Backpacking through Europe has long-since been the quintessential 20-somethings holiday― while there are a million amazing places to explore, and some even more appealing than Europe, there will always be something magical about zipping across borders on a sleeper train, climbing a church tower f[...]
It’s hard to imagine why more travellers aren’t making their way down to Wollongong & the Illawarra, but it’s equally surprising why more Australians aren’t! I am always surprised to meet people who don’t even know where it is. Wollongong deserves a lot of hype, but it is pleasantly un[...]
The Illawarra is so underrated. Everyone knows about Sydney, but what about the gorgeous south coast? In close proximity to the phenomenal Royal National Park, overflowing with white sand beaches and clear blue water, gateway to some truly incredible coastal sights, it’s a wonder people aren’t f[...]
The wide angle lens on my camera comes in handy so often, but I was a bit regretful today that I didn't have anything with a bit of zoom so I could capture the magic seals we saw today! All the details: Kaikoura Getting there: Kaikoura is located in the far NE of New Zealand's South Island, a 2[...]
After a very unfortunate fiasco with the ferry tickets from North to South Island, wherein I mistook the 9am departure as 215pm and had us trotting around Wellington in search of food while our boat was boarding and leaving, we finally to make it to Picton on an 8pm sailing thank[...]
By now, I know better than to assume that any hike in NZ will be leisurely, but Avalanche Peak definitely sends me off to the North Island with an intense yearning for flat ground and a renewed hatred for steep descents. All the details: Avalanche Peak Getting there: Drive to Arthur's Pass Vill[...]
It seems that no sooner are we back from one gruelling hike (in this case, Mueller Hut) than we are off on another. I woke up the first day after our Mt. Cook hike feeling surprised and very optimistic about the lack of muscle soreness. Of course, all this optimism quickly dissipates on day 2, just[...]
The hands-down most terrifying moment of my young life was standing on the edge of a small platform nearly 50m above a Gatorade-blue river in New Zealand and, despite every cell in my entire body screaming WHAT ARE YOU DOING, taking a flying leap off. Well, that's a bit of a dramatisation of the ac[...]
Cal and I made an agreement before we even got on the plane to New Zealand that we would do this terrifying Nevis Swing together (the world's largest swing!). The original idea is that it would save us from having to go bungy jumping, which we were both terrified to do, but still give us sufficient[...]
I just couldn't help but fall in love with the very European, yet still distinctly Latin American, cultural metropolis that is Buenos Aires. Thankfully, the beauty of travelling on a semi-flexible schedule is that you can decide on a moment-to-moment basis where the day will take you, and this meant[...]
Like every single other tourist in Bolivia, we make the lengthy trek down to Uyuni to see the world famous Salar de Uyuni, a trip that requires us to sit for 4 days shoulder-to-shoulder with half a dozen other travellers in an ageing Jeep while we drive from the southwestern Altiplano to n[...]
If my memory serves me (and it almost never does), we visited the north side of Isla del Sol, so chosen by the guy at the ticket booth. There was slight concern when it seemed like we were being dropped into a pile of ruins, but luckily that was just the French travellers on the[...]
Our first stop in Bolivia, Copacabana is especially magical because it is also our first glimpse of water in far too long. Of course, that’s not entirely true, because we swam in waterfalls in the jungle, but they were puddles compared to the expanse of Lake Titicaca. Despite b[...]
From the moment Aristo and I heard about the Inca Trail, we knew it was the only way we would ever choose to get to Machu Picchu. There’s an expensive train that runs from town in the morning to get lazy people to MP, but that simply doesn’t compete with nearly 50kms of trekking. We leave from[...]
After finishing my biostats exam, the last exam of my second year at uni, I am immediately off to the airport, flying to Hawaii to meet mum for a little island holiday in Lahaina. It has only been 6 months since we last saw one another, but excitement levels are still high (mum cried when we met at[...]
After 6 hours in a shockingly cramped minibus, we arrive in Siem Reap, eager to perk up after a very somber few days learning about genocide in Phnom Penh. Unfortunately, we run into serious challenges trying to find a room for the night. To be fair, there is some available a[...]
Although it is a somewhat depressing way to begin our time in Cambodia, it feels necessary to spend a little time learning about the genocide that happened here 35 years ago. What’s really shocking is how little Aristo and I know about it. I don’t think that’s a personal failure– it seems l[...]