Teacher, writer, activist and adventurer. Susannah quit her job as a university lecturer in 2017 to cycle solo and unsupported from the UK to the Middle East. She camped all along the way, in olive groves, in peoples’ garages, next to motorways, by rivers and lakes, and in caves. She faced many of her own fears on this trip and wants to share her experiences to encourage other women to wild camp safely.
In the Middle East she spent 6 months in the West Bank, Palestine, teaching yoga to women in a refugee camp, working as a climbing guide and becoming a solidarity activist with victims of violence. For the next two years she kept returning to Palestine to continue this work. She has just completed writing a book about what she experienced there, including her own battle with depression and PTSD.
Her most recent adventures include thru-hiking a section of the Lebanon Mountain Trail, hitchhiking around the South Island of New Zealand, and driving a scooter 5,000km around the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia.
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Show notes
Who is Susannah
Being based in Bali
Going on multiple adventures over the years
2017 cycling from Bristol to the Middle East
2022 hiking a section of the Lebanon Mountain Trail
2023 Riding a scouter around the islands of Indonesia
Growing up in Bristol and her early years spent cycling outdoors
Finding calm in nature
Getting into politics as a teenager and studying politics and history
Getting a scholarship to do a Masters & PHD
Finishing her PHD in 2014 and working as a university lecturer
The decline in her mental health and developing anxiety around her job and workload
Taking a break in 2016 and moving back home
Spending time in Nepal in the Katmandu Valley
Cycling and wild camping solo in the South of France
Wanting to see more of the world
Reading Dervla Murphy - Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle
Planning a bigger cycle trip
Leaving in September 2017 and cycling to Istanbul
Spending the winter in the West Bank, Palestine
Taking the first step and what the planning and logistics looked like
Dealing with fears and concerns
Breaking down the fears in a rational manor
Listening to other women who had done similar trips (from podcasts and live talks)
If they can do it, why can’t I do it.
Digging into the fear to understand where it is coming from
Distinguishing what is a real risk and what is a story we are being told about women’s vulnerability
Getting into her rhythm and starting to relax into the journey
Meeting local people
Not wild camping as much at the start, while travelling through Europe
Wild camping and getting into the mental zone to do it
Volunteering with an NGO in Palestine and how it changed her
Having a PHD in International relations
Her work in Palestine
Writing a book about her cycle trip to Palestine and her experiences in the country
The magical moments from the cycle ride
The countries she would like to go back and visit and spend more time
Meeting other cyclists
Heading over to New Zealand to hitch hike around the South Island
Hitchhiking….
Funding and paying for adventures and living a life of travel
Hiking in Lebanon on the mountain trail
Foreign Travel Advice - UK Government
Learning how to ride a scooter in Indonesia
Slower travel and wanting more flexibility and freedom
Managing mental health while travelling
Feeling traveled out and changing the way she travels
Feeling setting in Indonesia
Plans for 2025 and wanting to ride a motorbike around Papa New Guinea
How to connect with Susannah
Final words of advice to encourage you to follow your passions
Pursuing your passions and ignoring what the negative people have to say about it
Social Media
Website www.susannahosullivan.org
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