The Solo Traveller. Your independence, passion, and lifelong memories.
- Kathy Ozakovic
- Jul 14
- 11 min read
As published by The Solo Traveller. What is The Solo Traveller? "The Solo Traveller was created with one clear purpose – to connect, support, and inspire solo travellers around the globe. Having only launched in May 2025, we’re building a vibrant international community of independent adventurers – people who are choosing to explore the world on their own terms." - Geoffrey Williams, Founder and Publishing Curator. Read my answers to their beautiful reflective questions and pick up some tips for your next solo trip.
Where magic happens
Throughout high school and university in Australia, Kathy Ozakovic’s last name was often difficult for the teachers to pronounce. “Even in waiting rooms, people would often pause at ‘Kathy O’,” Kathy tells The Solo Traveller. “I would see them confused and struggling to continue, and I knew that was me. I go by Kathy O for ease.”
Kathy – a Health and Wellness Strategist and Founder of NuFit Wellness – strives to "bring personal development and the practice of healing to the forefront of the health and wellness industry. From what I have seen so far, we are not being taught how to heal, restore and maintain health. It seems to still be taboo to suggest disease is reversible, yet this is something I have experienced personally and professionally.”
“This is why I have developed the ‘NuFit Wellness 7 Pillars To Wellness’, ‘The Embodiment Fractal Framework’, and ‘Burnout to Breakthrough Method’. They are the result of noticing the patterns and trends that leads people to reverse disease. They are the result of the research I delved into to heal myself first, and to guide others towards the restoration of their own health.”
What kind of work takes you on the road?
During my 20s I travelled for work as a generalist dietitian on hospital wards across New South Wales, Australia, particularly in rural areas. I’ve moved from chronic disease management and into prevention, which has led me into corporate consultancy and leadership. My travels nowadays are for networking and speaking about issues that matter with people who care, within and beyond the health and wellness industry.
How do you balance the demands of work with the opportunities for personal exploration?
To me, these are one and the same thing. I don’t believe in balance – I believe in intentional imbalance and integration. I am very grateful to have found my passion for health and wellness early in life and gone on a gigantic self-development journey that led to my understanding of health and healing.
Healing myself is my work, and the only way to do it is through personal exploration. It led me to relocate from Sydney to Canberra for a quiet cottage life below a mountain, before embarking on a road trip back to Sydney for a 5-day immersive Neurolinguistic Programming course, flying to Bali for a 13-day immersive breathwork practitioner certification, and flying to Singapore to meet industry leaders and identify the gaps in our current medical systems.
I am only beginning my career and look forward to where it will take me around the globe. I have my eye on a speaking event in New York in February 2026 and Madrid in June 2026. It is taking a lot of courage to voice myself and share what I have learnt so far. I want to inspire those in a position of power to move the needle.
Are there habits or rituals that keep you grounded, healthy, and well when you're travelling for work?
Absolutely. This is part of my health and wellness philosophy, rooted in science. Everything keeps coming back to the fundamentals to good health – my ‘NuFit Wellness 7 Pillars To Wellness: Nutrition, Movement, Sleep, Optimising the Stress Response, Light Therapy, Mindset and Spirituality’. Each of these pillars have principles that lead to best health outcomes. Living in alignment means maintaining the habits and rituals that have you meeting the principles.
For example, it is a non-negotiable for me to eat a variety of wholefoods to optimise my gut microbiome that will be challenged through travelling. Depending on the destination, duration and distance, I may choose to bring along probiotics and supplements specific for, or just in case, travel conditions upset my microbiome.
Before I travel, I go through the ‘7 Pillars’ and ensure I have everything I need to meet the principles. I will book accommodation near a gym or with a decent hotel gym for movement to continue my training. I always take time to walk around the city to familiarise myself with my surrounding and feel safe as this calms my nervous system. I maintain my morning silence habit, sunrise and sunset light viewing, and journaling my successes and gratitude.
What are the greatest advantages of travelling for work on your own?
You go at your own pace. Solo travel has been a part of my lifestyle since my first overseas trip to Europe at 20 years old. Looking back, I am amazed my mother let me go. It required trust in her own parenting style. However, I see how it was a crucial step towards me being brave enough now to travel and step into new roles. Having already experienced what it’s like to drop yourself into a new country, new city, and pick up a map at the airport, ask for directions and support, I have trained my body to adapt to the stress and fear of the unknown.
