Josie - Travel Blogger & Creator of Josie Wanders & Exploring South Australia

This week on The Travel Date, host Angelica-Hazel Toutounji is joined by the inspiring and adventurous Josie Wanders — travel blogger, South Australian explorer, and two-time cancer survivor.

In this heartfelt and energising conversation, Josie shares how she transitioned from structured spreadsheets to spontaneous itineraries, from financial planning to full-time exploration. She reflects on backpacking through Asia with her children in her late thirties, learning how to stretch a budget while still pursuing big travel dreams.

Her approach to travel is refreshingly real — budget-conscious, points-savvy, and experience-driven. One night she might be staying in a hostel; the next, redeeming points to fly Singapore Suites or stay at Marina Bay Sands. For Josie, it’s not about luxury versus budget — it’s about strategy, priorities, and making experiences happen.

A standout chapter of her journey was a 13-month family gap year. With careful planning, long-service leave, and a leap of faith, Josie and her husband packed backpacks and travelled from Europe back to Australia over nearly a year. Along the way, they navigated countries they once couldn’t have placed on a map — Albania, North Macedonia, and beyond — learning resilience, adaptability, and the art of going with the flow.

Threaded throughout the episode is another profound layer of Josie’s story — her experience as a two-time cancer survivor. Rather than dimming her spark, her diagnosis intensified her commitment to living fully. Within a year of finishing radiation treatment, she had travelled overseas five times. Travel, for Josie, is not escapism — it is reclamation, celebration, and gratitude.

She speaks beautifully about perspective — how the world is more similar than it is different, how expectations can shape experience, and how sometimes the most powerful journeys are the ones close to home.

DESTINATIONS FEATURED:

South Australia

• Ceduna
• Smoky Bay
• Kangaroo Island
• Flinders Ranges
• Port Augusta
• Robe
• Port Adelaide
• Painted Hills (Anna Creek Station)
• William Creek
• Lake Eyre
• Nullarbor
• South East SA
• Riverland
• Cooper Pedy

Australia

• Great Barrier Reef (Reef Suites)
• Sydney

Asia & Middle East

• Dubai
• Singapore
• Vietnam
• Southeast Asia
• Sri Lanka (upcoming group tour)
• Jordan (Petra, Wadi Rum, Dead Sea, Jerash, Amman, Red Sea)
• Istanbul

Europe

• France (including Paris & rural regions)
• Albania
• North Macedonia
• Sarajevo

Guest: Josie

🌐 Website: https://josiewanders.com

🌐 Exploring SA: https://exploringsouthaustralia.com.au

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josiewanders/?hl=en

Host: Angelica-Hazel

instagram: @the_travel_date and @angelica_hazel_nutrition

website: www.angelicahazel.com.au

email: [email protected]