In conversation with… Wally and Amanda Koval of Accidentally Wes Anderson

01/05/2025

We caught up with Wally and Amanda to chat about the extraordinary rise of AWA, its remarkable Employee of the Month, Dexter, and a charming volunteer-led book-exchange scheme.

Wally and Amanda Koval are the pair behind the outrageously popular Instagram account inspired by the films of Wes Anderson. Their first coffee table book, released in 2020, travelled to every continent to tell the extraordinary and unexpected true stories behind more than 200 stunning locations. Volume two, Adventures, was released in 2024 and focuses on everyday and extraordinary adventures.

Both books featured a UKAHt site, and their latest offering is available on the UKAHT online shop. We caught up with Wally and Amanda to chat about the extraordinary rise of AWA, its remarkable Employee of the Month, Dexter, and a charming volunteer-led book-exchange scheme.  

Some of our readers may not have heard of AWA. Please tell us what it is and how it began.

Accidentally Wes Anderson (AWA) started on Instagram in 2017 as a personal travel bucket list for me and my wife, Amanda. I started seeing places that looked as though they were plucked from a Wes Anderson film, but they were real places that each had an interesting story to tell. So I started compiling them online, and a community began to form. To think that within just a few years, we’d be nearing two million members of the global community, have two bestselling books, and exhibitions on four continents – it is an ongoing “pinch me” existence.

Holy Trinity Church on King George Island (Thiago Piccoli)

Is Wes Anderson involved? 

Though I never could have anticipated this small side project growing to a scale that would even remotely warrant Wes Anderson’s attention, as the community grew, we were offered an opportunity to create a book, which then led us to the slightly daunting task of seeking Wes’s approval on the matter. 

After many, many drafts of emails, letters and everything short of sending carrier pigeons, we finally got in touch with him. And instead of a cease and desist (which was my greatest fear!), he could not be more gracious and kind. Truth be told, he has now written the foreword for both of our books and continues to be a supporter of this amazing community.  

Tell us about  Accidentally Wes Anderson: Adventures

Accidentally Wes Anderson: Adventures is the thrilling sequel to our debut New York Times bestselling book. Drawing from an incredible collection of nearly 100,000 photos submitted by our community over the past seven years, along with images from our very own adventures, we collaborated with 160 photographers from countless countries to curate 200 of the most unique, unreal and extraordinary locations on Earth, spanning every continent. Our aim was to craft an even more spectacular and comprehensive sequel while preserving the distinctive "AWA magic" that our community loves.

Accidentally Wes Anderson: Adventures is available on our online store (Voracious)

Your books feature two UKAHT sites – Port Lockroy and Damoy. Have you visited those sites in Antarctica?

We have had the pleasure of visiting both! And I cannot believe I just wrote that. The bright blue hues of Damoy are something we will never forget, and the very special visit to Port Lockroy was something out of a movie all its own. 

UKAHT's Damoy –before it's latest conservation work – features in the book (Accidentally Wes Anderson)

We were very fortunate to include an entire 10-page spread on our Antarctica Adventure, including so many photos and stories from the Drake Passage to Point Wilde and beyond. Antarctica was a bucket list location we could have never imagined reaching, but thanks to our friends at Hurtigruten Expeditions, we were able to make it happen in expert fashion! 

Have you visited all the places in the books?

In short: not quite! Though it may be an unimaginable goal at this point, we will continue to treat our books and our website as the never-ending, continually evolving travel bucket list we started years ago. From the town in Australia that has more platypuses than people to the niche Umbrella Shop in London fit for a literal queen, we find ourselves yearning to explore as many of these incredible stories as possible – and our community continues to help us uncover and discover more and more every day.

What are some of your favourite places you’ve covered?

Wally: Antarctica is, hands down, one of the top destinations we have ever set foot on – and we can say that as we were so fortunate to have a continental landing! From traversing the Drake Passage to immersing ourselves in the vast landscape at the very bottom of the earth, it’s a pretty hard place to beat. 

Antarctica, naturally, is one of Wally's favourite destinations (Accidentally Wes Anderson)

Amanda: Switzerland was a big one for me. Every region was so different from the next, including the language that was spoken in each. One day, the road signs and landscape feel like you are in Italy and before you know it, everything is in German, and you are driving over the most epic mountain passes you will ever see. It was one of those adventures that had a little bit of everything.

Do you still have a dream destination you haven't visited?

Yes! So many, but if we had to pick… We often lean on our community to help us decide where we go next.  

Wally: While we have covered this location, I would have to say Copenhagen has been on top of my list for a very long time – but I am excited to say we will be exploring Denmark later this year! 

Amanda: A big one on the bucket list for me would be Svalbard. We were fortunate enough to make it to the bottom of the world and would love to make it to the tippy top too!

AWA's Employee of the Month (Accidentally Wes Anderson)

What's next for you?

We have a few adventures and awesome partnerships planned for the calendar year. As mentioned, we’re fortunate to be working with VisitDenmark, as well as our friends at Skyscanner, to head to Tuscany, and have a brand new architectural partner in Shepley Bulfinch, whom we’ll be heading to Boston with. 

Apart from our adventures this year, we have a wonderful Exhibition in Santa Cruz, California, another in Seoul and another in Melbourne - so who knows where the next one will pop up! All in all, we listen to the community and let them guide us to our next experience.

What luxury item would you take if you were working at Port Lockroy for the season?

Wally: I would bring our AWA x Antarctica rubber stamp! Maybe we could put a call out to all those that are dropping off their mail and let them know they could make their postcard or letter that little bit more special with a rubber stamp from us! 

Amanda: That is easy. Dexter, our 10-year-old mini-Australian Shepherd and AWA Employee of the Month 96 months in a row! I mean, just look at that face!

Port Lockroy was in the first offering (Kevin Fohrer)

Could you tell us about Little Free Library?

The mission of Little Free Library is something near to our hearts. We’re passionate about finding little sparks of joy in each day, and the idyllic humanity that Little Free Library provide ticks that box beautifully. Every single place we go, we always check to see if one of their 200,000 libraries might be there! 

Finally, what’s your favourite species of penguin?

Wally: The Northern Rockhopper is my favourite species of penguin – I mean, come on! Look at those mohawks!

Amanda: Chinstrap. They were the first penguins we saw when we arrived in Antarctica, and they happen to be the cutest in my opinion (but not as cute as Dexter).

Accidentally Wes Anderson: Adventures is out now and available on the UKAHT online shop. Wally and Amanda also send the AWA Bulletin, a twice-monthly curated newsletter.