Traveller of the Month: Cassie from Cassie The Hag

Welcome to Traveller of the Month! Each month I’m featuring a fellow world traveller to help build connections within the travel world, learn something new and share some different travel stories on Teaspoon of Adventure.
Without further ado, meet August’s Traveller of the Month: Cassie!
And if you missed last month’s, check it out here!
Who are you, where are you from and where are you now?
I’m Cassie, the solo female (and neurodivergent) traveller from cassiethehag.com. My birth country is England and I am currently living in Auckland, New Zealand.
What’s your travel story? How did you get into travel and what kind of travel are you doing now (or were you doing pre-pandemic)?
Somehow I got into travel aged 27 when I bought my one-way ticket to Tokyo with no expectations to return. Honestly, travel was never in the cards for me, and even luxuries like a yearly holiday seemed out of reach.
So it’s safe to say things changed for me in a big way when I was able to save up enough to backpack Asia solo in 2018, after which I moved to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa. I worked full-time, doing six months in Melbourne and six in Sydney, before taking another backpacking trip through the Balkans. Now, I’m back on another Working Holiday Visa in Auckland.
Thus my travel style has been half-budget backpacking routes and half-working abroad, which has worked well for me since I struggle with organising finances (tricky with an ADHD brain). I’ve been working full-time in a 9-5 office job since March 2020, but plan on taking a week’s holiday (in New Zealand) in October… if I am able to (more on that below!).

When did you start your blog and what sort of stories do you share there?
I began my blog 3 years ago, initially detailing my solo adventures through Japan, Indonesia and Australia. I’d say it took about 12-months to feel like a serious project.
From the beginning, it never sat right with me to present a misleading account of my lifestyle, to be a perfect solo traveller or cool Adventurous Backpacker…
Even when on the road, I still have mental health issues to deal with. When I began talking about mental health on my Instagram, where I share more personal and earnest captions, I was really struggling with not prioritising my illness while travelling.
The community response was really positive, and I felt compelled to combine the niche of solo travel and mental health.
What do you do when you’re not travelling or writing about travel?
Fidgeting while daydreaming about travel, writing, and falling in love. Or – more likely – going on a 12-hour deep dive researching whatever my brain has decided to hyperfocus on that day, only to move on from the subject a couple of days later!
I’m actually alone in my room, like, 90% of the time unable to really focus on anything. Although I did just publish an e-book, Pretend to read this book to avoid talking to strangers.
What is your most unique travel moment?
During my second-week solo travelling, I hiked alone for four days along a pilgrimage trail in Japan. It’s far from unheard of to solo hike, but looking back, it was a strange beginner’s activity for a first-time solo traveller! I’d never been to Asia before, or travelled alone, and had only had a single week’s holiday in the ten years prior (plus a couple of weekends away). Beforehand, I’d been working full-time in London and had close to no hiking experience and ended up doing a fairly strenuous hike, up to 20km a day through the mountain forests, staying in local family-run b&bs on the way in mountain villages.
It was kinda bold which throws me off looking back as I’m such an anxious person. How very uncharacteristic of me. I mean… I guess that’s why I so wanted to start acknowledging my anxiety more online, right? Because we get these ideas in our heads of what we can and can’t do and it’s so hard to budge them when we don’t relate to the adventurous,”empowering woman” mould.

