Travel and Life

I was widely travelled, exploring wherever life took me before I figured out that I could turn my passion for travel into a career. So I often say I am an “accidental” travel writer, a career journalist who stumbled into the travel writing world and grabbed it with both hands.

While I love to roam the world, the places closest to me are Australia (where I live) and New Zealand (where I was born and raised). I’ve also lived in England, Canada and the Middle East, and visited about 70 countries. I believe that travel builds bridges between different cultures, and helps us understand that deep down there are not many differences between us. I’ll go anywhere for a good story but prefer less trodden paths.

With a strong interest in people, history and nature, I provide editors with evocative, accurate and original stories  – combining the facts with my personal experiences and insights – tailored to suit the style and needs of the publication.  I always meet deadlines.

Whether I am climbing Mount Bromo in Indonesia or the Sydney Harbour Bridge, walking the Great Wall of China or hiking in the kauri forests of my native New Zealand, drinking tea in Colombo or a poolside marguerita in Bora Bora, I am always on the lookout for the unusual and interesting. My quest for the travel stories with a difference has seen me among the first Westerners since 1952 to cross the DMZ from South Korea to North Korea (in 2003), travelling to Sri Lanka and the Maldives to see how these countries and their tourism industries recovered in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, and working with a team of volunteers building a bridge and a water supply for a remote village in the Peruvian Andes. I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, but won’t say no to a bit of luxury or pampering either!

I contribute to many leading consumer publications, both in print and online and I am also a confident radio performer and have held regular spots on several ABC and commercial radio stations around Australia. Among others, my work has appeared in Australian Geographic, The Weekend Australian (Travel & Luxury section), The Weekend Australian Magazine, New Ltd’s Escape travel section, T: The New York Times Style Magazine Australia, The Sunday Telegraph (UK), National Geographic Traveler,  Australian Traveller, Geographical (UK), Royal Auto, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Mercedes Magazine, Vacations & Travel,  International Traveller, Qantas Insider, and Signature Luxury Travel & Style.

I also love photography, and hope that my images go as far as my words in describing the wonderful world we live in. Sometimes – when I’m at home – I’ll write about what’s around me in Brisbane, which is just as interesting to me as some more far-flung places. If I don’t find something interesting, I figure you won’t either.

Favourite places? That’s a tough question, but if I have to choose I’ll say (apart from Australia and New Zealand) my top five would be Laos, the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Finland and Ireland. But really, I’m just as happy exploring my own backyard because wherever you are – at home or far way – the world is a fascinating and fun place.

From time to time, I also write about other things – life, love, loss, issues in society that I think are worth exploring, or things that have particularly touched my heart.  You can find those posts on the blog section of this website. You might also like to sign up to my Facebook page, Lee Mylne – Travel Journalist, which often has different content and links to my recently published work.

To see some of my published work, go to Stories.

To see some of my travel images, go to Gallery.