It is all part of resilience-building. Back then I didn’t have the knowledge I have now … I didn’t understand what my body was experiencing. Travelling alone gives me the time and the space to reflect and meet my own needs. Being a highly empathic person, I do think and care about others very naturally. Maybe it’s my smile and positivity that draws other travelers to me asking for directions, as if I know where I’m going! However, together we figure it out. Sometimes I use Google Maps, and sometimes they happen to be asking for directions to the place I had just visited. It’s all about being present in the moment and being willing.
When I am travelling alone, I love striking up a conversation with my Uber and Taxi drivers, asking questions and for recommendations. I had the most wonderful Taxi driver in Singapore from the airport to my hotel who, like a tourist guide, in 20 minutes presented the city, it’s history and culture. Yes, you can do these things when someone is with you, but I am more inclined to entertain the friend and may miss the opportunities to satisfy my own curiosities.
I am an introvert by nature. I love silence and space. Travelling alone means I get to go ‘hide’ during a busy networking meeting in my hotel room, when necessary, without letting anyone know. I get to leave the party when I am at capacity. I get to regulate myself.
… and what are the biggest challenges?
As well as being an introvert, my mind is often very busy. I aim to write everything down, however it would be useful to have a personal assistant or trusted friend to speak to and have them write things down for me. This is something I will be implementing in the future, and I am training up people for the role. Knowing myself and the balance I require between alone time and togetherness will make it much easier to voice my needs to my assistant. It’s the little things that makes you feel looked after … having them tell me when there is something in my teeth, when my makeup needs a touch up, the name of a person approaching me, what time breakfast is served, and brainstorming the schedule out loud. Never underestimate the power of a sounding board. There is a lot to think about when you are also continuously growing and expanding.
Is there a city or destination that surprised you, either personally or professionally?
I am most surprised when I revisit a place I have previously lived in and am now visiting on a business trip. It is a different feeling altogether. Memories and lingering emotions resurface for processing. A different version of myself was once there … my old self. This is how I now feel visiting Sydney and Canberra, having spent most my time living and growing there. Knowing the personal and professional challenges I once faced in those places, there is a sense of pride and courage. This is also the reason I like to revisit destinations, to see what will come up for me … how I now feel within myself.
What is one item you never travel without?
There are a few. You never know if your flight will be delayed or you’ll get stuck in traffic, so I make sure I bring nuts/seeds, water, a few serves of protein powder sachets, a book I am currently reading, a journal, and good quality travel-sized shampoo. This makes sure my hair ‘behaves’ in photos!
How has solo work travel changed your perspective on your personal and professional life?
I get to meet new parts of myself each time. I am a different person each time I fly in and out of a city or country. Changing life circumstances, changing belief systems, and understandings. My perspective is ever evolving and expanding. It is always so interesting to see and feel who I am in any particular moment of travel. Having recorded much of my travels on Instagram, being a deeply reflective person I can see the patterns … I can see the things that are constant – the parts of me that remain the same. They are my core values. Over time, I see myself becoming more myself. It is important to me to remain kind, empathetic, to serve, be honest, loving, reflective, curious and joyful. Wherever I travel, I witness myself marvel in its beauty and that gives me great joy. Solo travel has enabled me to meet myself again and again and reconfirmed those core values.
What advice would you give to someone just starting to travel solo for work?
Know thy self. Know what is important to you, what makes you feel your best self, and what helps you remain calm amongst the chaos. How do you maintain equanimity? Science tells us about this, hence the ‘7 Pillars to Wellness’. However, the rituals and the habits that will have you living in alignment are up to you. I can give you suggestions, but it is on you to know thy self and what will create the most beneficial outcome for you.
Be brave. Fear is a signal that you are about to do something important to you – that you are exposing yourself to something new and unfamiliar … that it is time to be courageous. It is much easier to be brave when you have some structures and routines – something familiar amongst all the new information your body is taking in.
