Where I’ve Been

Last updated January 2022.

Here is a list of where I’ve been to date (not including my childhood adventures around Australia and the US).

2010

• Six weeks independent travel across Europe by train starting in Moscow and finishing in London with stops in Krakow, Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Bruges and Paris. Plus a stop over in Bangkok on the way home.

• Christmas & New Year break in Siem Reap, Cambodia touring Angkor Wat with Intrepid Travel and the surrounding temples. Then a stop in Singapore to bring in the New Year.

2011

• First time long weekend in Melbourne sightseeing and soaking up the International Comedy Festival vibe.

• Packed up my life in Sydney and headed to London to live and work for 2 years.

• A few nights in Singapore again on the way to London because I loved it so much the first time.

• Greece for a tour of the Greek Islands – I didn’t end up leaving Athens due to the riots and strikes but got to check out Athens for a few days before fleeing.

• Three weeks travelling through Italy; two weeks with Topdeck Travel and one week independently on the train. I visited Rome, Orvieto, Pompeii, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast, Assissi, Siena, Lucca, Florence and Tuscany, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Lake’s Garda and Como, Verona, Venice and Milan.

• Two weeks travelling by train through Switzerland, Germany and Austria visiting Interlaken, Lucerne, Zurich, Munich, Salzburg and Vienna.

• Two weeks travelling through France with Topdeck Travel visiting Paris, Camembert, Bayeux and the Normandy coast, Loire Valley, Cognac, Bordeaux and the surrounding wine region, Carcossone, Avignon, Pont du Gard, Nice, Monaco, Lyon and Annecy.

2012

• Weekend trips from London to Bath, Bristol, Cambridge, The Cotswolds, Canterbury, Oxford, Stratford-Upon-Avon, York and Brighton in England and Cardiff in Wales.

• A long weekend in Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands

• Three weeks in the USA meeting friends in Orlando for theme park fun for 10 days and a week in New York City.

• Finally made it to the Greek Islands visiting Santorini on my way home from London for 5 days of relaxation and sunshine.

• New Zealand’s far northern North Island for a 10 day driving trip taking in Auckland, The Bay of Islands, Waipoua Forest and the Coromandel region.

2013

• Easter long weekend in the Queensland town of Noosa for a few days of relaxation, good food and lots of sunshine.

• A long weekend in Jervis Bay on the New South Wales South Coast checking out the wildlife and spending some quiet time away from the city.

• Another weekend in Melbourne but this time to visit a good friend for a long awaited catch up and a bit of sightseeing through the eyes of a local.

• Three amazing weeks in incredible Japan, with part of this on tour with Tucan Travel. I visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Miyajima, Yufuin and the Fuji Five Lakes district.

2014

• A luxury weekend in Australia’s Blue Mountains revisiting some childhood favourites.

• A road trip along the Grand Pacific Drive south of Sydney to Kiama and visited the Illawarra Treetop Fly.

• An incredible two week road tripping around New Zealand‘s South Island starting in Christchurch then onto Marlborough, down the Wild West Coast, visiting Glacier Country, Wanaka, Fiordland and finishing up in Queenstown.

2015

• Back to Melbourne again, this time to live a life long dream of attending the Australian Open Tennis tournament.

• I took off from Sydney on our first cruise, a three night cruise to nowhere with Carnival Cruises.

• Easter weekend exploring Adelaide and making a day trip out into the Barossa Valley for wine tasting.

• Photographing the autumn colour for the Autumn Festival in the Southern Highlands south west of Sydney.

• A secret and peaceful weekend away in Greenwell Point in the Shoalhaven on the New South Wales South Coast.

• My second trip to Melbourne for the year, this time visiting friends and catching up with some from New Zealand over for the weekend.

2016

• Three glorious weeks on New Zealand’s South Island with friends for a wedding. I crammed in hens/bucks weekends, 10 days touring the south of the island including the Mackenzie Basin, Dunedin, The Catlins, Wanaka and Queenstown and lots of pre and post wedding shenanigans.
• Six months driving from Sydney to Perth slowing seeing everything Southern Australia has to offer (read more in my Australia Travel Guide!).
• New Years trip to Melbourne to see friends and experience the years biggest celebration in a different place.

2017

• A 3 night comedy cruise on P&O Cruises with my sister and mum. Lots of drinks, laughs and singing!
• Easter weekend in Melbourne visiting a good friend and checking out some restaurants and breweries I’ve always wanted to visit. Plus lots of comedy for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
• Long weekend in Coffs Harbour on the NSW North Coast. I’ll be spending a lot more time up there exploring in the future as my parents have recently retired up there. Can’t wait to enjoy the areas beaches over summer!
• One month travelling around Western Canada. I visited Vancouver, Vancouver Island, cruised the Inside Passage, took a two day train across to the Rockies spending time in Jasper and Banff, stopped by Calgary before I returned to Vancouver.
• Long weekend exploring Byron Bay on the NSW north coast with my parents. We ate at so many amazing restaurants, walked on the beach, visited the lighthouse and took long drives through the countryside surrounding Byron.
• 2 week summer vacation in Coffs Harbour with my family. Honestly, this is the first time I have been anywhere and just done nothing and it was one of the best holiday’s I have ever had!

