Macadamia Grove is delighted to welcome back the Southern Hemisphere OBOD Assembly (‘SHOBODA’) to Bribie Island, South East Queensland.
The Assembly will be held over four days/three nights (1pm Thursday - 10am Sunday), and will include opportunities for initiation into the OBOD grades of Bard, Ovate and Druid, meditations and rituals, an eisteddfod and workshops for you to share and explore your Druidry practice further.
Acknowledgement of Country
This event is being held on Gubbi Gubbi country. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and to any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people who might join us for the event.
Attendees of the Southern Hemisphere 2025 Assembly need to be members of OBOD (The Order of Bard, Ovates and Druids). Membership is granted with enrolment into the Bardic Grade (not just the introduction pack). It is recommended that you complete at least the first ten gwersi (lessons) before attending. Those wanting a Bardic initiation will also need to have completed the self initiation ritual before attending.
Find out more about OBOD at www.druidry.org
As our numbers are very limited, family non-OBOD members may not be able to be included.
Those who attended our 2016 event will remember the Bribie Island Retreat Centre, located at 2-12 Third Avenue, Woorim. We have exclusive use of a tried and trusted secluded venue, just a couple of blocks from the beach, where accommodation and catering are fully taken care of. For more info on the venue click here.
Accessibility
The venue site is flat, though with some ground irregularities. The buildings are slightly elevated above the ground, with gradually sloping ramp access.
Please arrange your own transport to the venue. Woorim is located approximately one hour (72kms) from Brisbane Domestic Airport. Off-street parking is available at the venue if you are driving your own or a hire car.
We can arrange one shuttle pickup from Brisbane Domestic airport at 1pm on Thursday and drop back, leaving Woorim at 10:30 on Sunday. Shuttle pickup will be $60 return, with limited (10 seats approximately) available. Please indicate when booking if you require this option.
Public transport can be accessed from the airport all the way to the venue - by Airtrain from the airport to Caboolture, then by bus from Caboolture to Woorim.
Members of Macadamia Grove can offer some transfers between Caboolture train station to the site only between 12pm – 4pm on Thursday, and on return after 10:30am Sunday. Please request this when booking as numbers will be limited. Another option is to catch a Translink bus from Caboolture station to Woorim - For train and bus schedule, please refer to: https://jp.translink.com.au/plan-your-journey/journey-planner
For any other transfers – including outside of these hours - you will need to organise that yourself. Uber is available or a shuttle service such as:
Dormitory Cabins (onsite)
Accommodation at the venue is in shared dormitory cabins with sturdy bunk beds. There will be 4-6 (maximum) people per room. Each cabin has its own toilet and shower. If you can’t access a top bunk, please identify this on the booking form.
If you have a medical condition that precludes shared dormitory accommodation (eg CPAP machine), please arrange your own suitable offsite accommodation. We may be able to accommodate a group of people with CPAP in the same cabin, but won’t know whether this is possible until closer to the time.
In most cases, dormitory accommodation will be single gender, unless pre arranged with consensus.
A linen pack including bedding, pillow and towel is included in the price.
The venue is planning on building additional cabins in the near future, so we may be able to release additional onsite beds closer to the time and decrease the number of persons per cabin.
Camping and Camper/transit Vans
There are limited opportunities to camp/swag or park a camper van. Some power and shower/toilet amenities available.
Sorry, due to limited space, we can’t accommodate caravans, but there is a caravan park next door.
Offsite Accommodation
There are a range of nearby options (including cabins in the caravan park next door) if you’d prefer not to stay onsite, have medical reasons precluding dormitory accommodation, or would simply prefer your own space. You will need to arrange any alternative accommodation yourself.
Please note that a site access fee has been included in the ‘Offsite’ ticket price, as have all meals.
Onsite – $284 per person all-inclusive event, accommodation and catering
Offsite - $194 per person. Includes site fee, plus catering - Thursday night, Friday all meals, Saturday all meals, and Sunday breakfast. Morning and afternoon tea will be provided Friday and Saturday.
A deposit of $50 will reserve your place and must accompany your booking.
31 January 2025 – payment in full is required and deposits are non refundable.
This event is fully catered for all attendees, whether staying in the cabins or offsite, and washing up is included in the price – so no kitchen duty required!
Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free and other allergy options will be available only if you mark this on your booking form.
No self catering is available unless you are camping and are fully self sufficient. There is no refrigeration or food storage available – though please ask if you have medications which require refrigeration.
Check-in at the venue starts at 1pm Thursday. Early access to the venue will not be available, however we can recommend the nearby Blue Pacific Hotel and cafes in North Street for pre-arrival meals or drinks.
Initiations
Grade initiations will be available for Bards, Ovate and Druids. Please indicate your request for initiation in your booking form. More information about your initiation will be sent to you before the event.
Workshops and Talks
If you have a workshop or a talk you would like to share, we would love to hear from you. Make sure you fill out that section in the booking form. Please be aware that we may not be able to include all workshop submissions, and it will depend on the program.
Bardic Circles and Eisteddfod
The bardic circle on Thursday night will be casual. Those wanting to share a song, story or poem etc, can do so without needing to book a place in advance. For the eisteddfod, please let us know what you plan to perform on the booking form including an estimated time- no more than 7 minutes per person.
Market Stalls
There will be no market stalls/or buy and sell opportunities this time. Please do not bring any items to sell – no exceptions. You are welcome to bring a flyer or business cards to place near the notice boards - there will be a special area set up for these.
Divination
You are welcome to practice / hone your divination skills, however this needs to be free of charge i.e. do not charge money or ask for a donation.
Towel and swimsuit – there is a beach nearby
Comfortable clothing
Hat, comfortable shoes
Toiletries
Medications
Ritual clothing
Wet weather gear
Sunscreen
Bug spray
Musical instruments
Notebook and pen
Torch for getting around the venue at night
Do not bring illicit substances, or swords or ritual knives.
Important - If you have any concerns about the accommodation or catering (or anything, really!) during the Assembly, please do not talk directly to the caterers or site coordinator. Please speak to a Macadamia Grove member. Please do not access the kitchen area.
If you would like more information about the The 22nd Southern Hemisphere OBOD Assembly , please submit the form below.
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