Growing up in Perth, Madelin made the big move to Sydney in order to pursue a career in modelling. She started a bachelor degree at UNSW and next thing she knew she was taking a gap year and jetting off to Europe. Her love for everything travel started at a young age and it was her four month trip to Europe with a friend that solidified her passion.
“I absolutely loved the sense of freedom I felt when I was out exploring and going from one place to the next.”
Upon her return, Madelin started a career in the fashion industry, but after five years she left it all behind to pursue her love for writing. She has now combined her two loves – travelling and writing – and turned it into a full time job.
We sat down with the travel fanatic to chat about her success and daily inspirations. Madelin is also now on board at 5Why’s new travel ambassador, sharing her travel expertise and knowledge of the best sites around the world.
Tell us a little about what you’ve been up to lately…
View this post on InstagramWhat a VIEW! #lovelisboa Where are your favourite lookouts in the world??
In the past four months I’ve been travelling a lot, with trips to Queenstown, Bali, the Whitsundays, England and Portugal, so right now I’m making the most of being back home in Sydney and getting on top of my blogs and freelance articles.
Where did your passion for travel start?
My parents were very big on family holidays, and living in Perth we were only three hours by plane to Bali. This became a favourite holiday destination for my family and we went there three times before I was 10. We also did lots of school holiday road trips down to the beautiful South West WA region, as well as interstate trips to Sydney and Canberra.
At 14 I won Girlfriend Magazine’s national model search and was sent to New York City for photo shoots, and in the years that followed I made regular trips to Sydney. When I met my partner five years ago, we started taking lots of trips together within Australia and overseas, and so travel has definitely always been a part of my life. The older I get the more I appreciate being exposed to it from such a young age (thanks Mum and Dad)!
How did you turn travelling the world into your full time job?
View this post on InstagramJust a few of us managed to weasel our way into a roadtrip to #cedarcreekfalls yesterday. As we arrived, everyone was leaving and we were left with the place all to ourselves. It was magical! #lovewhitsundays @whitsundaysqld @jetstaraustralia #thisisqueensland #seeaustralia
When I started Never Leaving, my partner and I had already decided we wanted to do a lengthy trip around the world together while we were still youngI had always wanted to start a blog and with such a momentous trip coming up it was finally time to bite the bullet.
I had been writing within the interior design / home décor space for a while and had always loved hotels and resorts. I decided to make reviewing luxury accommodation the focus of my blog. Over the next seven months I was able to use my blog to experience some of the world’s most beautiful accommodation, and then write about them on my blog and across my social channels. Since then I’ve grown to work with brands and tourism boards, experiencing destinations and creating content along the way.
The blogger/influencer and writer avenues complement each other and work really well together. I consider myself a writer first and foremost, but am lucky enough to have a reasonable social media following which offers me some great opportunities, too.
Who inspires you in your daily life and career?
It sounds very cheesy but my partner is a big source of inspiration. He has his own business as well, and he’s achieved a lot in a short period of time. He has this amazing focus when he has a goal, which I am constantly in awe of and wish I had. He is really supportive of my work and my big ideas, propping me up when I have those regular moments of self-doubt. He is always there to encourage me, and enables me to pursue what I’m passionate about.
Career-wise, I think Arianna Huffington is pretty amazing and I love her latest venture, Thrive.
Where has been your favourite destination to travel?
View this post on InstagramThis is a photo of me, cycling around the streets of Paris on my last trip there and it's making me want to be back there right now! What's a city that you could keep visiting time and time again and you'd never enjoy it any less?? #paris #jetaime . . . . . #travelling #luxurytravel #beautiful #parispics #instapassport #instatraveling #mytravelgram #travelingram #igtravel #luxurytravel #instadaily #colorful #cycling #traveldudes #travelawesome #wonderfulglobe #igshotz #theglobewanderer #discoverglobe #worldnomads #cyclingparis #likealocal #bucketlisters #expediapic #travellerspath #thediscoverer #parisianlife #parisphoto #parisfrance
It’s way too hard to pick just one place, so can I reveal a few of my favourites instead, please? I absolutely love France and in particular the stunning Luberon region. I fell in love with Budapest when I visited a few years ago, and Lake Bled in Slovenia is one of the most fairy tale-like places I’ve ever been. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem was eye-opening and exciting while Thailand is one of my favourite countries in South East Asia. Lesser-known Perhentian and Redang Islands in Malaysia have crystal clear water and white sandy beaches to die for.
Do you have any quotes that you live by?
Surprisingly, I don’t, maybe I should find one! In saying that, I believe in Karma so that’s a ‘spiritual law’ I definitely live by.
What’s next on your agenda?
I recently got back from London and Lisbon, and over the next few months I’ll be focusing more on Australian travel. I have a foodie trip in Melbourne coming up where some friends and I will be dining at Attica, one of the best restaurants in the world. I’ll also be exploring Mornington Peninsula and experiencing an amazing new designer hotel that recently opened there. In October it’s back to Perth for a whirlwind visit and following that I’ll be heading back to New Zealand, before spending Christmas in Vanuatu. I have no idea where I’ll be this time next year, but that is definitely half the fun.
You can find more on Madelin and her expeditions on her very own travel blog Never Leaving. Be sure to give her a follow on Instagram too for all your daily dose of travel photo inspo.
