Trotting the globe through Travel with Toni-Ann
Published:Friday | November 10, 2023 | 12:08 AMShanel Lemmie/Staff Reporter
Toni-Ann McKenzie has had an affinity for history for as long as she can remember. While studying at Merl Grove High School in St. Andrew, McKenzie’s love for history evolved into a curiosity about travel.
“It started with my love for history in high school, wanting to learn about new places and cultures was of interest to me,” she explained.
Characterising it as a mere interest, McKenzie later enrolled into Edna Manley School of the Visual Arts where she studied graphic design.
Though she had travelled extensively across the United States with her family, McKenzie took her first solo trip in 2016. “My first trip alone was to Cuba in 2016. It happened when I planned it with a friend, but at the last minute they backed out so I decided that wasn’t going to stop me and so I went.”
Remembering the eye-opening experience she said, “It was a good experience in terms of cultural experience. I did history right, I did graphics and I did photography while I was at Edna Manley. I grew to love photography and that’s kind of what inspired me to go to Cuba. It was close, no visa needed so it wouldn’t be that costly. So I just said, okay I’m gonna go.”
McKenzie said while she was there she got to really bask in the glory and history of Cuban architecture while enjoying the food and fellowship the island had to offer.
Inspired by the incredible time she had in Cuba, McKenzie went on to see 14 other countries including, Cambodia, Vietnam, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Austria, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Highlighting Mexico as her favourite experience thus far she said, “In Mexico City, in particular, I enjoyed the food, and the people. I also went on my first hot air balloon ride which was an experience I will never forget.”
With her flights becoming more frequent and the number of questions she received about her many sojourns following suit, McKenzie created the Instagram account ‘Travel with Toni-Ann’ to help advise her Jamaican community on how to travel.
Like many other world travellers when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, she had to stop her global trot, “Well COVID-19 came, clearly; no travelling was done. So I was just posting, reflecting on past stuff and what ended up happening is that because I couldn’t really travel internationally, I started to focus more on local travel.”
She continued, “I’d just get up, go to the country and meet people and that’s how the local travelling started. I mean I was always doing it but not as much as I did overseas.”
Throughout her journey of river-hopping and finding local gems, McKenzie has now amassed an audience of nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 20,000 followers on TikTok.
With no end in sight for her globetrotting adventures, McKenzie said she is excited to explore more of the African continent, with a particular focus on Kenya.