The travel shelf: places I’ve been, places I almost visited and places I’d like to go.

My very first trip out of the country was in 1999 and I spent 4 months backpacking, starting with a christian music festival in the US, and continuing to the UK and Europe. On that first trip, I met many people I’d previously only known online via usenet, through groups such as rec.music.christian, alt.fan.pratchett and alt.fan.wednesday – including Wednesday herself. I remember my Lonely Planet for “Western Europe” had a misprint on the spine and was spelt “Westen Europe”. I regret not keeping it. To reduce weight, I ripped out the sections I wasn’t using and ultimately tossed the whole, broken mass before heading home. Anything to reduce weight. Ultimately I returned from that trip having bought too many books, too many clothes and over 50 CDs.

Northern Greece

A year later I returned to Europe for a 5 week trip with friends. I’ve made it to Greece 3 times, Italy a few times, a wonderful trip to China. With a mix of earlier jobs and regular travel, I think I managed to make it to London 5 years in a row, with good memories of Scotland and Ireland; Central Europe and particularly Prague, and of course France.

Nor can I forget travelling with dad and my sister around France and Belgium. I recall in Bordeaux, we bought a very nice red on a winery tour and decided to picnic in a park back in town. We went to the supermarket to buy some cheeses and glasses and dad wanted to buy plastic glasses, however I insisted on glass glasses. A good wine tastes much better out of glass I reckon.

To my shame, I didn’t make it to New Zealand until my job at the time required me to do so. Consequently, mostly for work, I went back a couple of times a year over several years and attached holidays here and there. I fell in love with the place and was in the midst of planning a move to Wellington when the job at the State Library of NSW popped up.

Routeburn Track, NZ

Iceland: I still haven’t made it. I had plans to go several years ago, on two separate occasions. No luck so far. I’ve been to all States and Territories of Australia but still haven’t made it to Tasmania. I’ve been to Canada and had good times in Toronto. Two of my trips to Greece were to attend international rendezvous for canyoning, both times were amazing, once to Crete and once near Lamia in Northern Greece. My last trip to New Zealand was mix of work (attending LIANZA) and a 3 day hike on the Routeburn track. My last big trip was two years ago, when I spent a month travelling through Borneo with a mate. Antarctica remains a desire, as does a return to Scotland. One day, I would love to hike The Pennine Way in the UK..all 18 days or so of it.

I’d better stop there, I could ramble forever about travel :-)

I’ve never been much good at creating lists of things I want to do, or places I want to go; though there has always been a few things at the back of my mind. The last few years, the phrase “bucket list” has been popping up quite a bit, and indeed, a couple of folk have talked about posting their bucket lists for #blogjune. As near as I can tell, a bucket list is a list of things you want to do before you die or kick the bucket. With travel I s’pose there’s long been a tradition of items to tick off and places to go, whether it be cruising through The Three Gorges in China, visiting Big Ben in London or clmbing Ayers Rock – the last is a childhood memory and I eventually learnt that its native name is Uluru and climbing is discouraged out of respect.

I love travelling and getting out and away from the day-to-day; I like the bubble of travel – whereby for a period of time, the trip is all, a bubble of escape. Bushwalking captures a bit of that sense, the focus is on the walk and the next meal..not to mention the landscape. A reduction of sorts to the basic stuff. In putting together my own bucket list, or at least the beginnings of one, I notice that several of the entries involve long walks and time in the bubble.

• South America – the general idea is to spend 6 months backpacking south including Peru (want to try eating guinea pigs) and Patagonia. Along the way: visiting Machu Picchu, Inca Trail, glaciers, The Galapagos Islands and so forth, eventually ending up in Ushuaia in time to get a boat to Antarctica.
• Annapurna Circuit (Nepal) – the trek takes about 3 weeks and takes in some magnificent country and passes through Buddhist villages and Hindu holy sites. Even better, you don’t need a tent, being able to stay in teahouses every night.
• Probably as part of the above trip, I would love to hike to Everest Base Camp.
• Cambodia – Angkor Wat is often featured in movies and TV and computer games and it looks amazing. I would love to visit and explore and spend a bit of time there.
• New Zealand’s Great Walks – I completed the Routeburn Track last year and hope to tramp the Kepler Track later this year. Eventually I’d like to complete all the Great Walks in NZ.
• The Pennine Way – I think this is the first big walk I came across and it takes about 18 days to complete, strolling through the north of England and finishing just inside the Scottish border. You’re basically hiking from town to town and staying in a pub each night.
• Camino de Santiago (The Way of St James) – this one is in Spain and takes about 2.5 months of walking to complete. I’ve read a book or two on it and it sounds fascinating, though the feet take a beating.
• The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) – I’ve wanted to see these since I was little. From what I recall, their prominence goes through an 11 year cycle which peaks this year I think. The coming European winter at the end of the year would be viewing season. Of course, being there at the right time is no guarantee that you will actually see them.
• Canoe/kayak down the Franklin River – early in my teens, there was a huge nationwide controversy with regard to building a dam on the Franklin River. As a keen bushwalker, I signed petitions and went on protest marches. It’s been my dream ever since to visit this world heritage area and canoe down the river. I did get into canoeing and kayaking a few years later but never made it then.
• Shipping graveyard – I don’t recall where I read of this one but supposedly there’s a great shipping graveyard on the north coast of Russia.

It goes without saying that this list needs additions, no doubt of a few things that I’ve forgotten and things I haven’t heard of yet. It’s a start at least.