Di Westaway is the founder of Coastrek and Wild Women on Top, and she has had the most fabulous career building up these businesses - topped off with many well-deserved accolades like an Order of Australia medal for services to women's health, fitness and charity services. It was so much fun to chat with Di about how her impulsive decision to attempt to climb South America's highest peak, Mount Aconcagua, even when she'd never done anything remotely like it before, set off a chain reaction leading to decades of fascinating travels and influencing and inspiring countless people to look after themselves more and take on new challenges.

During our chat we move from the "big fail" of Mount Aconcagua through some other favourite hiking trips around the world, Di's world record for the highest handstand, a scary night on Mount Rinjani in Indonesia (and a story she said she's never told anyone publicly!!!), and through to the success of Coastrek today in getting thousands of people out there hiking the most beautiful parts of Australia and raising millions of dollars for worthwhile charities like Beyond Blue and the Fred Hollows Foundation.

Links:

• Coastrek - https://www.coastrek.com.au/
• Wild Women on Top - https://www.wildwomenontop.com/
• My blog post including the microlight flight - https://www.notaballerina.com/2016/10/australias-coral-coast-stretched-comfort-zone.html
• Di Westaway on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/diwestaway/
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
• Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/363

Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Creativity is an important part of my life, and I have so often observed that when I'm travelling, and also on my return, my creative thinking gets a huge boost. In this episode I chat with other travellers who feel the same.

First up, I talk to author Spiri Tsintziras. Spiri has written several memoirs related to her experiences and travels in Greece, and explains beautifully how being away from home impacts her creativity so positively.

Next, artist Carol McQuaid describes how travelling not only allows her creativity to flourish, but also talks about how travellers who take her visual art workshops while they are travelling have the same experience.

Finally, author Diane Hartman tells me about her experiences in Ireland and in particular, about a writing retreat in a beautiful part of County Cork which included all the required ingredients for maximum creativity.

I also chatted with friends and colleagues from the Creative Schools program, Claire Davenhall and Joanne Marriott, about how they feel travel and creativity come together, and I've included some of their thoughts.

Links:

• Episode 207 Writing Retreats Around the World - https://notaballerina.com/207
• Episode 52 How Travel Sparks Creativity - https://notaballerina.com/52
• Spiri Tsintziras - https://www.writingspirit.com.au/
• Spiri’s new book Twelve Golden Gifts - https://amzn.to/4mWCqCa
• Carol McQuaid - The Illustrated Vagabond - https://www.theillustratedvagabond.com
• Diane Hartman https://dianehartmanauthor.com/
• Diane’s new book Getting Lost On My Way: Self Discovery on Ireland’s Backroads - https://amzn.to/45Q9Awp
• Claire Davenhall, visual artist - https://www.instagram.com/clairedavenhall
• Joanne Marriott - MOJO Creative Leadership + Culture - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannemarriott/
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
• Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/362

Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This special episode is the audio of the livestream of the August 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, speaking about Chris Broad's book "Abroad in Japan".

If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, all the info is at https://thoughtfultravellersbookclub.substack.com and you can keep up with all the thoughts about our current books in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook Group at https://facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers

Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.