This was published 4 years ago
My travel life: Dimity Azoury, senior artist with The Australian Ballet
Wilderness lover Dimity Azoury would like to pick up a few survival tips from Bear Grylls.
Dimity Azoury, senior artist with The Australian Ballet.
NUMBER OF COUNTRIES VISITED
12
I GOT MY FIRST PASSPORT WHEN I WAS six in 1994.
MY PASSPORT PHOTO IS awful – I had to get my passport renewed last minute before a Swan Lake tour to America and I ran from rehearsal to get my photo taken. I look hot, flustered and a bit grumpy.
I CAN'T STOP GOING BACK TO Tasmania. My husband and I love camping around Australia and Tasmania keeps drawing us back. Our holidays are always wild and adventurous, and Tasmania's incredible new mountain bike parks [Maydena and Derby] and stunning wilderness for hiking and camping are like nowhere else.
MY LAST TRAVEL DESTINATION WAS Lebanon for one week. My dad came to Australia from Lebanon when he was nine years old and hadn't been back in 50 years. It was an incredible trip and I was so lucky to be able to go with Dad and Uncle George as they relived their early childhood memories and shared them with us. It is an incredible country – delicious food, generous people, archaeological ruins and unbelievable geography – views to the Mediterranean, snow-capped mountains, ancient olive groves. The more recent wars and turbulent times add a fascinating layer to the cities and some incredible stories from the people we met.
MY NEXT TRAVEL DESTINATION IS Tassie for three weeks over Christmas. There is a new 50-kilometre mountain bike trail from Derby to Bay of Fires that will hopefully be open by then.
I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO spending time with my husband and deciding what we want to do when we want to do it.
WHAT I REALLY WANT FROM MY NEXT TRIP IS no bushfires.
I LOVE TO TRAVEL BECAUSE I like to switch off and have a change from what happens day to day.
MY TRAVEL PHILOSOPHY IS having very few plans. I love just booking the flights and seeing what happens in between.
THE ONE TRAVEL MISTAKE I ALWAYS MAKE IS getting stressed on planes. I get quite nervous about flying which is such a waste of energy, but it's hard to tell yourself that at the time.
THE ONE THING I REALLY DO GET RIGHT WHEN I TRAVEL IS navigating. I love working out where things are and how to get there – especially in countries where I don't speak the language, or in wilderness where there is a good chance of getting lost.
IF I HAD TO SIT IN THE MIDDLE SEAT THE OTHER PASSENGERS I'D WANT ON EITHER SIDE OF ME WOULD BE [Game of Thrones writer] George R.R. Martin. I would love a chance over a long-haul flight to grill him about the universe he's created. And David Attenborough because he would have amazing stories and travel ideas.
THE ONE FAMOUS TRAVELLER I REALLY ADMIRE IS Australian Ballet artistic director and my boss, David McAllister. He travels constantly yet still has the energy to take rehearsals, attend board meetings and watch every show. Recently he left us rehearsing in Melbourne to travel to Houston Ballet for the premiere of Sylvia, then to the Joffrey Ballet for the premiere of Anna Karenina and then met us in Brisbane ready to watch the opening night of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and then he was on stage performing the role of the Duchess the next night. I don't know how he does it.
THE ONE FAMOUS PERSON I'D LIKE TO TRAVEL WITH IS Bear Grylls, to set me some challenges and improve my survival skills.
AIRLINE FOOD IS patchy. I used to love it until I stopped eating meat and had to get the vegetarian meals. They give you meals that are also vegan so I don't get any ice-cream.
AIRPORT SECURITY IS necessary.
HOTELS ARE just a place to sleep between adventures.
I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO GO TO South and Central America – to cycle through Chile and Argentina, to explore Peru, to visit the sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica and to try and spot some giant anteaters in their natural habitat in Brazil. Hopefully, this will be my long-service-leave adventure.
I'VE NEVER WANTED TO GO TO space. I don't like planes so I don't think I'd like a rocket very much. So far I'm happy to explore earth, though imagine the view from up there.
AISLE OR WINDOW?
Aisle. I can't sleep or sit still on planes.
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