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Nina Karnikowski

Nina Karnikowski

Travel Writer

Nina Karnikowski is a travel writer focused on sustainability, and the author of two books including Go Lightly: How to Travel Without Hurting the Planet.Connect via X.

Getting to gorgeous areas of Indonesia, such as Gili Lawa Darat in East Nusa Tenggara, is becoming easier.

Forget Bali. Indonesia has 17,000 islands – here are 10 of the best

For decades, many Australian travellers have treated Indonesia as though it begins and ends with Bali. It’s time to move on.

  • Nina Karnikowski
Walk this way… Yuraygir Coastal Walk.

One of the east coast’s wildest treks just got a lot easier

A new offering takes the hard part out of a long-dreamed-of adventure with friends.

  • Nina Karnikowski
The fabled Tiger’s Nest monastery.

What the travel brochures omit about ‘the world’s happiest nation’

Bhutan is often sold as a real-life Shangri-La. But what’s life really like beyond the postcard?

  • Nina Karnikowski
pets

Want to take an extended holiday? Here’s what you need to do first

Careful planning can help make spending a longer time away from home carefree.

  • Nina Karnikowski
Ghami has the feel of a living lost city.

Once forbidden to foreigners, this remote place is now accessible

A new road will bring trade, and tourists, to the remote village of Ghami – a place that currently has the feel of a lost city.

  • Nina Karnikowski
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Kopan Monastery hosts 3000 visitors each year seeking spiritual guidence.

I left this retreat ‘reborn’. All I did was focus on one scary thing

We’ve heard whispers about this meditation since the start of the retreat, and been primed for the 40 minutes we’ll spend “focusing on our own impermanence”. 

  • Nina Karnikowski
Phugtal Monastery, Zanskar Valley, Ladakh.

This isolated valley is in danger of being loved to death

Ladakh’s dramatic landscapes and rich culture are at risk of erosion as visitor numbers surge.

  • Nina Karnikowski
Flags above Leh, Ladakh.

A simple pair of socks found overseas created my new obsession

As overtourism tears destinations apart, spurred on by social media, a strange new obsession showed me an alternative, more creative, path.

  • Nina Karnikowski
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

I met my hero and was lost for words. It was perfect

Becoming tongue-tied in front of the Dalai Lama may actually have been a blessing.

  • Nina Karnikowski
Life revolves around the covered deck at Little Promised Land.

In the age of Instagram and Airbnb, we’ve lost the joy of ramshackle stays

A stay at an imperfect summer shack with chipped china and quirky curios might just be what the doctor ordered.

  • Nina Karnikowski