Australian Gourmet Traveller - (01)January 2020 (1)

N

evermindDecember,

it’sJanuarythat’sthe

monthofexcess.An

excessofresolution-

making,anexcessofcarb-denying

andanexcessofgym-joining.This

annualfrenzyofhealthfaddism

andself-flagellationinvariably

taintsthetravelpagesofmagazines,

withwordslike“detox”,“diet”

and“retreat”dominatingheadlines.

“Newyear,newyou!”thetravel

industrydeclares,a seeminglycasual

offerwhich,frankly,I’vealwaysfelt

weshouldregardwithsuspicion.

Whatexactlywillthe“newme”be

like?Whatevidencedotheyhave

thatshe’sanupgrade?Whatif it’s

likethattimeApplereleaseda

newiPhonebutit wasglitchyand

widelyderidedasworsethanthe

previousmodel?I definitelyrequire

moreclarificationbeforeI signup.

It’snotthatI don’tbelieve

inwellnesstravel;farfromit.I

absolutelybelievethattravelis

oneofthemosteffectiveself-help

interventions around. I’ve hiked

throughtheBavarianAlpsto

recoverfroma breakup,road-

trippedaroundNewZealandto

helpmefindmywaywhenI was

at a careercrossroads,andbeen

revivedbyItalianwineandthe

companyofdearfriendsinAmalfi

duringa boutofdepression.

Travelcertainlyhastheability

tofixus.Butnotravelplansshould

bebuiltonguilt.Muchlikesex,

holidaysshouldarisefrompositive

motivations,likeadventure,

curiosity,a desiretobond–

certainlynotseasonalself-loathing.

Thegloriousthingabouttravel

is thatit offersushundredsof

waystorebootourselves,whether

it’seatinga feastofstreetfood

inPenang,learningtosailinthe

Adriatic,touringvineyardswith

friendsinProvenceordoinga

craft-cocktailbarcrawlinTokyo.

Don’tletanyonetellyouthata

cocktailbarcrawlisn’ta “detox”.

It’sa detoxfromboredom.

I’mentirelyseriousaboutthe

art of using travel to fix oneself; I

The art of...

self help

Christmasisa timeforgiving,andJanuaryisabout

givingthingsup.Butwellnesstraveldoesn’tneed

to be about deprivation, writesANNA HART.

considerit tobea formofstealth

self-help.Afterall,travelis all

abouttryingonnewhabitsand

waysoflifeforsize,seeingwhich

onesfitus,andhopefullytaking

a fewhome.Andif wehavea

badhabitwewanttokick,thisis

bestdonebysqueezingoutthe

loserhabitwithsomenewones.

“Onenaildrivesoutanother”,

is howmySwedishhousemate

wouldcheerilydescribeherstrategy

ofrapidlyfillinghermind(andbed)

witha newloverafteranybreakup.

I’mIrish,andmuchmoreboring,

sohereI amapplyingherwords

toholidays.Butyougettheidea.

Whenwefocusonbringing

somefabulousnewhabitin,

ratherthantryingtoshooan

oldoneout,travelbecomes

aboutdiscovery,notdeprivation.

A friend,anoverworkedTV

producer,usedtodraghimself

awayonjuicefastswhenever

filmingwrapped,totryandshed

theexcessstresskiloshe’dgained

duringtheseason.Oneyear,his

resolvesnappedandhebookeda

cookerycourseinTuscanyinstead.

“Reallyrelishingcookingformyself

wasthethingthatsortedoutmy

nutritionhabits,”hesays.“I’m

nottemptedtomainlineTim

Tamsanymore,nowthatI know

I cancooksomethingabsolutely

deliciousformyselfat home.”

Thetripthathethoughtwould

bea guiltypleasure,anindulgent

orgyofpastaandragù,filledhis

lifewitha healthypreoccupation

withfoodthatsqueezedouthis

badhabits.Duringhisolddetox

breaks,hisbinge-eatingtook

centrestage,a flawhefelthehad

tofix.Choosetherighttripfor

you,andyourhabitswillhopefully

reshufflethemselvesnaturally.

Thisartofself-helpis

somethingI’vemasteredslowly.

Foryears,myknee-jerkresponse

tofeelingbadaboutsomething

wastogivesomethingup:sugar,

wine,caffeine,latenights.Instead,

I’vecometorealisethesecretis

to invite something new in.●

New

to GT

GOURMET TRAVELLER 141

ILLUSTRATIONS GETTY IMAGES.