Category: Travel

A few people told me I was brave going overseas alone to Mongolia earlier this year. When I mentioned my plan to go to Vanuatu with my one-year old solo they thought I had gone a bit crazy. Turns out it was a bit of a crazy idea, but it was also an incredibly insightful journey.

Continue reading “VANUATU vacation”

When I first told people I was planning on travelling to Mongolia I was met with a lot of shock and disbelief. I was brave to travel there alone, apparently it was an unusual location for me to choose and not many people had wanted to travel there. For me, it was a given, it had always been on my list of places I wanted to see and after travelling there I have an idea why.

Continue reading “MONGOLIAN memories”

It’s been a few months now since I visited China and I’ve been a bit slow in getting my thoughts down. I will start by saying that China isn’t on my “visit again” list. At least not any time soon. It’s not that I hated my experience or anything to that level, but it wasn’t as enjoyable as I had hoped. I didn’t thoroughly enjoy my trip, but I am glad I went. The experience was meaningful, some of the people were wonderful, and the mountains were mystical.

Continue reading “SOLO in Sichuan”

Nepal had always been on my list, but not really near the top. Not for any particular reason mind you, it just wasn’t where I thought I would travel next. When the opportunity arose, I was hesitant at first to commit, possibly because the first iteration of the trip was to mountain bike through Nepal and though potentially enjoyable, not something I could realistically train for whilst living in Sydney (I found this out during Timor). Eventually I was able to organise my thoughts and say yes to what turned out to be a truly touching and enlightening experience. However, it didn’t start out that way.

Continue reading “NAMASTE Nepal”

I hadn’t ever really considered travelling to Timor-Leste when day dreaming about the holidays I would take, but when a friend said, “Hey, want to do a 5 day mountain bike race with me in East Timor?” I said “Heck yes”. I have to admit I was ignorant of almost everything to do with Timor-Leste, it simply hadn’t registered in my mind. I knew vague things, like oil disputes and that there was a violent history, the Balibo 5, but I hadn’t ever taken the time to learn about this country. Heck, I didn’t even realise it was a country separate from Indonesia and my ignorance in this aspect really humiliated me. I was determined to change this during my visit.

Continue reading “TOURING Timor-Leste”

Two weeks in a new country never feels like enough time, but it seems to give you a taste and leaves you wanting more. That’s how I feel after my 2 weeks in Japan.

I had never been to Japan before, and all whilst “Japlanning” I started to feel overwhelmed. How on earth was I going to see all the things I wanted to see? Where do I even start with Japans incredibly long and detailed history? Which areas should I prioritise and where can I do some great but accessible hiking? And how much Japanese should I learn before going? Where should I stay? Too many questions.

Continue reading “JAPLANNING”

A last minute decision found me 3 weeks out from an ultra marathon. I hadn’t planned to do this event, nor had I trained for it. I was just out of a surgery when a friend contacted me to ask if I wanted her entry for the 50K. I was intrigued, excited, tempted, but wanted to get the go ahead from my surgeon before I did it. I knew that mentally I was capable, and that I have great endurance, so my main concern was simply can I make the cut off times. After my surgeon gave me the all clear (with the proviso that I keep checking in with myself throughout the event), I was keen to start.

Continue reading “ULTRATRAIL 50K”

Six days is all I had to immerse myself as completely as possible in Samoan lifestyle and culture, so this last week, that’s exactly what I did. Being a whole week without any snippet of the outside world was indeed delightful in it’s own right, but accompanying that was an eye opening look into a different way of life, island life.

Continue reading “SAMOAN daydreams”

A 27km coastal hike just south of Sydney. This is generally suggested as a two day hike, and originally that was the plan! Hike in the first day, set up camp, have a nice fire and a chilly night, then wake up early, watch for whales and hike out.

Best laid plans, huh?

Continue reading “ROYAL coast track”