Myf Warhurst’s most memorable travel tales
Sun that shone on her head, the snow that fell in her streets and the music that filled her soul.
Need to know…
As well as her ABC Local Radio program, she hosts arts and culture podcast Bang On with Zan Rowe and is an Australian commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest.
1980s | Australia DARLING RIVER
I grew up in Red Cliffs, Victoria, on the Murray River, just south of Mildura. In the holidays, we’d go to our 24-hectare property on the Darling River – a place called Darling View – out past Wentworth, NSW, and pick fruit. My parents had bought one of those old green W Class Melbourne trams in the ’70s and my dad converted it into a holiday house with a kitchen in the middle, two bedrooms at each end and a bathroom at the back. In summer, it would be over 40°C, day after day. The river can be dangerous so when I was very little, my mum used to put a rope around my waist, tie it to a pole while I swam and then haul me back in. I’m a river girl from way back – that’s my idea of home. Seeing the river at sunset, when it’s flat and sparkling, is just heaven. I dream of living there again.
2012 | England LONDON
When I finished Spicks and Specks, I moved to London for two years. I’d never lived overseas before; I didn’t do a gap year because coming from the country and going to uni was so exciting, I didn’t need to go anywhere else. For a while, I lived in Shoreditch, which is a very hip area. Then I rented [Spicks and Specks host] Adam Hills’ apartment in Crouch End – a bit more suburban – about 20 minutes’ drive north. I had a ball. The first time it snowed, I annoyed everybody with “Look at my backyard!” photos. I literally grew up in the desert so living in a place where it snows – like, properly snows – was such a treat. In London, there’s a secret around every corner. I loved being in a place where I didn’t have all the answers.
2016 | United States PALM SPRINGS
I’ve been to Palm Springs many times because I’m obsessed with Mid-Century Modern architecture. My most recent visit was with friends for Desert Trip – the festival they called “Oldchella”. We rented a MidCentury Modern house, of course. It was so much fun. It was a nightmare to get into the festival site but there was great food and no dickheads. Somehow we got into the front row for Paul McCartney’s show. A security guard said to us, “What passes have you got?” One of my friends said, “Magic passes!” And he said, “Okay, go through.” I’m not joking. Everyone in Palm Springs is either from the 1990s or they are 90. I feel like I can be both so when the time comes, I’d like to retire there, wearing white three-quarter-length pants and a visor. And I want to look at everything through rose-coloured sunglasses.