How does your disability impact the way you travel?
I have ADHD and dyspraxia, alongside other comorbid conditions. I also have a diagnosis of C-PTSD, insomnia and chronic depression.
It’s safe to say this has impacted my travels in a really big way. Both in a practical sense – I’m unable to drive or ride bikes/scooters, which can be tricky in certain countries when travelling solo – but also in a day-to-day sense. The organisation and constant sensory overload of travel can cause a lot of over-stimulation and burnout. I need a lot more rest days than the average traveller.
It’s affected me the most since the pandemic. Because I haven’t seen anyone I met since before the pandemic began, my NZ travel plans got cancelled. Because I can’t drive – and there aren’t any dyspraxia-friendly public transport routes – I totally rely on the borders opening and letting a friend in to take me.
It seems unlikely I will be able to travel to South Island before my visa expires… but I’m keeping optimistic! I feel very, very grateful to have nabbed a full-time job here (mostly so I could cover some medical costs!) at such a difficult time, but I’m also aware that it’s very rare for a backpacker here to have not visited the South Island or taken a week’s holiday at 18-months into a visa. It’s not a huge issue. I mean, I’ve been eight years without a holiday before. I get the privilege.
I suppose it is still likely a very different experience to what people imagine ‘being in New Zealand’ is like. Especially if you’re in the travel community and are following people who don’t have this disability.
How can the travel industry or blogging community be more inclusive? What travel stories are we not hearing?
Gosh, so many. I’ve definitely learned that as a white cis-woman, the fear of ‘getting it wrong’ is not a good excuse to stay silent on issues. Champion minorities imperfectly and be willing to be called out, graciously, and correct yourself.
And listen. Even with my minor problems, people are always undermining me. If I say there is not an accessible way for me to do an activity, I mean it. I’m 100% sure there will be people reading my above paragraphs on finding New Zealand inaccessible, and their first response is to imagine ways in which I CAN do it. People assume I’ve either not researched properly, or that they know more about my body than I do!
If you’re a blogger, I recommend reading this blog post: HOW TO MAKE YOUR TRAVEL CONTENT MORE INCLUSIVE, CONSCIOUS AND ACCESSIBLE.
I have a DIVERSITY IN TRAVEL series on my blog featuring some wonderful interviews with bloggers who answer this question way better than I ever could. Check out their work!


What advice do you have for newbie travellers?
Newbie travellers never really know what to expect before a trip! Everyone will be affected by certain things differently and there’s only so far other people’s advice can inform our own travel experience. For example, solo travel bloggers often respond to concerns about loneliness by saying ‘don’t worry, you WILL make friends!’ although, this isn’t always the case. It’s not bad advice! It’s just that there’s no One Rule for the huge variety of different humans out there.
Research the destinations, the exciting activities you want to do, and all the amazing plans which you CAN control. And the stuff you can’t control? Work out how to best deal with issues when they arise, especially when it comes to your mental wellbeing. Take self care days if you need to. Remember it’s YOUR trip and the only right way to travel is the one that makes you happiest! So if you need to spend a full-day in bed eating potatoes and watching Netflix while your new travel buds go go-karting? Do it! If you wanna spend money on an avocado toast even though you like, totally promised yourself you’d be the Ultimate Budget Traveller? Do it!
Just as long as we’re being kind to the local communities and respecting the local wildlife, travel shaming ourselves is silly.
Before my trip, I read neurotypical travel blogs which were super helpful for the planning activities stage, but once I started travelling, I realised the way I *experience* travel is very different. Over time, I got better at finding what worked for me. I prioritised activities based on my energy levels, mental wellbeing etc, rather than what I THOUGHT I should be doing based on other travellers.
What is your unpopular travelling opinion?
My travels are in direct correlation with my privilege. And I am not a better person because I have travelled.
The efforts & challenges I’ve overcome are not discounted or unimportant by that statement. Rather I acknowledge the ratio of Travel to Hard Work is, in general, far less significant than the ratio of Travel to Privilege.
I feel very, very fortunate to have passport, language/education and visa privileges. I feel lucky that after growing up in a difficult situation, I still lived in a country where hard work allowed me to use savings just for my own enjoyment. That is huge to me. Overwhelmingly lucky. It should be that way for everyone.
Also white dudes saying travellers are better people because travel is enlightening need to read a book on colonialism like… dude, the irony of that statement is huge. And this is super insulting to the many wonderful, intelligent game-changers and good-hearted people who live around the world but can’t afford to travel.

