Meet the adventurer
28 Jan 2017
From Patagonia and Peru to Mongolia and Ethiopia, Wild Women on Top CEO Di Westaway has taken on adventures all over the world.
On the eve of her 40th birthday, adventurer Di Westaway faced a midlife crisis. “I was living a life of misery. I was flat, bored and really disinterested in pretty much most things I was doing,” the 56-year-old recalls. So Di packed her bags and decided to climb Mt Aconcagua in Argentina with a friend.
Unfortunately, on her way up, she suffered altitude sickness and was forced back down. However, Di returned home transformed, with an idea to launch her own adventure tour business, Wild Women on Top. Now in its 16th year, the company has taken 17,000 women on adventures all over the world on weekly treks, weekends away and overseas trips, from Peru and Patagonia to the Tasmanian Highlands and the Bungle Bungles.
“A lot of what we do is about mental health; it’s not just about women getting physically fit, it’s about healing. We have a lot of women with post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression who join us and get wonderful support and help,” said Di.
“Every trek with women is a revelation. We laugh ’til it hurts, solve all our problems and rejuvenate our minds and bodies. For example, being caught in a volcanic dust storm before plunging into hot waterfalls and scampering away from cheeky monkeys in Lombok was an unforgettable experience for me.”
Every year, Wild Women on Top organises coastal treks in Sydney and Melbourne to raise money for the Fred Hollows Foundation. According to Di, the trek helps older women feel good about themselves and prioritise their own health and fitness. It’s also a trek that doesn’t require technical skills or expensive equipment, so it’s accessible to all. Di has loved being active for many years and was a national champion in both aerobics and gymnastics in the ‘80s, as well as a cheerleader.
“I learned at an early age to take responsibility for my own health, and to do this I needed to make movement, exercise and nutrition a habit,” says Di, who also holds the record for the world’s highest handstand, on Mt Ama Dablam in Nepal, 6890 metres above sea level. According to Di, trekking helps to energise her mind, body and spirit, creating “a natural exhilaration”.
One of her most memorable treks was in Japan. “Trekking the ancient Kumono Kodo Pilgrim trail in the Kii Mountains in Japan with a group of 12 wild women was awesome. We learned the ancient art of walking meditation and followed in the footsteps of monks who achieved enlightenment from walking in the wild,” she says
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