Vacationers of the Week: Charity and Peta King

This week, we went Down Under to find our Vacationers of the Week, Charity “Char” King and Peta “Pete” King.  Charity, 30, is originally from Northern California, and Peta, 35, is from the Northern Beaches region of northern Sydney, Australia.  They are both partners in life, love, and business. 

Almost five years together, the power couple are the owners and founders of Freshwater Nutrition, where Charity works as the nutritionist and lifestyle coach and Peta is the business operations manager. Their mission with Freshwater Nutrition is to help people find their own version of happiness and good health through personalized coaching, programs, and healthy products that educate, empower, and nourish. 

Coincidently, the couple was able to start their business thanks to their side hustle as reality TV stars, which includes featured contestants on Name That Tune (Season 1, Episode 3) and the primary guests in the season finale of Below Deck Down Under.  

But honestly, we really wanted to talk to them about their travels to 30 different counties. Charity and Peta open up to tell us about their individual stories of what sparked their interest in travel, how they fell in love with Sri Lanka after a terrifying event, why they highly recommend adding Portugal to your travel bucket list, and they dish on their top three recommendations for things to do when visiting their current hometown of Freshwater, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. This is one in-depth Q&A you don’t want to miss!

Vacationer Magazine: At what age did you receive your first passport? What was your first trip? 

Charity King: I got my passport at 18. I wanted to have it on hand, so I never had to say “no” to any opportunity to travel outside of the U.S.A. My first trip was to study abroad for a year in Sydney, Australia while I was in university. I must have loved it so much, I worked with Aussies for five years after that with Contiki and ended up marrying my own Aussie, radiant Peta!

Peta King: I was 8 years old, and my parents had booked a family holiday to the United States for us to go to Disneyland in California and Las Vegas. I went with my parents, my two brothers, my Aunty, and my cousin. It was awesome! We also had time in Hawaii which was always a favorite place for my Mum and it is one of mine, too. I have been there over 15 times now. I’ve just realized that both our first trips were to each other’s home countries and states – what are the chances!? 

What trip or travel experience sparked your passion for travel? 

Charity: It was definitely my studying abroad experience. It showed me a different way of life, amazing animals, so many new people, a fresh new culture, and just how easy it is to travel the globe even while on a tight student budget. I learned how to save, became quite fearless, and knew I would come back and have access and the opportunity to explore the world after I got home. Working for Contiki after my university graduation opened that door wide open. I am so grateful! 

Peta: I would say it was my first trip as an adult when I was 21. I traveled to the UK with my twin brother’s partner at the time. We were visiting mutual friends who had just moved to London, and I also had school friends that were living there at the time. From our base in the UK, we traveled to Italy, Germany, Spain, and France. I had no idea how accessible travel really was until that trip. I was there for about six months, and it was a big growth phase for me personally as I got involved in my first same-sex relationship with my friend who I was visiting! Talk about new, authentic experiences. 

What inspires you to travel? 

We love experiencing new cultures, meeting new people, and trying local food! It’s all so exciting and makes us feel alive and in that love cloud of the ‘first kiss’ butterflies even after five years together. Travel pauses space and time in the best way. 

We love food and eat mostly plant-based food, so it has been so fun and quite an adventure trying all the vegan varieties of cultural cuisine in the countries we visit. Who knew some of the best vegan food we have had would be in meat and cheese-loving countries like Italy and The Philippines. Searching out the vegan places in new cities has led on to unique, hidden parts of town we would have otherwise missed. 

Please tell us how you identify yourself on the LGBTQIA spectrum. Tell us if how you identify influences the way your travel. If so, how? 

We both identify as Pansexual. Hearts, not parts. 

Peta: Charity’s work in the travel industry allowed her to get out of her small town and learn about other identities and queer stories. She always knew she did not fit in the ‘straight’ box, but up until she heard the term pansexual, she did not connect with any other identities. It was freeing to find a phrase that spoke to her heart and who she is and allowed her to explore this with a heart that just became wider and filled with pride.

Charity: Peta has always just been her, I told her I dentified as Pan, and that really clicked for her as well and felt right. We both finally found our name, our flag, and a way to convey who we are to others. We love being Pan! 

We want to feel safe, accepted, and supported in the areas we travel. We always put safety first and have had to seriously consider whether or not we are putting ourselves at risk if we are traveling somewhere. We are both very affectionate people, so it is always very obvious that we are together. We don’t feel right having to hide and “closet” ourselves anywhere we go, so this means we have to comprise in some locations we have been like Singapore, Sri Lanka, and even on layovers in Oman. It was hard and landing in queer-safe countries afterward like the Netherlands was a HUGE sigh of relief as we could finally be just us once again.

