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Donna Hay: My life in travel

'I love London's street life and the beaches of Oz'

Chloe Hamilton
Friday 08 May 2015 10:05 BST
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Donna Hay
Donna Hay

We used to go on simple family holidays.

I remember being bundled into the back of my parents' car while I was still asleep, and going on driving holidays, usually camping or caravanning by the Australian coast. We used to play in the ocean or on the beach all day with blow-up beach chairs.

Sydney is a really easy place to live.

It has a really balanced lifestyle. I can come home from work and, when my children have done their homework, we can surf or swim. It's the only place where I can manage to strike that work-life balance.

London is my favourite city.

I'm always surprised by something new when I'm there, whether it's a window display at Selfridges or an exhibition at the V&A. It's such a traditional city but it's also so changeable and modern. I'm happy just wandering, looking at things, getting lost. I put a map in the bag and when I feel like it's time to go back I look at the map and try to work out where I am.

I'm such a beach girl.

There's a really beautiful beach on the south coast of New South Wales called Hyams Beach. Beautiful white sand, not many tourists.

My tip for first-time surfers ...

... start on a small board. A lot of people like to start on a bigger board because of their fear of falling off into the water but it's good to start small. And go to a surf school; there's a great one at Bondi. Byron Bay is good for surfing, too. I've just come back from a surfing trip off the coast of Queensland with my boys, who are aged nine and 12. They're much better than me.

You beauty: Bondi is a favourite, 'except in the tourist season' (Getty)

Bondi Beach is as good as everyone says.

I don't love it at the height of the tourist season but outside of that I do. As soon as the water gets cold people won't surf so you can put on a wetsuit and get all the waves to yourself. There's something quite beautiful about being in the water in winter. And there's a great walk from Bondi around the cliff to Bronte, which takes in all the little beaches.

There's more to Australia than barbecues.

We have all the best Asian food – Thai, Vietnamese. The food is really sophisticated, really fresh and the seafood is amazing. We have a great coffee culture, too – people only realise once they get here.

Once I did a television interview in soaking wet clothes.

I was flying to New Zealand to film but I didn't realise the plane was delayed and they'd just left our bags on the Tarmac in a really bad storm. When I finally got to the hotel it was 3am and my call-time was at 5am. When I unzipped my bag everything was sodden, including the dress I was going to wear for filming. So, I just stayed up trying to dry it with a hairdryer. And the next day I had to film in wet underwear, wet shoes, and a wet dress. You couldn't notice because it was black, but it was warm and soggy.

I get a little bored when I travel.

It would be good to travel with somebody entertaining and funny, like a comedian. Maybe Jennifer Saunders – she'd be hilarious. Or Catherine Tate. My boys can already do a lot of her characters, so it's sort of like travelling with her anyway.

Donna Hay is an Australian chef, author, and magazine editor (donnahay.com.au).

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