2018

• Multiple weekends in Coffs Harbour visiting my parents and discovering more of the many amazing beaches, towns and restaurants in the area plus 2 weeks over Christmas and New Year.
• Easter weekend in Coolangatta on the Gold Coast in QLD with my best friends. It had been a long time since we had all been together so we spent a lot of time catching up as well as visiting local breweries, going on long walks along the coast and playing barefoot bowls.
• One week relaxing in a resort on Fiji’s Coral Coast. I’ve never been on an island vacation like this before and I loved it! Fijian hospitality is second to none!
• Eight nights in Honolulu with a friend. We swam, shopped, toured the island, climbed and hiked to waterfalls and ate all the Hawaiian food we could get our hands on.
• Luxurious long weekend in Orange in country NSW travelling with the Silver Compass Tours on the Vino Express. All the wine and food I could possibly handle with a great bunch of people.

2019

• Birthday weekend in Melbourne visiting some of my old and new favourite restaurants and bars. The whole weekend was dedicated to eating drinking and enjoying time with good friends.
• An interesting 8 days in Australia’s Top End staying in Darwin and exploring the National Parks and discovering how great Darwin is for great food experiences.
• Getting to visit Wellington in New Zealand, the one place I haven’t managed to get to in one of my favourite countries. I discovered how cultural it is with an amazing food, bar and arts scene, plus checked out some pretty spectacular views.
• A relaxing long weekend in Culburra on the NSW South Coast staying in an architecturally amazing house on the beach, relaxing, walking and spending time with a great friend.
• A weekend getaway to Daylesford in the countryside north of Melbourne. After a week working Melbourne and a hectic few months, this relaxing weekend surrounded by the bush with kangaroos on our doorstep, was just what I needed.
• After the amazing time had in Orange for the wine festival last year, I couldn’t resist jumping on the Vino Express one more time to enjoy all the food and wine that Orange is fast becoming famous for.
• As my parents are living in Coffs Harbour these days, I’ve again had many weekend trips up to this beautiful coastal part of NSW as well as a week over Christmas relaxing on the beaches.

2020

What can I say about 2020…..it was the year where travel didn’t exist. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, most of the world stood still for most of the year as the world battled the biggest health crisis in a generation. Despite this I did manage a six short trips, albeit all within my home state of NSW:

• Australia Long Weekend in Kiama soaking up the sunshine, good food and fresh air.
• After three months of lockdown and not being able to see my family who all live in Coffs Harbour, government restrictions eased just enough for me to be able to drive up to Coffs Harbour for a week to spend some time with my family.
• Romantic winter getaway to the Blue Mountains. We got a cosy Airbnb with a fire place, dined at some of the best restaurants in region and took on a few walks in the crisp winter air.
• After the two previous years trips to Orange with Silver Compass Tours, me and a few friends decided to try doing our own Vino Express trip to Orange. It of course involved a weekend of lots of good food and wine.
• Another few days up in Coffs Harbour visiting my family. During these difficult times have really made me crave that time with my family more than ever.
• Finally, and not without a few last minute changes due to the Christmas Sydney COVID outbreak, I spent a week over Christmas in Coffs Harbour with my family. IN the week leading up I didn’t think I’d be spending Christmas with them so I was very thankful to have been able to in the end.

2021

Well…..travel didn’t get any easier in 2021 thanks to the dreaded rona. Didn’t leave NSW again but still, somehow managed to visit two new places.

• Late February birthday trip to Newcastle with my parents. I must say the food up there is amazing! We day tripped out to the Hunter Valley win region too which was great fun.
• In June I visited Coffs Harbour (again) to see my family and lucky I did because we were locked down hard for 4 months just days after I got home.
• While I was in Coffs Harbour my parents and I took a two night trip down to Port Macquarie. Our main motivation was to eat at a winery restaurant there but ended up loving the whole vibe of this lovely beach town.
• Finally, it was back to Coffs Harbour again as soon as lockdown ended in November and I have been here ever since. I will be making my way back to Sydney in the new year. This visit I spent a lot of time at the beach and also tried to fit in all the places to eat and drink I hadn’t been to previously. Two new breweries had opened since my last visit so there was also plenty of beer consumed!

Where to Next?

What’s on the cards for 2022? With the Pandemic still running amok through the world and new variants appearing, I doubt, despite the boarders now being open that I’ll be leaving NSW again for another year. Again, all I hope for is the opportunity to spend lots of time with my loved ones.