Australian Gourmet Traveller - (03)March 2020 (1)

I grewupinJindabyneintheSnowyMountainsofNewSouth

Wales.Weusedtodoa lotofroadtripsasa family.Wealso

dida lotofwalkingtripsinthemountains,back-countrystuff;

we’dpickwildberriesupinthefarreachesofthemountains;

therewasa lotofkayakingonrivers;a lotofmakingbush

pancakesanddamperoncampingtrips.Andtheremighthave

beenanoverseastriportwowhenwewerelittle,butI have

morememoriesofdrivinguptoSydneytoseefamilyand

begging to be allowed to stop at McDonalds togeta hamburger.

WhenI was 14 or 15 I didanexchangetoGermany.I livedoutside

Munichforpartofa schoolterm,andthatwasthefirsttime

I reallytravelledanywhereonmyown.I definitelythinkI’ve

alwayshada bigappetitefortravellingandexploringsolo. It

wasn’t something that ever scared or worried me.

Londonis whereI’velivedformoreofmyadultlifethananywhere

elseandI haveanunbelievablysoftspotforit.It’ssucha big,

excitingglobalcity.It’ssoclosetosomanyplaces,andinsuch

closeproximitytosomanydifferentculturesandlanguages,

evenwithinthecity.Atthesametimethereis sucha richhistory

thatbelongstoLondonitself.I think it’s a really rare combination

of all these things in one place.

I ammostcomfortableandmosthappyworkinginplacesthat

otherpeopledon’treallywanttogo.I’vealwayslovedworking

inAfghanistanandremotepartsofIndonesia,orhikinginto

theHimalayasforsomeobscurestory,forexample.Those

sortsofthingsareprobablywhereI’mmyhappiest.I think

themostchallengingplacesformetoworkarewherethe

entireworld’smediahasdescendedupononeplacetocover

oneparticularstory,suchasgoingtotheUStocoveranelection

inWashingtonDC.Tomethosearethestrangestexperiences

becauseyou’rerightupclose,inthethickoftheAmerican

democraticprocess,andwhenyouseeit at suchcloseproximity

yourealisehowbizarre,andfranklymind-boggling, someof

the processes are around these people.

Afghanistanis a reallyintoxicatingplace.It’sphysicallyvery

beautiful,andveryoverwhelmingI suppose.TheAfghansenseof

historyis reallyprofound,sotheconversationsyouhavearealways

fullofinsightanddetail,andlayeredwithnuance.Asa journalist,

that’s really exciting. And for all of the bloodshed and difficulty

thattheydealwitheveryday,thereis stillanenormousamount

ofbeauty,joyandhumanspiritondisplayinreallysurprising

ways.Soona humanlevelthere’sa lottoconnectwith.I thinkthe

unfortunaterealityofthewaywetellstoriesabouttheworldis that

youoftengeta reallyone-dimensionalpictureofa place.If you

haven’tbeentoAfghanistan,ora similararea,youmighthavethe

impressionthatit’sallguns,bombs,deathanddestruction.And

yesthosethingsallexistthere,buthumanlifecarrieson.People

goshoppingtobuybread;theygotoweddingsandhavefunerals;

theysendtheirkidstoschool;theyplaymusicalinstruments;and

theysharemealstogether.Thosearethethingstheyoftentendto

tell you about, rather thanthebiggerpictureofa complexissue.

I’vespentlotsoftimeinItaly.I’vehadlotsoffriendsgetmarried

there.I’vealsospenta lotofEuropeansummersinSardinia.

Myformerco-anchoronAlJazeera,BarbaraSerra,is anItalian

journalistwhoverykindlymakesherSardinianhomeavailable

tousefrequently.I’ma prettykeenbicyclerider,soI’vedonea

lotofridingindifferentpartsofItaly.I completedtheMaratona

dlesDolomitesthreetimes,whichis a single-dayrideinthe

Dolomitesofabout 150 kilometres.I absolutelylovedthat.It’sa

beautifulpartoftheworld.I’vealsobeentoCarloforte,whichis

onanislandoffthesouthofSardinia.Theyhavea tunafestival,

andI’vebeenthereduringit.I hadsomeincredibletunadishes

whileI wasthere,butI wassimultaneouslyquiteshocked when

I wastoldwhichpartsofthetunatheywere.●

HamishMacDonald is the new hostofQ+A, which airs Monday evenings

on the ABC.

“Ithink theunfortunate realityof

thewaywetellstoriesaboutthe

worldisthat youoftengeta really

one-dimensional picture of a place.”

Justbackfrom...

TheNSWSouthCoast,

whichwasinitially

a holidaybutthen

turnedintowork.

Nextup...
INTERVIEW GEORGIE MEREDITH. PHOTOGRAPHY STEPHEN BLAKE.I genuinely don’t know.

GOURMET TRAVELLER 33

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