Last updated 19 June 2020
About me with the wanderlust
I’m a Brisbane based freelance writer and blogger combining my passions for writing and travel.
At Travel Bug Within my aim is to inspire your wanderlust to explore further. My website shares stories, information and tips to help you plan your trip and create your own special memories.
When I discovered my travel bug
My ardent wanderlust has been a part of me for some time. I ‘caught’ the travel bug in my teenage years, exploring my home state of Queensland and beyond with my parents on road trips. Packing the car and heading to the Sunshine Coast for our annual four week family holiday created a strong affinity for the beach and being near the ocean. Later on, as a University student taking her first trip to America as an exchange student, I discovered international travel. And never looked back!
Now I’m hovering in the magical mid-’50s, my appetite for travel hasn’t diminished, but my body and mind seek travel of a different kind to my earlier years. Circumstances mean my travels are sometimes solo, often with friends and more occasionally (as my three lads morph into teens and beyond) as a single mum. One thing you can be sure of, my travel stories are always real, honest accounts of my experiences at home in Australia or around the world.
Why follow me?
As an Associate Writer Member of the Australian Society of Travel Writers I have met many talented travel writers, bloggers, editors, photographers and PRs. Through these relationships, I have expanded my travel knowledge exponentially and been invited on a few press trips, providing material for new stories.
You won’t find backpacking stories at Travel Bug Within (unless I’m recounting stories from my days as a backpacker a few decades ago!)
What you will find are stories from my travels:
- as a solo traveller
- a single mum with her kids
- with friends
- on press trips.
I’ll write about people I’ve met, the history of a place, any challenges or incidents that may have happened along the way, and what made things easier for me (tips.)
My stories are honest, occasionally sarcastic (laughing at some of the things I do), and hopefully engaging.
Future travel plans
Travel inspires me and the travel bug inside would like to escape more often. However, at the moment I cannot uproot and travel endlessly. Somewhere in the near future, my gypsy soul will wander for longer, but right now as a mum to three lads (Mr 21 and two teenagers) I am based in one place.
A few trips each year satisfy the bug! My lads sometimes travel with me, helping me with writing inspiration, content (and occasional grief!)
I refer to myself as a mid-life adventurer and ignore my lads telling me I am “old” (let’s hope they don’t mean it deep down!)

The teens on Bulcock Beach Caloundra Australia

Mr 21 in Kyushu Japan
If you’d like me to write for you, please send an email to Jennifer[at]jenniferjohnston.com.au
Please enjoy exploring with me via Travel Bug Within. I hope my stories will move you, either emotionally or to book that trip and explore more of our amazing world.
Happy Travels,
Jennifer J x
PS Please follow me on social media via Facebook instagram travelbugwithin and twitter @travelbugwithin or pinterest!
The Copyright “stuff”
Photos and text in my blog are not to be used for commercial purposes.The photographs on this site are mine and are copyright to: ©travelbugwithin.com.au or ©jennjaytales
If I share photography that is not mine, I will credit the photographer. If you would like to use any of the photos in my blog, please notify me and provide a link back to this blog, with a clear acknowledgment of all items used. Please do not crop, alter, or edit my photographs.
Thank you.