Weary Dunlop Retirement Village residents Alan and Gayle live life on their terms.

Because, while the couple has a foot in a comfortable three-bedroom independent apartment at the village, their other is on the golden sand beaches near their second home in Pambula Beach, NSW.

“Weary Dunlop is our Melbourne base for visits to family,” Alan says.

“But because I’m still a big kid, we’re at Pambula Beach enjoying the beautiful climate at least six months of the year.”

The couple’s enviable lifestyle follows decades of expertise in the business world where Alan ran a consultancy company focused on helping executives and senior teams develop their leadership skills.

Gayle was based in Europe for two years as Managing Director Operations for a major directories company spanning four countries.

Their Weary Dunlop apartment will not only act as a sanctuary during visits to family, but also a launch pad to quench their thirst for adventure.

While Gayle and Alan are no strangers to the hotspots of Europe and the Pacific Islands, it is from the peak of Mt Kilimanjaro, on a trail in Patagonia or while visiting Antarctica that Alan in particular, feels most alive.

“I’ve been going to full-on, in-your-face Antarctica for more than 20 years now with an adventure company from Sydney,” he says.

“Unlike the cruise ships which go to the Antarctic Peninsula below South America, the expedition leaves from New Zealand and enters the Antarctic Circle.

“There are whales everywhere, it’s real and it’s dangerous.”

Alan will embark on his fifth trip to Antarctica this Christmas.

Rather than holding them back from such adventures, they say their new ‘lock and leave’ lifestyle at the village makes leading an intrepid life easier.

“It’s a quality-of-life decision because we had a beautiful place in Camberwell, not much bigger than this, but it didn’t have the coffee shop, the shops next door, the ambiance, the great facilities, the great gardens.”

Their new apartment is also a mere 64 steps from Alan’s sister, June, who moved to the village last year.

“When we came to visit June, the minute she opened her door and we walked in we went ‘wow, we could live here’,” Gayle says.

June’s experience at the village served as a solid testimonial that village life could be for them, however had their beloved Groodle puppy, Kya, not been allowed to join them, the move would have been off the table.

“Kya needed to be able to join us and the other thing that was a really big tick was that we will never have to move from here,” Gayle says.

“Because later on we will be spending the bulk of our time here.”

The couple are already reaping the benefits of a decision well-made.

“I always use gut feel,” Alan says.

“And I feel really great about the decision to move here.”