Meet Caro Ryan – Wild at Heart & Always Exploring

Trailblazer. Map whisperer. Bushwalking mentor. Caro Ryan wears many hats—and every one of them is well-worn and adventure-tested.

A writer, producer/director by trade and a bushwalker and search & rescue volunteer by passion, Caro is the powerhouse behind LotsaFreshAir.com, a platform she created to inspire, teach, and encourage people to get into hiking and the outdoors safely. Her mission? To connect people with wild places in meaningful ways, helping them look after themselves, their mates, and the precious environments they explore.

Born in Sydney, NSW and now living in the Blue Mountains, Caro’s outdoor journey began with childhood tales by Enid Blyton and a life-changing 3-day corporate team-building hike in the Budawangs. These days, she’s found carving paths through off-track bushwalking, packrafting, canyoning, and sometimes just being in nature, not doing.

Her heart belongs to Australia’s Wilderness (with a capital W)—and her dream adventures go deeper, further, and longer into remote corners of the country most people never see.

The Essentials, Caro-Style:

• Must-pack items: Comfy undies, a flexible attitude, and Chapstick.

• Footwear: Hiking shoes or trail runners (Merrells get the tick of approval).

• Trail food go-to: Curry.

• Post-hike indulgence: Dumplings, beer, and the occasional Chiko Roll.

• Coffee or tea?: Coffee, always.

• Adventure soundtrack: Xavier Rudd and Queen.

• Favourite trail book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

She’s also a fan of cowboy camping—though a night in the Cockburn Ranges ended with a 3-metre python stretched across her sleeping mat. That’s one way to meet the locals.

When she’s not out bush, Caro teaches wilderness navigation through her in-person courses and authored the brilliant “How to Navigate – The Art of Traditional Map & Compass Navigation in an Australian Context”. You can also hear her voice in ‘Rescued – an Outdoor Podcast for Hikers and Adventurers’, where she shares gripping stories and learnings from the trail.

And if she could head into the wild with anyone? It’d be trailblazing adventurer Marie Byles, whose pioneering spirit still inspires Caro today.

Follow Caro’s Wild Wisdom & Adventures:

🌐 Website: lotsafreshair.com
📘 How to Navigate Book: How to Navigate
🎧 Podcast: Rescued – an Outdoor Podcast
📷 Instagram: @LotsaFreshAir
👍 Facebook: facebook.com/lotsafreshair
▶️ YouTube: youtube.com/lotsafreshair