NOT ACCEPTING GUESTS FOR THE NEXT MONTH WHILE WE HAVE LOTS OF FAMILY VISITING. LOOK FORWARD TO OFFERING OUR COUCH AGAIN SOON.

I'm a mother, writer and traveller. My partner and I have a blended family of four sons, aged 16 to 9. All are very well trained young travellers.

I'm a published author (women's lit and kids books). I've lived and travelled all over the world for the past twenty-five years. My life philosophy is to embrace experiences rather than things. So far so good.

My partner Dom is 55. He is an academic and teaches theatre. He plays viola and guitar, and music is big in our home. He's a bit of a tech geek and does weird things like take 3000 photos of drain covers while travelling. His big love is surfing, and takes his board out whenever the surf is ok.

We also run Itchee Feet, a children's travel publishing company.
We love travel, meeting people, showing our kids the world.

I've added languages above. Just to clarify: My oldest son is fluent in German. Dom is fluent in French and speaks some Italian. I butcher Japanese and German, but am trying to rectify that.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We know the costs and stresses of travelling with a family, so by offering space to families we hope to minimise both for you. And we get to meet people, hear about their lives, their travels...

When we travel, we like staying in family guesthouses, small family run places. We like to meet locals and other interesting travellers. Couchsurfing is a global community and I find that really exciting. We hope to make new and interesting friends from all over the world.

Interests

Travel, yoga, meditation, great conversation, and finding good brews: both beer and coffee. I spend an inordinate amount of time piecing together travel itineraries.

• writing
• books
• wine
• beer
• coffee
• yoga
• running
• meditation
• technology
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• guitar
• surfing
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Travel memoirs. I have a soft spot for anything Japanese. Japan is like my second home. I'm spending this year learning more about jazz and blues.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Raise my sons as travellers. That's an amazing thing.

My oldest son travelled the world for the first 5 years of his life. All our kids have travelled at lot. We travel light... one small bag each.

Last year we backpacked around Southeast Asia for a month, travelling on local buses and trains, sleeping in guesthouses, eating at night markets. Including our airfares from Sydney to Cambodia (for 6 people) the whole trip came in under $5000. Limited funds doesn't mean limited fun. Watching the sun rise over Angkor Wat with my boys was special.

Teach, Learn, Share

We can share our house in Bondi, Sydney, and teach you about the area.

We play a lot of music in our house, and all our sons are in various bands. So if you're musical... join in!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Conversation, laughter, a moment in time... perhaps over wine.

Countries I’ve Visited

Afghanistan, Austria, Cambodia, China, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovenia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Austria, Japan, United Kingdom, United States