As the sun sets on summer for another year, we reflect on the season past with photographer and wood turner Montana Purchase. Montana is based in beachside Tugun on the Gold Coast and recently launched Montana World, which is both a gallery of her photography and a store for her wood turning projects. Armed with her camera, Montana spent the summer surfing the NSW coast with her partner Ambrose McNeill, and in a photo diary for Assembly Label she shares precious moments from her travels. Muses Montana: “We travel in summer to break routine and remind ourselves of the joy of life outside the Monday to Friday grind. To be inspired by seeing new places and meeting new people. To enjoy the freedom of being and give thanks for the beautiful place we live in”.
Montana wears the Renn Rib Tank with the Wide Stripe Towel in True Navy.
Montana wears the Scoop Neck One Piece in Black.
Where did you travel this summer?
Ambrose and I spent a couple of weeks road-tripping our way down the NSW coast. We started with a sunny Christmas in Byron, then New Years on the river at Angourie, camping on a small free range cattle farm by the creek in Bellingen, and then surfing at Seal Rocks and Blueys Beach, with lots of surf spot visits in between. Before that we were island-hopping in Greece, surfing in Portugal and walking the city streets of Spain. It’s been a beautiful summer!
What makes this destination special to you?
Bellingen has such a special feeling. The moment you hit the Never Never Creek bed you enter a kind of peacefulness; time slows down. This kind of travelling is about enjoying life’s simple pleasures — a cold fresh water creek on a hot day, cooking on the fire, following where the weather and winds take you with no agenda.
How would you describe the landscape in a few words?
Rolling, peaceful, abundant, nurturing.
Must-see site?
You must get a gelato at Bellingen’s beautiful art deco gelato shop. I enjoyed a spiced apricot and rhubarb gelato made with local apricots.
Favourite swimming spot?
The Never Never Creek in Bellingen, or Cellito Beach near Seal Rocks.
“This kind of travelling is about enjoying life’s simple pleasures — a cold fresh water creek on a hot day, cooking on the fire, following where the wind takes you with no agenda.”
What is your ultimate summer uniform?
Throughout summer I can be found wearing a swimsuit with a men’s button up shirt, and not much more.
Song played on repeat this past summer?
My Boy by Marlon Williams, and Okay Okay by Pino D’Angiò. Nothing like a bit of Italian disco to have a dance to on a long drive.
What were you reading during your travels?
I have been deep into Dolores Cannon’s The Convoluted Universe books, and learning about the power of the mind with The Wim Hof Method.
What words come to mind when you reflect on the past summer?
Fish on the bbq, salty skin, after-dinner swims, ice blocks all day, complete gratitude.
Montana wears the Raffia Bucket Hat with the Clemence Crochet Shirt in Dune.
Ambrose wears the Ollie Seersucker Shirt with the Transition Short in Dune.
