Nikki Wallman

Nikki first fell for a life of travel as a child, riding the electric thrill of flying into Johannesburg during a tremendous lightning storm on the annual summer pilgrimage to visit family in Cape Town. These early South African journeys allowed for greedy enjoyment of her parents’ own childhood staples: syrupy koeksisters, crayfish on the braai, spiced bobotie and boerwors. They hinted at the role food could play in connecting families flung far apart, searing moments into the subconscious and echoing them back years later in a fleeting scent, a bone-deep memory brought back to life on the tongue. She was hooked: on food, on travel, and on writing about all of it. Having studied journalism in Melbourne (including a stint in The Age’s newsroom), two years working in London and travelling in Europe solidified Nikki’s wanderlust. After stints as a news editor and food magazine editor back in Australia, she started travel writing over a decade ago. She’s lost (and found) herself everywhere from the wild grandeur of the Kimberley coastline to Thailand’s Golden Triangle to the glitz of St Moritz for Gourmet Traveller; and contributed to titles including The Australian’s Travel + Luxury, Delicious, The SMH, Vogue Living, and International Traveller. These days, her electric thrills come in pretty luxurious circumstances – but it’s still hard to beat a barefoot braai by the ocean.