Into the Wee Hours Podcast - Laura Waters, Travel Writer and Author, from corporate hustle to a life-changing 3000KM NZ hike and an upcoming Murray River 2300KM paddle

Laura Waters, Travel Writer and Author, from corporate hustle to a life-changing 3000KM NZ hike and an upcoming Murray River 2300KM paddle

07/30/24 • 70 min

The second in our Gutsy Girls three part mini series is here!

A huge thanks to Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour for sponsoring this series - make sure to check out the film festival and get tickets to a show near you at www.gutsygirlsadventurefilmtour.com.au

Episode 55! Today's conversation is with Geelong based adventurer, travel writer and author, Laura Waters. Laura shares with us her metamorphosis from city living corporate 9-5er to adventurous travel writer and published author - a journey which was sparked during her 3000KM hike, the length of NZ, over a decade ago.

Laura is this year's Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour Grant recipient and also shares with us her plans for kayaking over 2000KM from source to sea on the Murray River in October this year.

We touch on many aspects of big life changes; hiking; travel writing and paddling including:

the inspiration for Laura's book "Bewildered" - a life changing 3000KM through hike of the Te Araroa trail when it was a newly established trail
documenting the experience on the trail and the craft of storytelling
the process of writing a book with no prior knowledge, including literary speed dating events
the realities of a life as a travel writer
Planning for Laura's upcoming Murray River paddle

Thanks Laura for your time and we can't wait to follow along on your Murray River adventure. You can find Laura on Instagram at: @laurawaters_writer and Facebook: Soul Trekkers

If you've enjoyed this episode and are enjoying listening to the podcast, you can join the Patreon community for as little as $2 a month - any contribution really helps to keep the lights on and would be enormously appreciated. www.patreon.com/intotheweehourspodcast Thanks so much to the existing patrons! I appreciate you!

And thanks too to the Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour for supporting this three part mini series, celebrating Gusty Girls in the Aussie adventure space.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second in our Gutsy Girls three part mini series is here!

A huge thanks to Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour for sponsoring this series - make sure to check out the film festival and get tickets to a show near you at www.gutsygirlsadventurefilmtour.com.au

Laura is this year's Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour Grant recipient and also shares with us her plans for kayaking over 2000KM from source to sea on the Murray River in October this year.

We touch on many aspects of big life changes; hiking; travel writing and paddling including:

the inspiration for Laura's book "Bewildered" - a life changing 3000KM through hike of the Te Araroa trail when it was a newly established trail
documenting the experience on the trail and the craft of storytelling
the process of writing a book with no prior knowledge, including literary speed dating events
the realities of a life as a travel writer
Planning for Laura's upcoming Murray River paddle

Thanks Laura for your time and we can't wait to follow along on your Murray River adventure. You can find Laura on Instagram at: @laurawaters_writer and Facebook: Soul Trekkers

And thanks too to the Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour for supporting this three part mini series, celebrating Gusty Girls in the Aussie adventure space.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Stephanie Skinner, Canberra based bikepacker on navigating big ultra-endurance goals and building bikepacking community

The first in our Gutsy Girls three part mini series is here!

A huge thanks to Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour for sponsoring this series - make sure to check out the film festival and get tickets to a show near you at www.gutsygirlsadventurefilmtour.com.au

Episode 54! Today's conversation is with Canberra based bikepacker, Stephanie Skinner. After chasing a big goal of racing the Tour Divide in 2023, Steph had to make some serious decisions when struck by injuries which forced her to refocus and push out this enormous, iconic bikepacking challenge. In the meantime, Steph has had the opportunity to stay close to bikepacking in a different form by spending time building community events for women and locals, while rebuilding and navigating surgery and recovery.

We cover all things bikes and bikepacking, including:

Discovering a love for riding bikes thanks to a work commute
Rediscovering Canberra through the lens of riding bikes, on road and off-road
Discovering offroad riding and her Hunt 1000 experience
Fuelling your races and adventures
Injury, healing and refocusing - and the (somewhat begrudgingly done but essential!) physio exercises that are required to build overall physical strength and resilience for big goals
Mental strength in endurance environments
Creating a women's only bikepacking overnighter out of Canberra
Making bikepacking more accessible to a wider audience
Canberra winter solstice camp out and tips for winter bikepacking on a budget

Steph also references "Touring with a Sense of Urgency" - by legends Sarah Hammond and Jesse Carlsson.

And, of course, we have a chat about dogs too, because, dogs!

Thanks Steph for your time and all the best in your post surgery healing. You can find Steph on Instagram at: @steph_skinner

If you've enjoyed this episode and are enjoying listening to the podcast, you can join the Patreon community for as little as $2 a month - any contribution really helps to keep the lights on. www.patreon.com/intotheweehourspodcast Thanks so much to the existing patrons! I appreciate you!

And thanks too to the Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour for supporting this three part mini series, celebrating Gusty Girls in the Aussie adventure space.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

undefined - Lisa Blair, World Record Sailor on a near-death experience circumnavigating Antarctica solo (twice); environmental advocacy and her next huge campaign - sailing solo, non-stop & unassisted around the Arctic.

Lisa Blair, World Record Sailor on a near-death experience circumnavigating Antarctica solo (twice); environmental advocacy and her next huge campaign - sailing solo, non-stop & unassisted around the Arctic.

Welcome to the third and final part of our Into the Wee hours Podcast x Gusty Girls Adventure Film Tour mini-series! A huge thanks to our first ever podcast sponsor – the Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour!

I've been thrilled to be partnering with Gutsy Girls, a celebration of adventurous women around the world and in Australia. If you haven't already purchased your tickets, head to www.gutsygirlsadventurefilmtour.com.au - and if you've missed a screening or these aren't accessible to you, don't forget you can access past films via Adventure Reels TV.

Episode 56! My guest is none other than Lisa Blair, a remarkable world record-holding Aussie sailor. As you'll hear, Lisa has faced incredible challenges and achieved extraordinary feats on the open seas. Amongst this great conversation, we cover topics including:

Lisa's background and journey to becoming a world record-holding sailor.
The realities of the behind the scenes fundraising hustle and planning for big campaigns
The most challenging moments of her career so far including facing the possibility of death on her first attempt to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica in 2017
How Lisa prepares mentally for her missions and the risk assessment involved
Her boat Climate Action Now, and the science and data capture projects Lisa has taken part in so far while out on her world breaking campaigns, including her latest world record breaking missions sailing solo to, and around NZ
Lisa’s next campaign to sail around the Arctic solo - and the huge environmental aspect of this mission

Thanks Lisa for your time and we can't wait to follow along on your Arctic campaign. You can find Lisa on Instagram at @lisablairsailstheworld and her website www.lisablairsailstheworld.com

Thank you for tuning in to this special episode. A huge thank you to our sponsor, Gutsy Girls Adventure Film Tour, and to my amazing guest, Lisa Blair, for sharing her incredible journey. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.