MICHELE OBERHOLTZER
AGE // 30
OCCUPATION // Writer, Entrepreneur, Engineer, Activist
LOCATION // Detroit, MI
HOMETOWN // Chelsea, MI
A woman who has adventure in her veins! After solo hiking the North Country trail for six weeks, Michele joined WHOA on the 2014 Int'l Women's Day Kilimanjaro trek. The journey would not have been the same without her energy and contagious spirit.
Window or aisle seat?
Window. You can lean against the wall to sleep and get a view when you want it.
What are the three things you never leave home without when you're traveling?
1) Book
2) Journal
3) Cash
If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?
Stopping time so I could capture and enjoy perfect moments.
Would you rather spend a day scuba diving with sharks, hiking in the Himalayas or hot air ballooning in Turkey?
This is impossible to answer! They all sound so incredible, but I'd choose hot air ballooning in Turkey (even though I'm afraid of heights). I like the combination of culture and solitude.
What’s the hottest place you’ve been to? What about the coldest?
Hottest = Portugal in August. Siestas are mandatory; escargot is optional.
Coldest = I've been closer to frostbite and exposure in other times (due to poor planing), but the coldest place I've even been to is the Uluru peak on Kilimanjaro!
What accomplishment are you most proud of in your life?
Travel-wise, my solo backpacking trip across 700 miles of trail in Northern Michigan is the greatest achievement of my life. That one will be hard to beat. But on a more holistic level, the accomplishment I am absolutely most proud of is overcoming my eating disorder. Bulimia confined me for almost my entire adult life until this past year and I am utterly dumbfoundedly proud of the miracle of freedom I feel from overcoming that addiction.
In what moment or trip did you fall in love with travel?
When I went to Australia for an undergraduate study abroad program. It opened my eyes to the possibility of travel and all the dimensions therein. I couldn't believe that, after being on a place for so long, I landed in a place when they spoke the same language. The wildlife was incomparable.
What is the weirdest thing you've ever eaten? Where did you eat it?
I ate a mpani worm on a safari in South Africa. The worms are named after mpani trees that they eat, and while we were on a break from viewing wildlife, we "picked" the worms off the trees like berries and ate them later (fried) as an appetizer.
What is your dream adventure?
I'm not focused on travel at this time in my life, but one day when I have children, I would love to take them on a road trip/camping adventure down to South America. I would like to see the world through their eyes and expose them to other places and cultures. Children are the best ambassadors!
What is your mantra or favorite quote?
I have many, but here's one of my favorites: With my faults, I can never be perfect. Without them, I can never be whole.