NINA KARNIKOWSKI 

 

Nina, can you encapsulate your current life situation into just one sentence? It’s hard we know…

Embarking on as many wild, transformative adventures as I can to expand both my world and the worlds of my readers, while grounding myself with nourishing food, yoga, and lots of cuddles with my husband and our pooches in between.
 
Your career path is one that would inspire many and make most envious! How did it all begin and where do you see it going?

It began in a pretty traditional way – five years studying journalism and international studies at university, followed by five years as a lifestyle writer at Fairfax magazines. An ex-editor moved to the travel team, I begged her to take me with her, pretty quickly I became a writer on the Traveller team, then my husband and I spent a year living in India for his work which is where I suppose it all really took off.
I’ve been out on my own as a freelancer for a variety of travel newspaper sections, magazines, websites, TV and my own blog travelswithnina.com for the past three years, and I relish both the freedom and daily hustle involved in that. I see myself continuing to travel to weirder and more wonderful corners of the globe, telling stories that I hope get people to take trips that will change their lives for the better. I’ve also really been enjoying creating little films of my journeys lately, and I’ve been delving back into the personal essay world too so we’ll see where that leads me.
 
Tell us about the craziest adventure you’ve ever been on or the biggest ‘blow your mind’ moment that’s happened to you on your explorations.

My mind immediately swings to the morning I hiked up the top of an active volcano in Papua New Guinea that erupted three days later, then to the afternoon I spent riding wild horses across the steppe with the nomads in Mongolia. But my most rewarding travel moment of late was reaching the magnificent Rainbow Mountain in Peru, which I’d spent five days hiking at above 5000 metres to get to. Reaching that mountain, striped with turquoise, deep yellow and dusky rose from mineral deposits, let me drop these stories I’d been telling myself about being weak and not good enough, to realise I was a strong, powerful woman who could do anything she wanted to. We really do become our thoughts, and I turned mind around that day.

 
Any secret tips for staying happy, healthy and balanced whilst travelling?

I practice a bit of mindfulness every morning before heading out. Even just 10 minutes of meditation, gentle yoga or sipping tea helps centre me, so that I can be fully present with everything the destination has to offer.
I always take a probiotic, or even just a bottle of Braggs apple cider vinegar, with me on the road to keep my gut health (and health generally, since it all stems from our bellies) in check. Oh, and I always pack a good cashmere eye mask, pair of silicone ear plugs and some chamomile tea, because I want to be getting as much sleep and have as much energy as possible while I’m working on the road.


When you’re not traversing the globe documenting beautiful destinations and uncovering hidden treasures, you’re residing in an equally gorgeous place of the world living off the land & those biodynamic grapes with your lover… Can we come visit?! But seriously, how important is it that you have such a beautiful quiet place to come back to after all the craziness of travel?

Having a home to return to that’s calm and, more importantly, quiet after the chaos of the road is so important. Our apartment in Sydney’s eastern beaches doesn’t have wifi or TV, so when we’re there I can really focus on getting into a routine that involves yoga classes, long beach walks, having tea and long meals with my girlfriends and my family, and getting head down bum up with all those stories that need to be written. Then because the farm is so remote, I can get that quality time in with my man – we both work hard during the days, but our evenings are sacred. Afternoons are often spent wandering through the bush by the river with our two maremma sheepdogs Mintie and Milka, and nights are about cooking, sipping wine, chatting and reading by the fire. It’s essential for me to sink back into those familiar touchpoints when I’ve been away for a while. Not only to keep my relationships nurtured and to get back into the writing zone, but also to recalibrate my body which, lets face it, always gets a bit knocked around while I’m travelling.