Liane Moriarty’s big little travel highs
The bestselling author talks memorable trips, rowdy literary events and the greatest city for writing.
The bestselling author of Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers talks memorable trips, rowdy literary events and the greatest city for writing.
Where was the last place you visited?
“Noosa in Queensland. It’s our favourite family holiday spot. Our daughter took her first steps just outside Aromas cafe on Hastings Street. Now she declares that she cannot possibly take another step as we round the headland of Noosa’s stunning national park walk. This is her (effective) negotiating tactic for gelato.”
Where in the world have you felt happiest?
“Skiing with my father in Perisher Valley, New South Wales. This was back in the ’80s, when we wore beanies instead of helmets, sunglasses instead of goggles, and ‘skins’ instead of ski pants. We were about speed, not style, and there were some years when we did more ‘rock-hopping’ than skiing, so we could have done with those helmets.”
What’s a destination that surprised you?
“I was surprised to be so enchanted by the city of Copenhagen. I loved the relaxed vibe and the fairy-tale architecture. There are lines of push-bikes, not cars, parked outside offices. Professional women wear flat shoes to events and look gorgeous and comfortable. Princess Mary sure landed on her feet. We happened to be at Christiansborg Palace when she and the lovely prince she met at a Sydney pub were arriving for the opening of the Danish parliament. She waved at us in a very knowing way. We think she could tell we were Australian.”
And a destination that disappointed?
“I thought the White House would be much larger and more imposing because of all the times I’ve seen it blown up in movies. I honestly thought I must have been in the wrong place and the real White House was somewhere else. The nearby Lincoln Memorial had all the grandeur I was expecting from the White House.”
What do you regard as the ultimate city?
“I have to say my own city, Sydney, because that’s where I choose to live and my heart always lifts when I see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House when I’m returning home, and because we have beaches and bushwalks and crystal-clear sunlit winter days. But if I’m really truthful the first thing that comes to mind is the steam rising from the streets of New York on a winter’s evening, while snow falls and horns toot and doormen whistle for cabs. It’s just so iconic and glamorous. Even if I don’t walk or speak fast enough for impatient New Yorkers.”
Where did you travel as a child?
“We stayed at the Avoca Beach caravan park on the Central Coast of New South Wales every summer holidays. My grandfather caught bream off the rocks and my grandmother cooked it on the camp stove in her tent. The caravan park smelled of the septic tank and there were always queues for the showers, but it was as heavenly to us as the Greek Islands.”
What is your favourite view of all time?
“I stayed on the island of Santorini after a backpacking trip around Europe and I’ll never forget the views of that endless deep-blue Aegean Sea at sunset.”
What items do you always pack?
“I always pack multiple items of clothing that I will never once wear on my travels. These are often items I never wear at home either, but I suffer from a delusion where I believe I will become a different person when I travel, and those shoes that hurt in Sydney will not, for some reason, hurt in London. I’m an anxious, inefficient, deluded packer and I pay for it with excess baggage charges and back pain.”
What journey do you take most often?
“The flight between Sydney and Hobart. I write in Hobart looking out at the River Derwent and Mount Wellington. For me, Hobart is the most calming place in the world to be.”
What is the best hotel you’ve stayed at?
“The Four Seasons Hotel at Marunouchi in Tokyo is a world-class hotel with incredible city views. But the reason I think of it as the ‘best’ is because of the time they gave my family a very early morning check-in after an exhausting overnight flight with two small children. It was like winning the lottery. Sadly, that means we now always expect to win the lottery and feel irrationally resentful when we don’t.”
Name a memorable dining experience.
“The five-course meal at Beano’s Cabin overlooking Beaver Creek ski resort in Colorado. We arrived in a sleigh behind a snow cat and were given slippers to replace our heavy snow boots. The food was sublime.”
Can you share a fascinating individual you’ve met in your travels?
“It’s hard to choose. I remember a boy telling me matter-of-factly about his frightening experiences of the 1989 Romanian Revolution while we were doing the kitschy Sound of Music tour around Salzburg. I remember a serious, sad-eyed little girl who sold me a piece of the Berlin Wall just after it came down. I remember an incredibly charismatic, beautiful new grandmother at a glamorous party in New York. Her name was Meryl Streep.”
What was the first trip you took that was transformational for you?
“I used my first-ever passport when I was 20. My best friend and I went on a skiing trip to the South Island of New Zealand. We went heli-skiing and whitewater rafting, and saw stunning countryside. On the flight back to Sydney we planned when we would use our brand-new passports for a second time. Our most recent trip together was to visit a friend living in the south of France to celebrate all our 50th birthdays.”
Has travel inspired your professional growth?
“I’ve had the incredible privilege of doing book events in countries all around the world. In Oslo my publisher said, ‘Don’t worry if there’s silence at the end. They’ll be too shy to ask questions in English.’ He was right, but then every single person in the signing line leant in close and asked me a question in impeccable English. In Phoenix, Arizona, I spoke at a bookshop with a bar where everyone drank cocktails beforehand. It was the rowdiest, most joyous literary event I’ve ever done. I can’t wait until I’m allowed to use my passport again.”
Liane Moriarty’s latest novel is Apples Never Fall (Macmillan Australia, $32.99).
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