Lance Corporal Natalie Hudson said she was looking for adventure and a different lifestyle when she joined the Australian Army in 2011.

Lance Corporal Hudson, from the 8th/12th Regiment Royal Australian Artillery based in Darwin, was working as a beauty therapist before meeting with some people who told her about the army lifestyle while she was travelling in the Top End.

"I didn't think females in the army were very common and I didn't know if I had what it took to get into the Army as a woman - so I thought I would just give it a go," she said.

"My cousin, my uncle, my step-father and my grandfather were all in the Army and the more I looked into it, I thought maybe I could do this.

"It sounded so appealing to me, so after a bit of research I put all my eggs in one basket and went for it."

Lance Corporal Hudson studied at Delroy High School, finishing year 12 in 1997. She met her policeman husband, Bill, in 2001 and moved to Nowra then Queensland where she attended beauty college before joining the army.

After recruit training at Kapooka and then initial employment training in Albury, Lance Corporal Hudson was posted to Darwin where she remained.

It was the interaction with other nations that she has enjoyed the most about her deployment.

"I deal a lot with the explosive ordnance disposal guys from the Turkish army," Lance Corporal Hudson said.

"We don't have the resources ourselves here to dispose of ammunition so we hand it over to them to dispose of it. We go out with them to help with putting ammunition into the burn bins when disposal is required."

The Australian troops deployed in Kabul also regularly took part in social events such as fun runs and trivia nights with coalition forces, she said.

"The French organised an obstacle course which meant getting in the mud and crawling through the drains," Lance Corporal Hudson said.

"It sounds really disgusting but it was fun and it was cold."

An avid cake baker and decorator, Lance Corporal Hudson was also one of the main drivers behind Christmas celebrations for the Australian and Danish troops in Kabul.

What she could not get from the mess kitchens on base she had posted from her mum in Australia.

"I thought about the types of food that people would want to eat at Christmas so I ordered it online and had it delivered to mum who posted 18 small boxes of food here," she said.

"I kept in mind to not have perishables so we got fruit mince pies, truffle balls, fudge, cake mixes, lamingtons.

"Because we couldn't be with our family or loved ones, we have a different kind of family here on deployment, so it was good to just spend the day together as a group."

When she returns to Australia, Lance Corporal Hudson plans to take leave and return to Dubbo to see family and to spend some quality time with her husband.

The pair will stay in Darwin, with Lance Corporal Hudson posting on promotion as a corporal to the 1st Combat Signal Regiment.