It’s tricky and sad that there is that element of fear associated with travel for the LGBTQ+ community, the fact we have to actually research if we can legally and safely travel somewhere. This has meant that there are some countries we have not yet traveled to as we don’t feel it would be safe for us. 

Is there a travel destination that most queer travelers would think isn’t safe to visit, but you’ve visited and enjoyed it? If so, where? 

Sri Lanka – While culturally it is quite conservative, women are discouraged from drinking alcohol, and being gay is not looked highly upon. We rarely found any judgment and we were free to be ourselves, particularly in traveler-friendly restaurants and beach towns in the south. The only incident was on a hot day, we saw some locals drinking these bottles of delicious cider. They looked so crisp and delicious, so we walked up to the little drink kiosk to order one each. We were not served until everyone else went first (all men) even if they approached the kiosk after us. When they did come to serve us, they told us to not tell anyone and to be safe! We were confused as we had forgotten that law but were served and promptly took our incognito ciders to the beachfront to enjoy without any potential issues.

We ended up in Sri Lanka longer than planned due to the 2019 Easter Sunday Bombings. It was scary being there with locals and travelers alike, but we were safe in the southern beach town of Mirissa for the time we had to lock down until conditions were deemed safe. The locals and military that patrolled at the time were so loving, so proud of their culture, and went above and beyond to teach us, feed us and bless us during our time at the hostel, local shops, and cafes. 

We did not deem it appropriate to travel much further than where we were due to a country in fear and in mourning so we stayed put where we were. During that two weeks of uncertainty, we fell in love with Sri Lanka so deeply and felt the hurt and anger the people had for those that put their country and any travelers in harm’s way. We assured them we would be back and tell the world just how awesome it is in Sri Lanka, so here we are telling ya’ll! We can’t wait to get back soon to continue our trip and get our mouths on more delicious dishes like their roti, kattu, and iconic breakfasts. We hope to take a cooking class when we get back.

We booked our trip to Sri Lanka last minute, as we originally were going to Turkey on a group tour for Anzac Day, which is a National Day of Remembrance in Australia and New Zealand. It’s a rite of passage for many Aussies to travel to the Turkish shores to pay their respects to their fallen countrymen who fought in World War I. This was a big dream for Peta, but we decided to change our plans due to current terror threats being made to those that were traveling in for the Remembrance Day in 2019. We ended up in the midst of a terror attack anyways, so it goes to show, that you cannot really live in fear, just travel smart, communicate back home in case you ever need help and do not judge a country based on small groups with bad intentions. They do not represent the entire country or culture.

How long have you been traveling together? What was your first trip together? Would you recommend it to other LGBTQ+ travelers? 

Peta: Our whole relationship was built on and around travel. Haha! Once we said our “goodbyes” at the end of Pete’s Contiki trip in August 2017, Charity rearranged her flights from a trip to the UK to fly to Sydney in November that year. From then, we would meet up every two months on average to explore different parts of the world, usually starting halfway in Hawaii. 

Our first full trip together was to Portugal in May 2018. We highly recommend it to other queer travelers. We were fresh in love and very out and proud with no issues. Kisses between wine tastings, cuddly picnics on the beachside, and food crawls along the cobblestone streets were met with good vibes. We saw a few confused looks from some older locals, but nothing we have not experienced in our own home countries. 

Was it naturally easy to start traveling with one another? What are the perks of traveling as a couple? 

Peta: For us, travel was just part of our relationship. During Charity’s visit to Sydney at the end of 2017, we had already started planning a year of travel together! As a trip manager for Contiki, Charity was used to life on the road. 

Charity: For Peta, it felt surprisingly natural to just be planning and exploring the world between work tasks and saving for the next adventure. 

From sharing food to sharing clothes, couples automatically have several perks while traveling. You have your best friend there to meet new people, experience new cultures, foods, landscapes, and create memories together for the first time. You get to know each other quite well and get a whole lot of stories and create a lot of inside jokes due to long travel days, mishaps, and challenges. We truly feel like our best selves while on the road and feel like we have been together much longer thanks to our travels. A day traveling to a new location is like a month in real life! 

How would you describe your travel style in three words? 

Scrappy, Active, and Delicious! 

What are three things LGBTQ+ travelers should do when visiting your current hometown or where you currently live?

