Our Travel Log

Scott and I share a love of travel and a nomadic spirit. In fact, we started off our married life traveling - after eloping to Copenhagen, we set off on a month-long backpacking trip throughout Europe. We are so very fortunate to have had opportunities to explore, experience and discover more about the world and ourselves through travel. 

We started this blog in 2013 when we decided to escape the rat race and travel full-time on a sailboat and while most of the travel adventures documented on here are from that point onwards, we have thrown in a post from time to time about earlier travels. 

Where We've Traveled To 

Together we've traveled to 43 countries. We've also done some travel separately - I've traveled to 8 other countries (indicated by an E) and Scott's traveled to 8 (indicated by an S). That gives me a total of 50 and Scott a total of 48.

{Note - We use the Traveler's Century Club list of countries and territories. They include places which aren't recognized by the UN as separate countries, but which are removed enough from the parent country due to geography, culture, politics etc. to merit a separate listing.} 

AFRICA - Egypt (E), Gambia (E), Ivory Coast (E), Kenya (E), Senegal (E), Sierra Leone (E), Tunisia 

ASIA - Malaysia | Singapore | Thailand 

ATLANTIC OCEAN - Canary Islands | Madeira (S)

BAHAMAS & CARIBBEAN - Bahamas

EUROPE - Andorra | Belgium | Croatia | Cyprus - Republic | Cyprus - Turkish | Czech Republic | Denmark | Dodecanese Islands | England | Estonia | Finland | France | Germany | Greece | Ionian Islands | Ireland - Republic | Ireland - Northern | Iceland (S) | Italy | Luxembourg | Mallorca (S) | Monaco | Netherlands | Norway | Poland (E) | Portugal (S) | Russia | Sardinia (S) | Scotland | Sicily | Spain | Sweden | Switzerland | Turkey (S) | Vatican City | Wales

MIDDLE EAST - United Arab Emirates (S)

NORTH AMERICA - Canada | Mexico | USA - Continental

PACIFIC OCEAN - Australia | French Polynesia | Hawaiian Islands (E) | New Zealand


Travels On Water

Scott started sailing long before me and has over 11,000 nautical miles under his belt, while I've logged around 2,500 miles (as of May 2015).

CRUISING & RACING IN EUROPE 

Scott got his first taste of sailing when he helped a friend move a boat in the Mediterranean in 2005. After that he cruised whenever he could in Scotland (where we were living at the time), as well as other places in Europe including Croatia, Spain, Mallorca, Madeira, Greece, Portugal, Sardinia and Italy, as well as in Turkish waters. And there was lots of racing in Scotland and Northern Ireland. I wasn’t that into sailing at that point, but it all changed when I had the opportunity to go on a weekend cruise from Oban to Tobermory in Scotland with a friend of Scott’s in 2008.

CHARTERING IN THE BAY OF ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND | 2011 & 2012 

The Bay of Islands includes 144 islands between Cape Brett and the Purerua Peninsula and includes the towns of Opua, Paihia, Russell and Kerikeri and is well worth a visit. My first introduction to proper sailing was when we first chartered together up there in 2011. It was so much fun that we went back and did it again in 2012. You can read more abut our charter trips in the Bay of Islands here and here. 

CRUISING IN THE HAURAKI GULF, NEW ZEALAND | SUMMER 2012/2013 

The Hauraki Gulf is a Marine Park and covers more than 1.2 million hectares on the east coast of Auckland and includes the Waitemata Harbour, Firth of Thames and the eastern coastline of the Coromandel Peninsula. There are more than 50 islands and five marine reserves within the Hauraki Gulf. Many of the islands are public conservation land managed by the Department of Conservation and most of the islands are open to the public (some aren't for conservation reasons or require a permit). If you want to find out more about the Hauraki Gulf, you can find links to posts we have done on this page here. 

After we bought our first boat, we spent as much time as we could cruising in the Hauraki Gulf during the summer of 2012/13 (which you can read about here). 

CRUISING IN THE HAURAKI GULF & NORTHLAND, NEW ZEALAND | SUMMER 2013/14 

We moved onto our boat full-time and had a fabulous time cruising again in the Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Islands, as well as exploring new parts of Northland including Whangarei and Whangaroa. We learned heaps about living on a boat, sailing and ourselves over the summer and saw some pretty amazing sights. You can find links to our New Zealand adventures on this page.

CRUISING IN THE BAHAMAS | APRIL-MAY 2015
 
After we bought our next boat in Florida, we took her for a month-long shakedown cruise in the Abacos, Bahamas. You can find links to our Bahamas adventures on this page.