- CURRENT MISSION -

Taking my mum on her first overseas trip!

- ABOUT ME -

Hi, my name is Josh and I am a 30 year old choreographer from Tasmania, Australia.

Back home I direct two youth dance companies, one in Hobart and one in Melbourne. Being self employed I get a fair bit of flexibility, but the workload is often hectic. I teach a lot and choreograph projects for young people and communities, both with my companies and independently, and it also allows me to travel.

In 2015 I decided to have a break and go on a bit of an adventure, travelling through South-East Asia, NYC and Europe, including a 6 month stint living in London. I learned how to scuba dive, ride a motorbike, got my first tattoo in Vietnam, went cheese rolling, did a donut crawl and climbed a glacier. The best part of my year-long trip was a seven week motorbike ride, couchsurfing in Europe and camping through the UK and Ireland.

This year I'm on a slightly smaller trip, using up the rest of my visa in London before backpacking with my mum through Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechia and Egypt before heading home.

Three words to describe me - ambitious, adventurous and optimistic. Basically I will say yes to everything and always believe the best outcome will happen.

I'm a massive foodie and the arrival in every new city is begun with plotting a map to the coolest and sometimes most bizarre food experiences. Drinks of choice are cider, gin and tonic, amaretto sours, mojitos and of course, who can go past a good red. I really love wine.

I'm a not-so-secret nerd too; I have a massive fantasy book collection, and will talk to like-minded fans about Game of Thrones, Pokemon and Avatar (The Last Airbender) for hours. Obviously Disney too, duh.

Travelling and seeing the world is probably my biggest interest and passion. I like to travel light and rough, meet locals and give everything a go. If it all goes horribly wrong (and it definitely has before) it just makes a great story. The top places I have visited are Iceland (far and away the most magical place on Earth), Myanmar and Java.

My mum Tanya is 47 and from a tiny coastal town in Tasmania. She is the quintessential mum, the kind that you'll always find doing the dishes in the kitchen at someone else's party. She's one of the most low-maintenance and resilient people I know. I'm really excited to share my travelling with her - she needs a holiday!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The best part of travelling is seeing the world through other people's eyes and discovering how they live their lives. I also like to get to know places as a local would, rather than just as a tourist going to all the fake tourist places. Staying in someones room or on a couch, or even a floor (I'm the least fussy person you'll ever meet) is a great way to do that.

When I am (eventually) back home in Australia I'm not sure where I will be living but if the opportunity arises I would love to return favours and host and show people around my home!

I had such amazing couchsurfing experiences in Belgium, Luxembourg and France, hoping this next trip will be the same!

Interests

• arts
• literature
• performing arts
• design
• festivals
• dancing
• wine
• walking
• partying
• drinking
• motorcycles
• traveling
• scuba diving
• beaches
• eating
• dance

Music, Movies, and Books

So, so many books. All fantasy of course - Brandon Sanderson, Ian Irvine, Brent Weeks, Isobelle Carmody, Stephen Deas, George R. R. Martin, Tolkien, Mark Lawrence ... just to name a few.

I'm a guilty viewer of romantic comedies, chick flicks and children's movies (which let's admit, are definitely not made for children).

Music. Number one ... CHVRCHES! Alessia Cara. Troy Sivan. Foxes. Birdy. Sia. Zayn. LANY. Shura. Tori Kelly. Lorde. Beyonce. Halsey. Ella Henderson. Adele. MIA. Rihanna. Hozier. Purity Ring. Missy Higgins. Broods. Ariana. Bastille. Florence + The Machine. Katie Noonan. Montaigne. P!nk. Young The Giant. Woodkid.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Just one? One of my favourite trips was taking my friend to Asia for the first time. I threw her in the deep end with a road trip through Java. We did a beach crawl along the south Java coast, stopping at the most stunning places. We then drove a 14-hour day to Mt Bromo, climbed to see the sunrise over the caldera and then hiked to the rim of the active volcano.

Other faves are skiing in Japan, driving around Iceland in a campervan, cheese rolling in Gloucestershire, working in remote West Sumatra for seven weeks, swimming with phyto-plankton in Phu Quoc, summer solstice in Stonehenge, seeing Chvrches at the Royal Albert Hall, taking the train over the Goteik Viaduct in Myanmar, and spending the night at Grandfather beach on the southern peninsula of Myanmar. This year I've also explored much more of my home state of Tasmania, one of the most stunning places on Earth. You can see the Aurora Australis from my house.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Denmark, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Myanmar, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Qatar, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, United Kingdom