Freshwater, or “Freshie” to the locals, is a hidden gem with a pristine, soft sand beach and village dotted with cute local cafes and shops in the Northern Beaches area, situated right next to the famous Manly Beach, and just a short ferry ride from the iconic Sydney Harbor. It is sacred land for the native Gayamaygal people of the Eora nation and the birthplace of Australian surfing thanks to the Hawaiian surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku who visited Freshwater from 1914 to 1915. While he stayed in Freshwater, Duke fashioned a solid surfboard from sugar pine, and with this board, he introduced the ancient craft of Hawaiian Kings – the art of surfboard riding to Australia for the first time at Freshie Beach!

1. Visiting the Duke statue located at Freshwater Headland 

2. Swim or surf in Freshie’s crystal blue waves or natural rock pool and soak up the sun on the silky sand at Freshie Beach. 

3. Grab a perfectly poured flat white – an expresso-based drink that usually contains steamed milk – and visit our Nutrition shop, Freshwater Nutrition, for some healthy advice and snacks. 

What are your top three favorite places to visit? Why? 

1. Hawaii
Each island has its own vibe and history, the pace is cruisy, endless hiking opportunities, the weather is great, and the people are kind and happy. It truly is paradise! We would eat Dole Whip and Hawaiian macadamia nuts for every meal if we could. Hawaii Is also special to us as it’s as “in-between” as you can get between Australia and the US. It was also our usual meeting place when we were in a long-distance relationship. We have been to Oahu, Maui, and Moloka’i together so far and plan to visit the rest in the next few years. We also want to plan a vow renewal ceremony on Maui with both sides of our families there, as our original Maui wedding was canceled due to the pandemic, so we eloped in Australia instead and did not get to celebrate with our loved ones. 

2. U.S. National Parks
The US is so much more than big cities and Disney parks, holy heck! The National Parks are the most beautiful, accessible, and unique places in the world. For all abilities and interests, too. For example, you can drive up to the rim of the Grand Canyon and learn about the native caretakers of the land, sip on a prickly pear margarita while soaking in what appears to be the most unrealistic display of natural wonder or you can hike approximately 34 km (21 miles) rim to rim while keeping your eyes out for rattlesnakes while paying attention not to get heatstroke – or you can do it all! We both agree that our favorite adventure together of all time was hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim with road trips through Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Arches – a close second. 

3. The Philippines
This was another last-minute trip. We were in South Korea and having a wonderful time, but were freezing our butts off. We needed sunshine and heat, so picked a warm place we had never visited before that wasn’t too far from where we were. So, we booked flights to the Philippines. The Philippines blew us away! In Coron and El Nido for $100, we could charter private boats on turquoise waters with fresh-cooked food prepared on private beaches and stops wherever we pleased as we cruised the Islands of Palawan. We played with island kittens, drank rum from fresh coconuts, and met the nicest, funniest people. I mean, can you see why we loved the Philippines? 

What three places are still on your bucket list to visit? Why? 

1. Turkey
We didn’t get to go in 2019 as planned and we are still cautious with their current laws in regard to LGBTQ+ people, but we want to make it there for ANZAC Day. We dream of the local spices and food and need to witness Cappadocia for ourselves!

2. Kauai, Hawaii 
“The Garden Island” appeals to us because of its natural beauty, less-touristy beaches, and epic hike treks. The challenging Napali coast hike is a dream of ours. I mean waterfalls, lush cliffsides, beach camping, endless sunshine – we are down for the challenge for all those perks! 

3. South Africa
We are animal lovers and neither of us has been to any country in Africa. It would be a new adventure for us both and a Safari in a national park to see these native animals in the wild would be a dream come true! We hear Kruger National Park is amazing, but anyone reading this should hit us up with your recommendations as it will be new territory for us and a trip of a lifetime. Any and all advice is welcome! 

What’s one thing you never forget to pack in your suitcase? 

Snacks! Working in the Nutrition Industry and having a plant-based diet, we never like to be at the mercy of what limited choices could be at airports and rest stops. We always have a large selection of fresh veggies, fruits, dips, even protein powder, and crunchy snacks to keep our energy and mood up and to stay healthy while traveling. It keeps the hangry vibes at bay and saves us a lot of stress, time, and money. We even hiked the Grand Canyon with a cold bag of fresh veggies along with our more substantial meals. It helped us stay hydrated, and energized and also helped us to recover amazingly well, much more than just an energy bar and water could have. 

You’re going on a road trip. What singer or band is always on your playlist? 

A good list of country artists inspired by the trip across the US where we met. Also artists from concerts and music festivals we have been to together: Keith Urban, Morgan Evans, Maren Morris, Easton Corbin, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Flatland Cavalry, Lizzo, and The Mowgli’s. We are boppin’ wherever we set sail to go!