Be present and go at your own pace. It is easy to get caught up in a schedule of planned activities. Show up where you must and allow some flexibility elsewhere. This is where those extra days come in handy. Create space in your schedule. Block out time for lunch and ‘staring at the ceiling fan’ and miss a seminar or two if it gives you more composure. Your body and brain are always taking in information. Allow it to ;just be' without stimulation. An overload of information without time for reflection will have you spinning your wheels. When you are present, magical things happen – you end up meeting the right people without knowing.
Have you made friends that you met while travelling that remain in your life?
My Instagram page started as a travel diary, and it is how the people I meet along the way remain in my life as acquaintances. Some I met on a bus, some on a plane, taxi, or at a gallery. I remember how people made me feel and if any of them were to reach out, I would be as kind to them as they were to me. Occasionally, when I see one of their posts I am sent back to the moment I met them. I remind them of the kindness I felt, and it means the world to them. Somewhere in the world someone remembers a kind line, a smile, or a compliment you gave them. I know because I remember.
There are a few people I have met more recently I am looking forward to growing a meaningful friendship with. I believe people come into our lives for a reason, season or lifetime. The people I have met so far have been for a reason and a season, and it has been a privilege to witness others’ lifetime stories.
Can you share your top three tips for solo travelling success?
1. Give yourself time and space. Fly in ahead of schedule to explore and get to know your surroundings. Get a feel for your new environment even if you are there only a week. Give yourself a few days after the business event to reflect and integrate. More exploration time. Go see the places the taxi driver told you to visit. Journal your main takeaways and lessons learnt. How has this trip changed you? What will you carry home with you in your heart? Every work trip is an opportunity for personal exploration.
2. Keep coming back to the ‘7 Pillars to Wellness: Nutrition, Movement, Sleep, Optimising the Stress Response, Light Therapy, Mindset, Spirituality’. You will be more kind to others when you have taken care of your own needs first. Treat yourself like your first and most important client – your own best friend. Be gentle and kind. You are in a new city, country. Allow yourself to stumble as you find what you need to feel your best.
3. Do something familiar in a new place. Whether that is drinking coffee and reading a book at a café, going for a walk around the block after dinner because that is when you would usually walk your dog, light a candle and have a bath, or lay out your shoes a particular way. Do something that makes you feel more at home. This will help soothe your nervous system when you are in a new environment. As a result of being calm and connected to yourself, your prefrontal cortex – the part of your brain responsible for problem solving – will be back online and any challenges that arise will be easefully resolved.
Feel free to connect with Kathy on LinkedIn, and enjoy exploring her inspirational and empowering range of health and wellbeing offerings.
Kathy Ozakovic (Kathy O)
Health & Wellness Strategist | The CEOs Wellness Coach | Burnout to Breakthrough: I'm the coach you hire to heal/prevent burnout, optimise health and happiness, maintain family values whilst growing the business
Health & Wellness Strategist, Founder of NuFit Wellness Kathy O, with a background in dietetics, went on a journey of self-discovery to become a leader in wellness. Over a 3 year intensive personal development journey, Kathy read 300 books and immersed herself into learning as much as she could about what they didn't teach at university. She self-educated herself about health, wealth and relationships through reading, writing, mentorships, completing accredited courses. As a result, the 'Burnout to Breakthrough (BTB)' method, 7 Pillars To Wellness, Embodiment Fractal Framework were created. It is no coincidence Kathy O's material is about burnout. Before she was Kathy O, she was a girl navigating the pain of heartbreak, breast implant illness, failed relationships, violated boundaries, narcissistic people and the 'never enough' story. We all have a story. You get to rewrite it as many times as you need. What will be your wellness story?
See original publication: The Solo Traveller
Share this blog with someone you want to inspire. Sign up to the NuFit Wellness Newsletter and be the first to know it all. Attend my Wellness Workshops. Kathy O - Health & Wellness Strategist: Supporting people achieve optimal health, wealth and relationships with lifestyle principles through awareness, breath and conscious choice. Embodiment Coach: Alignment is the method. Embodiment is the achievement. Authenticity is a byproduct. Be unstoppable. Be authentically you.
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KEYWORDS: Health, Wellness, Lifestyle, Nervous System, Regulated, Calm, Peace, Mindset, Movement, Nutrition, Sleep, Stress, Optimise, High Performance, Change, Nutritionist, Dietitian, Dietetics, Holistic Health, Integrative, Travel, Tips.
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