A huge part of travel for me is the people I meet and the friends I make in the Places I get to experience. Some of, well most of my best friends are people I have met while travelling or living abroad, and the number one thing we have in common is that we get it. What what you might ask? Well the whole travel life thing, the coming & going frequently, the moving towns every few days. The fact that we rarely live in the same place for long or at the same time. So when I meet people or see people living that similar life it's easy for me to connect with them. We share the same passion and immediately I want to know more about them and their travel life.
Hailing from Australia with an insane and amazing obsession for donuts, Dana's account Wandering Donut caught my eyes a few years back, because well who doesn't love donuts? From there on I could always count on a real account of her latest endeavours from her photos + captions. And when IG rolled out stories I always looked forward to hearing/seeing what she was up to next. From living in Bali, to road tripping through her home country, to everywhere else in between I can always click through Dana's feed and see exactly who she is. She's real, and honest, insanely funny & the amount of donuts on her feed is never disappointing! For those reasons and so many more you'll here about below, that is why Dana is this months WanderWoman!
What is something people might be surprised to learn about you?
Well besides the fact that I have hiccupped everyday for the past 7 or so years a lot of people are surprised to find out that the donut part of Wandering Donut isn’t just about the food. It happens to be a nickname that I have had ever since I was a little girl.
Did you always want to travel/what made you start?
My parents have always loved to travel, in fact Mum took me on a trip to Bali when she was still pregnant. It wasn’t until I was 8 when I went on my first overseas adventure to Mexico and America and since then it is all I have wanted to do.
How do you decide where to travel to?
Besides the amazing opportunities that pop up through my emails I think the two major influences to my travel choices are the people and the cheap flights hahaha I have an amazing collection of friends and family from all around the world that I usually base my trips around so I can give them a big hug. For example my one month New Zealand roadtrip in 2017 came together from a one day catch up at the end of my trip with my french exchange student who was visiting.
What is your travel style?
My family have always been value travellers. We aren’t always looking for the cheapest or the most luxurious but what is the best value for money. I have grown up knowing the importance of culture, food and people when travelling and that is something that will always stick with me. In saying that I do still like to treat myself every now and then and would love to treat my parents a little more too.
Top 3 bucket list places you’d love to visit?
Japan
Bahamas
Singapore
You have a blog- what was the motivation/idea behind it? And what do you hope people gain from it?
I loved to travel and loved to write so putting them together made a lot of sense. I was coming to then end of high school and studying tourism at the time looking for a career that would allow me to travel so stumbling into the world of blogging felt too good to be true.
Right from the start I was always myself. There are a million #instagirls out there with their perfectly set up shots and luxurious vacations that it seemed so unnatural for me to try to recreate that even though that is obviously working for them. Instead I wanted to show the awkwardly relatable side of travel through my awkwardly relatable personality. The problem with so many #instagirls is that their lifestyle seems so unattainable so I wanted to create an atmosphere through my blog and socials that proves that anyone can do it. I want people to be able to relate, laugh, be inspired, have a little fun (or a lot!) and feel like they have a wonderfully crazy donut and travel loving family.
What is something you wish you could share with your pre-travel life self?
Make the most of every single adventure not matter how big or small that is coming your way.
Best & worst travel moment?
There are too many ‘best’ travel moments and honestly, way too many ‘worsts’ it is really hard to choose.
One of my worst would certainly be on a solo adventure leaving LAX to explore Costa Rica. From the moment I started solo travelling I knew it wasn’t for me but I like to push myself so I don’t miss out on all of the amazing things I want to do and achieve. In line to check in all of the incredible memories I had made on a wild California road trip were overcome with and immense fear of the unknowns of Costa Rica. Mind you, I had a group tour planned which is a whole other story on its own but I was still unbelievably uneasy that I broke down in one of the worst anxiety attacks of my life. LAX was packed but I had never felt so alone (cliche I know, I apologise). I had worked myself up so much that I had collapsed to the floor unable to breath drowning in a puddle of snot and tears (what a glamorous look). I called my parents, who were back home in Australia and thanks to timezones this was at a awful hour of the morning for them, in a panic to try to grasp some form of comfort and safety. Everyone in line was also on their way to Costa Rica yet the fact none of them bothered to even acknowledge me broke my heart and filled me with even more doubt that I shouldn’t go to Costa Rica at all.
Anyway, just a small reminder to look after your fellow travellers. You never know how much someone might need someone to talk to or a hug
Well, that put a dampener on the mood so here is something a little more exciting. One of my best travel moments came from a family trip to Tanna Island, Vanuatu. It is one of the most mysterious places I have ever been and have been dying to get back to ever since. It is home to Mt Yasur, and active volcano that is a local playground for the locals as they run up and slide down the ash mountain and an unforgettable experience for the few tourist that know it exists. Close to sunset you can get driven to the top of the mountain where you can actually post a postcard from! It is the closest I will ever get or at least want to get to an active volcano. You stand at the top of the volcano and watch the lava spurt into the air and the sun set over the otherworldly landscape. I was so entranced until the sun had set causing the volcano to increase its activity so much that lava began flying over my head. We took this as a perfect sign to wrap up the night and even though it sounds scary it will always be a highlight.
What’s next for you/the blog?
I want to become more consistent with my content. I think that has been a big problem for me and my audience deserves better.
I am really excited to be launching more video content because now you can see me embarrass myself even more in video form! I have been interested in video for a while but the amount of support and requests from my crazy insta family have finally given me enough courage and motivation to give it a go.
Famous Last words for all the wanderers out there...
Grab life by the donuts
To find out where in the world Dana aka Donut is headed off next, and keep up with her insane antics around the world be sure to give the links below a click! ↓↓
And you can read all about her adventures, check out her tips & see some amazing photos on her blog↓
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