Renee Hahnel started off as a speech therapist from Australia and quickly turned into an Instagram travel influencer. She always loved photography and had very popular Instagram posts, but her side hobby quickly became a full time job. Since this April, her and her husband Matthew, who is also a photographer, have been on an epic journey in a van through 59 United States national parks. The couple kayaks, hikes, roams around the parks, and documents the entire thing.

The couple always traveled a lot and made sure to document their experiences on Instagram. Once they moved to Colorado, they reached 100,000 followers which is when brand sponsorship begins. Last summer, Hahnel quit her job and the couple began to travel more. They’re halfway through their trip and have been living the #VanLife which is beginning to trend on social media. When asked about how it feels to live in such close quarters, Hahnel says “Before we started this van trip, my husband and I were joking that we were going to kill each other because [the van] is tiny! But it hasn’t felt as suffocating or cramped as we expected it would. We just get out of the van a lot.”

She also explains that her packing habits have gotten a lot more condensed and her photography skills have improved drastically. She also says that all this traveling is not as relaxing as it seems, and they actually get really tired. She also says they are “Really thankful for things like FaceTime, Skype, iMessage — those are really the only ways we speak to our family.” Which is important in any travel situation.