Finding Deeper Purpose + Living Sustainably in the South Pacific

She Who Wanders

Jul 14

A Convo with Katie from @theislandlifeofus

Meet Katie. She’s a wife, mom of two (plus one on the way!), ocean wildlife warrior, diver, and voice behind The Island Life of Us, where she shares all about her family’s unique lifestyle on a remote island in the south Pacific. Between helping run the family dive resort, homeschooling her two kids, and organizing a charity that seeks to implement education and health support for the local community, she is passionate about devoting time to exploring the ocean with her kids and taking advantage of all the outdoor adventure her beautiful island has to offer. I can’t wait to share her story as inspiration to think outside the box, scrap the status quo and build the life we imagine.

Tell us a little about you and your family like where you’re from, where you live now, how old are your kids and anything interesting or unique you’d like people to know.

I grew up in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia and moved to the Gold Coast, SE Queensland when I graduated from university to start my career as a clinical pharmacist. I met Jase when volunteering as a pharmacist in the Solomon Islands and that changed everything! I moved to Uepi (pronounced ooo-pee) to be with Jase “for a year, or two for the experience” and here we are almost a decade later. Uepi is a small coral atoll in the Marovo Lagoon, the longest salt water lagoon in the world. Jase’s family have lived and worked here, running an internationally renowned SCUBA diving resort for over 35 years now. We have two children, Arlo (5 years) and Ophelia (3.5 years) who have known nothing other than island life.

The Great Wanderlust is all about moms stepping outside of the box and diving deeper in both travel and in life! The mission is to inspire mamas and families to feel fully alive through adventure and exploration! What is your great wanderlust? What most makes you come to life??

The ocean is our everything. Our island home is situated in one of the most biodiverse marine environments in the world, meaning that some days we swim with giant oceanic manta rays, witness octopus mating or even have a visit from a blue whale! We do not have pets at all, but we do have a resident population of hundreds of sharks. I am a SCUBA diver and freediver, love to stand up paddle board and adore any method for exploring the ocean. Our family is extremely passionate about the environment and committed to protecting the special marine world on our doorstep and thus sharing our experiences and inspiring others to explore the ocean really makes us tick! Our kids have been introduced to this unique way of life since their early weeks of life so naturally we spend time in the water every single day.

Share about what daily life is like for you on the island. As a mom who still has to attend to a home, kids, work etc., how do you fit in time to adventure, explore and enjoy the natural beauty all around you?

When we are on duty for the resort, we wake up and get breakfast going then attend an early morning staff meeting to get everyone (25 staff) on task for the day. We always prioritize eating meals with the children and have them ready for the day - if we have time, we take a post breakfast swim from our deck / snorkel the shallow reef in front of the house. Lately the kids and I have been challenging ourselves to swim 40m to a buoy and back in the morning! I clean up madly and get washing going while Jase attends to our in house guests / restaurant service for the morning.

Arlo attends school by distance education online with an in home tutor but we also pop in to supervise throughout the day. Ophelia usually tags along with one of us or joins in with Arlo’s school activities when appropriate. Once lunch is served to the resort we sit down together again to eat and then we read with the children for an hour or so for our downtime - currently we are reading longer books like The Secret Seven which are adventure inspiring for sure. Usually Arlo is finished with school by lunchtime so we have the afternoons available to explore together - snorkel, paddle, swim, hike, find crabs or play games outside depending on conditions and what everyone feels like doing.

We are really flexible, so if dolphins swim through our passage we will head out and play. If conditions are perfect, we will take the kids snorkeling on our drop off reef. I usually prepare the kids dinner and we eat early with them while supervising the restaurant kitchen for the evening service. Either Jase or I will clean up and do the bedtime routine with the kids while the other will head up and socialize with the guests and make sure dinner service runs smoothly, then make arrangements with guests for the following days’ activities and write menus for the next day. The work day ends at around 9pm and then we crash!

On an “off day” where we don’t have responsibilities within the resort, we pack a boat and head out… Usually to an uninhabited island somewhere we can spear a fish for lunch, cook on the fire, explore the reef with the kids and reset our brains!! On a lazy day off, we are usually still in the ocean right here close to home. We have a stunning overwater leaf house to access the reef and our stand up paddle boards are always ready!