If you could live abroad, where would you live?
Somewhere which feels like home. I want a support system and a community more than anything.
Do you have any goals for your travel blog?
To keep sharing and being part of this community. I would love to be able to work and collaborate with others in the future too. I find working with others is a great way to hold myself accountable, as a writer with ADHD.
I would also love to do a series on neurodivergent travel but I’m not sure travel brands would go for that!
I’m not sure if it would ever become my main source of income because I’m not very good at the financial side. It would be awesome if it became a great supplement income and kept growing though!
I do genuinely want to provide useful advice as well as being a source of reassurance. I’m not striving for the perfect balance in order to make money while still feeling authentic – I’d rather continue prioritising what’s important to me.

How do you cope with travel burnout or bad days on the road?
Rest! If you need to rest, rest. If you’ve already forced yourself into activities and still felt like crying while standing halfway up an epic volcano, you know it’s time to give your body what it needs.
I also prepare for my burnout in advance! I take a comfort kit – my hoodie, sleep mask, downloaded playlists and the Calm app. I often download Netflix when I’m travelling so I have something to do in the evenings… or in the many days, I need to rest and deal with overstimulation! I’d say about 50% of my travel days are spent dealing with burnout. It’s one of the reasons I couldn’t financially justify solo travelling in expensive destinations.
What do you wish you saw more of in the travel industry? What do you wish you saw less of?
More: Diversity.
And more jelly shoes. Do you remember them? I had sparkly ones. Definitely need to bring them back for my next beach day!
Less: Sandy butts. I mean, c’mon, I love butts as much as the next human, but why’d they get so sandy? How do you manage to concentrate on the sound of the ocean when you’ve got an itchy behind? My sensory processing issues would be all kinds of messy.


What is your process of writing a blog post?
I think about it for several days… or weeks… or months. And then I blurt a load of stuff onto a page in about 35 minutes. Then I straighten it out a bit, check the facts, and add photos. Next, I post my imperfect work, to try and give my mind the urgency it needs to carry out the brain-numbing job of proof-reading… but usually it gets left until six months later when I’ve forgotten what I wrote well enough to give it a fresh read.
I’m, like, a super professional woman. Buy my course on ‘How to Blog by Throwing a Load of Words against a Website and Seeing What Sticks’ for the price of two small jelly shoes!
I feel like getting ideas as a travel blogger is super easy because you can just talk about what you’ve done? Maybe I shouldn’t say that, are we meant to do keyword research first?
No. Don’t tell me. Adding extra steps to the blogging process is a surefire way for my ADHD brain to get overwhelmed and delete the internet, and nobody wants that.
If you could go on a worldwide trip, visiting just one city on each continent, which cities would you pick?
This is fun. I’m gonna not overthink it and –
Wait, no, I’m overthinking it. I’m on the world map. Do you think the city ‘Napier’ has any relation to the sword? Oh, no, it was the name of some British lord. Did it ever have a Maori name?
This isn’t my answer for Australasia by the way! I just got sidetracked… It’s been half an hour, and I’m still in the top half of New Zealand.
I give up. Just spin an atlas around and I’ll see where my finger lands. Let’s go!

Lastly, where can we find you online?
My blog: http://cassiethehag.com/
My instagram: @cassiethehag
My twitter: @cassiethehag
My pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/cassiethehag/
Thank you for joining my Traveller of the Month series, Cassie! I so appreciate your vulnerability in sharing about your mental health journey, your brilliant takes on the privilege of travel, and your hilarious approach to travel and blog planning!
Head on over to Cassie’s blog to follow her trips, learn more about diverse travel and enjoy Cassie’s great sense of humour – and stay tuned for September’s Traveller of the Month!
Wow, Cassie – so good to hear more about people traveling with disabilities and very helpful to hear recommendations for how you work around them! I also like that you don’t sugarcoat the difficulties. Your travels look like they have been helpful and inspirating to many others. Both of my kids have disabilities and it can be super frustrating for someone who doesn’t walk in their shoes to give trite advice…:-)
Loved your column and all your gorgeous photos!
Thanks so much for checking out Cassie’s interview, Cindi!