Some people let life pass them by, while others, like Anna Heyligers and her husband Luke Fordyce, grab the wheel and hurtle towards parts unknown. Packing up their home in a grungy inner-city suburb of Sydney in 2016, Anna, who’s the founder of Thirroul lifestyle store Noel & Gladys, and Luke, a high-school woodwork and construction teacher, had their sights on the fresh, salty air of the Illawarra region, south of Sydney. “We really wanted out of the city. We were over it and wanted a sea change,” says Anna. They also had a clear set of parameters for their new location. “All we needed was a beach, a cafe and a pub,” she laughs.
They settled on the coastal hamlet of Coledale, which delivered all three, with a beach-side…