Yvonne Van Dongen

Writers bio:
Yvonne Van Dongen worked as travel editor for six years on New Zealand's largest newspaper, The New Zealand Herald, before opting for the freelance life. Prior to that, she'd done what every self-respecting New-Zealander like to do - the great OE (Overseas Experience). Travelling throughout Asia, she finally settled in Amsterdam and worked in one of the infamous coffeehouses for almost two years.

Since she began travel writing in 1992, Yvonne has won eight travel awards including the 1995 Cathay Pacific Travel Writer of the Year and the 1998 FCL Paper Commonwealth Media Awards. The latter awarded her a press fellowship, allowing her to study travel writing for a term at Wolfson College, Cambridge earlier this year. She contributes regular travel features to New Zealand and Australian newspaper and magazines including New Zealand House & Garden, Grace magazine, The Australian in Sydney and the Sunday Herald in Melbourne.

Yvonne lives in Auckland with her husband and two children.