G’day! My name is Steve, I’m a traveller from Tasmania, Australia.
Background
I always dreamed to travel the world, the only thing that stood in my way was money. I graduated from school during the middle of the global financial crisis and got an apprenticeship as a boilermaker welder. I was locked down for the next four years. During my apprenticeship I got into rockclimbing, did a winter mainland trip to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko (2228m), the highest mountain in Australia, and left Australia for the first time on a two week long trip to New Zealand where me and my mate did a week long mountaineering course in the Mt Cook region. In 2011, I quit my job in Tas and got a new job in WA. I saved what I needed and quit my job in December 2012.
New Zealand
Two days after Christmas 2012, I flew to New Zealand for a six week trip, at the time my longest time abroad. I travelled for six weeks hitchhiking my way around the South and then North Islands, including a week long camp with the New Zealand Alpine Club. This was my first real taste at backpacking, and the perfect prelude to my World Trip. I soon learned what I did and didn’t need. My backpack was waaay to heavy and was a real burden, it was a good learning curve. It was better to learn on this trip than the next one. I returned home, made the most of the summer, tied up loose ends, and did the last of my research.
Asia
I set off on my World Trip on the 13th of May 2013. My first destination was Indonesia, followed by Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, India, Nepal, and Malaysia again. I was in love with Asia and with travelling. I used almost every day of every visa I got! When I’d left home I didn’t know how long I’d be gone. I remember saying; I could be gone for two weeks, two months, or two years. I’d very roughly planned a round the world trip for a year, though ended up staying in Asia for fourteen months. My World Trip became my Asia Trip. I visited so many incredible destinations, met the most amazing people, and overall had the greatest time of my life. After so long on the road I felt worn down and was missing home, I decided it was time to go home.
Back Home
After fourteen months abroad, I flew back home to Tasmania (1st of July 2014). When I got home it was the most surreal feeling, and a case of reverse culture shock. I relaxed at home, caught up with everyone, and just enjoyed being back in Tasmania. In the fourteen months I was away I spent just USD$12,000. I still had plenty of money left in the bank to resume my travels. And that was my plan. To rest, to work, to top up my bank account, and then to set off again.
Europe
On the 4th Feb 2015 I flew from Melbourne to Budapest, and thus began my Europe Trip. My plan was to go for broke. I wanted to visit everywhere, and I wanted to do it properly. I didn’t have a specific duration for my Europe Trip, but I estimated at least a year. I stayed with my friend in Budapest for two weeks, travelled around Hungary alone for a week, and then we hitchhiked from Budapest to northern Denmark over five days. From the northern tip of Denmark, we took a ferry to the Faroe Islands where we stayed for three weeks, which we’d planned to coincide with the solar eclipse of 2015. After the three weeks in the Faroes we went separate ways and I went on to Iceland, where I travelled with a new friend for a week, and where I spent an additional three weeks myself doing the Ring Road. I left Iceland when my initial 90 Schengen days were up. I flew from Iceland to Scotland, where I spent five amazing weeks. I spent another five weeks in England, a week in Wales, and a few weeks in Northern Ireland and Ireland. My Schengen days were now reset, so I left the British Isles and went to France. Ober the next three months I travelled through France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal, with a few weeks in Croatia and Bosnia. And then a dramatic move.
Middle East, Caucasus & Central Asia
On New Years Eve (2015-2016) I flew from Amsterdam to Dubai. I needed to to be out of Schengen for 90 days, and the winter weather in the Bulkans had obstructed my plans. I spent a month in the Middle East, three weeks in each Armenia and Georgia, and a month in Turkey. My plan had been then to head back into Europe, but that plan was put on hold when my friend asked if I was interested in travelling Central Asia with her. I was sold. I flew to Kazakhstan and travelled there and Uzbekistan for a month. I met my friend in Bishkek and we travelled Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan for almost a month, with a crazy short trip into Afghanistan. We flew out the same day.
Europe Round two
I was finally flying back to Europe after five months in Asia. My Europe Trip had become my Eurasia Trip. I flew into Sweden and over the next 90 days visited Norway, Finland, and the Baltics. I spent the next 90 travelling through the Balkans – Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Romania, Moldova, Transnistria, and Bulgaria, followed by a tactical day in Athens, before continuing on to Lebanon, Jordan, Cyprus, and Israel. I had a month in Greece, before flying back to Sweden, and to my girlfriend, for Christmas. We had NYE (2016-2017) in Berlin, I went with a friend to Iran for a month, and I spent the next few months travelling though Malta, Italy, Germany, Scotland, Belgium, and Ukraine. I spent the summer in Sweden, before continuing through Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, and the Channel Islands. I did a quick cruise to St Petersburg and had a few days in Belarus. It had never been my original plan, but I ended up visiting every single country in Europe.
Sri Lanka & India
Before going home, Me and my girlfriend planned a trip to Sri Lanka and India. I had never anticipated my trip being so long, but as it grew larger and larger a new goal presented itself. What if I could make 1000 days of travel? So that’s exactly what I aimed for.
My trip lasted exactly 1000 days, spanned two continents, in which I visited 78 countries and over 800 destinations. I had the absolute best time of my life. I arrived home on the 30th of Oct 2017.
2018-2020
After working for in South Australia and Tasmania for a few months, I left Australia again in June 2018. I spend the next 5 months in Europe. I spent most of the time in Sweden, but also visited Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and Greece.
I flew back to Australia in late 2018 and worked for a couple of months in the mines, before returning back to Europe in early 2019. After six months I returned to Australia, worked for 3 months, and to sort a visa. I returned to Europe in December 2019.
In 2020 I set off to the Caribbean, the first stop on my South America trip. After two weeks of travelling the world locked down due to Covid-19, and I returned to Europe.