Hi everyone! We are James and Danielle, a couple from Australia, passionate about authentic and genuine connections with new and interesting people. We love volunteering through platforms like Woof and Workaway, exchanging cultures, and creating beautiful memories while exploring the world off the beaten path.

We are gearing up for our next adventure through Morocco, Spain, Nepal, India, Thailand, and then back home. Throughout our journey, we’ve enjoyed helping hosts, learning from different cultures, and contributing wherever we stay. We live out of our backpacks, which keeps us tidy and organized. Whether it’s lending a hand with cleaning or cooking delicious and healthy meals, we’re always happy to pitch in.

James – I’m an outgoing and genuine person who loves connecting through conversation, music, and making delicious food. Through my travels, I’ve rediscovered my passion for cooking, and I would love to learn authentic cuisine from your culture. I’m also an animal lover and often befriend a cat or two along the way. I can share some happy ukulele tunes! Back in Australia, I worked as a Massage and Sound Therapist, and on our next adventure, I plan to learn more about the gong and Thai massage.

Danielle – I’m a florist and hand-embroidery artist passionate about spreading the blessings of nature through my work. Being creative is my world, and I love to immerse myself in culture, learn from others, and make meaningful connections. I’m eager to learn from anyone and about anything, whether it’s new skills, ways of life, or interesting ideas. Cooking and baking healthy food is something I love, but I’m equally excited to learn anything new from others!

We are both passionate artists who love to sing, dance, and have fun. We are big believers that movement is medicine, and love staying active through hiking, yoga, and anything that involves getting the body moving. We prefer to spend time in nature rather than big cities, but we also enjoy live music, eating local food and beautiful architecture.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We’re Couchsurfing to explore an alternative to staying in hostels. We enjoy volunteering and connecting with new people and having a local who can share their knowledge of cool things to do in the area. We want to meet authentic and creative people from all walks of life and create life-long friends. Couchsurfing allows us to do that while saving money on accommodation, and we look forward to paying it forward to other travelers when we return home.

Please know that we thoroughly read every profile we apply to and appreciate your time and consideration!

Interests

We’re both passionate about nature, being creative, and making time for play. We love exploring different cultures and perspectives.

Danielle – Flower Farming, Embroidery, Floristry. I’m super creative and won’t stop until I see my ideas come to life. I’m also eager to learn anything new that comes my way.

James – Massage and Sound Therapy, herbalism, wild weed foraging, meditation, cooking, and practicing movement as medicine through yoga, hiking, and staying active. I love conversation and connection.

• folklore
• photography
• cooking
• massage therapy
• meditation
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• anthropology
• history
• philosophy
• nature
• permaculture
• kindness
• playing music
• bees
• serendipity
• alternative medicine
• botanical gardens
• embroidery
• crafting
• wellness
• second hand stores
• sound therapy
• seeing the beauty in all things
• planting seeds
• flower farming
• culturalexchange
• exploring local cuisine
• wildweedforaging
• eating home grown vegetables
• befriending birds
• befriending cats
• identifying plants to see if they are edible
• picking wild bouquets
• making floral arrangements
• kindness and reciprocity

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC
Acoustic folk, jazz, indie, rock, funk, Relaxing Meditation Music (singing bowls, flute, binaural beats), Electronic House.
Nick Mulvey, Nick Drake, Teskey Brothers, Oce Elliot, The Lumineers, Elvis Presley, Cat Stevens, Bobby Alu, Alan Stone, Beautiful Chorus, Boy and Bear, FKJ, Camel Power Club, Frank Zapper, Stars of the Lid, Leon Bridges, Iron and Wine, Jose Gonzales, Joni Mitchell, Khruangbin, Les sins, Moses Sumney, Bibio, Frederic Chopin, Wild Marmilade, Viagra Boys, Maribou State, John Mayer and many more...

MOVIES
Life of Walter Mitty, The Way Way back, Into the Wild,
Wes Anderson, Taika Waititi classics.
We are really enjoying short permaculture films on YouTube at the moment.

BOOKS
Harry Potter, Kafka on the shore (alot of Haruki Murakami), The gap in the gain. Love audiobooks. The lost heart of Alice Heart, Braiding Sweetgrass, A single thread, The Red Book (CG Jung), Joe Dispenza, The wizard of earthsea, The Lord of the rings trilogy, Atomic Habits, Rambunctious Garden, Threads of Life, The body Keeps the score, The more beautiful world our hearts know is possible (love this book), The practising mind, tuning the human biofield, the hidden messages in water, Mort - Terry Pratchet, Mans Search for Meaning, The alchemist, Emotional Vampires, The Messenger.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Worked on a Campsite in the Ardennes Belgium for 2 months, Visited Efteling in Netherlands (such an incredibly magical place)

Volunteering on the first you-pick Flower Farms in the Netherlands

Volunteered at Biodynamic distillery making pure essential oils for Soaps in Ostuni Italy

Danielle has solo backpacked through Asia 🌏 and volunteered at a butterfly sanctuary in Laos

James survived a rare form of Cancer and is now Cancer Free 😀

Soon to be trekking in Nepal and doing a Vipassana, Panchakarma Areyveda detox retreat, backpacking from Dehli to Bhuj to learn embroidery and Thai massage course in our next travels.

Teach, Learn, Share

We’re always keen to share what we know and learn something new along the way.

Danielle – I love teaching anything to do with floristry and embroidery, and I’m fascinated by how textiles tell stories or hold meaning in different cultures. But honestly, I’m open to learning just about anything! Whether it’s a creative skill, local tradition, or something unexpected, I’m always eager to dive into new experiences.

James – I can share my knowledge of massage, sound therapy, and my experiences with health and wellness, including my journey through cancer recovery. I’m passionate about cooking and would love to exchange recipes or try local dishes together. I’m also a big believer in “movement is medicine,” so if you're into anything active, I’m always up for a hike or yoga session. I also love talking about plants and foraging, and I’ll happily teach you some ukulele tunes!

We both enjoy learning from the people we meet—whether it’s through good conversation, cooking together, or learning something new. We believe in genuine, meaningful exchanges, and we love the idea of sharing skills and experiences to create those connections.

What I Can Share with Hosts

We can offer our skills that have been described above. We are passionate gardeners. We can help cook and bake healthy food and clean when needed. We can also help teach English if you need help practicing the English language. We only speak English being Australian.
We can also share good conversation and authentic connection. We have both chosen to follow our hearts and pursue our crafts so choose to live an alternative lifestyle and in connection to our truth. Play music together. We love sharing and connecting whole heatedly with people and having deep and meaningful conversations.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Laos, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Thailand, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, New Zealand