind howls. A spa is even better when the weather has a mood.

This isn’t the start of spring. It’s the season before that. One that invites you to notice the in-between. To settle into the shift.

If you’re living on the lands of the Kulin Nations, enjoy Guling! It’s a time of change. Windy but with sparkles of sunshine when it is still.

Beautiful pink and purples aurora rays across the night sky

This reflection draws on publicly shared knowledge of Kulin seasonal cycles.We are grateful to engage with what has been generously made available through:

The Koorie Seasons and Astral Calendars by VAEAI

The Kulin Nation seasonal calendar

We share this not to claim expertise but to invite awareness. We are listening, learning and honouring the stories that continue to shape this land.