We are also currently building a new family home.. So any spare time we get, Jase is on the tools and we are trying desperately to get the house completed!

What do you think are some of the most common misconceptions people have about you, your life and living on a remote island? What are some truths you’d like for people to know?

That we are on constant vacation, lazing in hammocks and sipping cocktails. Our life is very malleable to our adventures because we choose to prioritize time with our family within our work days but this takes conscious dedication. The resort responsibilities can sometimes be 16 hour days, we run a household, homeschool and a media company for our YouTube channel. It’s a LOT but we love every bit of it!!! Living this lifestyle has allowed us to be together ALL THE TIME and we absolutely love that. It’s not for everyone and we have the same struggles many families have but the rewards are massive.

What is your biggest dream for yourself + your future? What about for your kids?

Jase and I share some intense desires to share conservation stories about our environment. We’d love to produce an independent film one day if the timing is right and the impact to the local people worthwhile!

We hope to see our children lead happy, healthy lives. Really that is all that matters. We do our very best to model and provide a wholesome lifestyle so they grow up respecting their wellbeing, how they nourish their bodies and minds especially through experiences over possessions.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned about sustainability and taking care of our planet since living on the island? What do you think is most important for people to know and understand about the state our planet is in and what we can do about it?

We see the impacts of climate change first hand living in the South Pacific - rising sea levels, warm water impacting our marine health and threatening our planet's well-being. I personally experience climate anxiety because we see what is at stake and yet mass action on climate change is not moving fast enough. Individually we can all be conscious of it in our decision making. Who we vote for and where we keep our money - many big banks invest in fossil fuels and so simply choosing to bank responsibly is important.

There is SO MUCH plastic in the ocean and it comes from near and far - washing up on our remote island shores, killing wildlife in the ocean and on land. Simply being mindful of our environmental footprint is so important. Reducing plastics through simple swaps is good for you and our planet. Prioritize quality over quantity whenever possible so that things last and serve you. Living in a place where it is extremely difficult to acquire things, we really consider what we buy and how we will dispose of it when the time comes.

What are you most excited about discovering or experiencing more of around the island? Do you have any plans for travel and if so - where are you off to?

I would love to swim with wild orca one day. I can feel it, it’s going to happen!! Otherwise, more of the same to enjoy our magical coral reef while it lasts! We would LOVE to share a white Christmas sometime but no plans for that yet.

Is there a question you wish I would have asked or anything else you’d like to share with other moms/women relating to travel or life?

I think one significant turning point for me embracing the life I live now was letting go of social norms or expectations around my past clinical profession and even what I thought my mum-life would look like. Becoming a mother and leaning in to that here on the island has completely changed my perspective on what is important in my life - for us, it’s being together and being happy and living here and adventuring is the mechanism for us to achieve that. I loved being a pharmacist and I still put my skills to use, however it would have been so easy for me to never take the leap to live this life… because many people judged or questioned why I would give up a good career / lifestyle that I had before. If you are someone with an opportunity to choose an alternative lifestyle - then I say, block out the noise and do what makes you happy, there’s a good chance that other people simply won’t “get it” but that’s for them to figure out - go live your life!

Who inspires you to dig deeper in travel and life?

I know Kirsty - @wildadventuremum recommended me ha ha and I would absolutely say that inspiration is mutual. We have become great friends through social media which is just incredible, sharing our highs and lows in a way that we really respect each other's unique way of life!

Rianne Hottinga @feelthebreezefamily @rianne_hottinga - Mum, entrepreneur, adventurer.. This amazing woman also left a high end career (as a lawyer) to follow her heart and now it has taken her family to incredible places! They have a very inspiring story!

Elayna Carausu @elayna.carausu - from Sailing La Vagabonde. She is an incredible artist, mother, role model and business owner. Love their YouTube channel and the concepts they share about the world and exploration, living in an alternate way.

Jessica and Garrett Gee from The Bucket List Family - the morals and values they share with the world are ever inspiring.