One year on…

A year ago today we set of into the unknown – a seven month trip around the world. We had moved out of our house, taken sabbaticals from work and only had what we could fit into a backpack each.

As it turned out, the trip was nothing less than life changing – we saw and experienced things greater than our wildest imaginations. We have come back with a greater appreciation of everyday things that we had previously taken for granted, are more ethically and environmentally conscious and have a greater desire to give back to communities both locally and abroad.

Artwork on a school in Bolivia

Looking back now, it is easy to forget some of the amazing things we achieved during our trip as they get eclipsed by memories of the bigger things we did. I was having a bit of a downer on the train to work recently, as I sat there thinking about my days back at work, and came up with the following list. I keep reading it to remind myself how fortunate we are to have been able to do the trip and thought I’d share it with you.

• Trekked in the footsteps of the Incas along the Inca Trail to Macchu Pichu
• Watched sunset over Lake Titicaca
• Went horse riding in the Andes
• Trekked into one of the world’s deepest canyons
• Saw Iguazu Falls in flood
• Took silly pictures on the world’s largest salt flat
• Relaxed in hammocks in Copacabana, on the shores of Lake Titicaca
• Walked in the footprints of dinosaurs in Bolivia
• Tangoed in Buenos Aires
• Walked over an active volcano in Tonagiro National Park
• Scuba dived at the Great Barrier Reef
• Sailed among the Whitsunday Islands
• Cycled between Argentinian vineyards
• Drank proper Absinthe
• Celebrated our first wedding anniversary at the foot of Mount Cook
• Rafted the highest commercially rafted waterfall, near Rotorua
• Watched fireworks in Sydney Harbour
• Visited Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island
• Watched hummingbirds feed
• Skydived from 15000ft above Queenstown
• Climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge
• Visited Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious structure
• Cruised on a junk in Halong Bay
• Had clothes tailor-made in Hoi An, Vietnam
• Saw where the Emerald Buddha was discovered in Chiang Rai
• Rode a Segway around Chiang Mai
• Been a mahout for a day
• Explored New Zealand by campervan
• Seen Cassowaries in the wild near Mission Beach
• Cuddled a Koala at Australia Zoo
• Travelled the length of Vietnam on the reunification express
• Seen the reclining Buddha
• Seen Auckland from the top of the Sky Tower
• Travelled along 90 mile beach
• Went dune surfing
• Kayaked with dolphins in Port Stephens
• Watched humpback whales play off Hervey Bay
• Travelled first-class (on a bus)
• Seen penguins in the wild in Milford Sound
• Visited the temples of Ayutthaya
• Explored Franz Josef Glacier, one of the world’s fastest moving glaciers
• Been circled by a dozen Andean Condors on the rim of the Colca Canyon
• Driven the east coast of Australia
• Pushed a Land Cruiser stuck in the the snow at 5000m above sea level
• Crossed the Andes
• Visited Potosi, one of the world’s highest cities (and that used to be one of the world’s richest)
• Travelled on the world’s steepest railway, in the Blue Mountains
• Seen the tiny Cu Chi tunnels
• Lived like royalty for a week in Bali