Plant-Microbe Interaction researchers from the Plant Sciences Division recently held a retreat at the ANU Kioloa campus (5^th-8^th September). ANU researchers were joined by colleagues from CSIRO Agriculture to discuss research topics, techniques and recent advances in the field of plant-microbial interactions. Attended by ~30 researchers of levels from undergraduate, PhD, Postdoc and lab CIs, sessions also focussed on grant writing to different funding bodies and paper writing skills. Beach time, back-yard cricket and stories by the camp fire were enjoyed by all making this a very successful and interactive exercise. We would like to thank Megan McDonald and Susan Breen for convening the retreat and we hope to make it an annual event.