Travel

Whenever possible, I visit other countries and cultures, and am fortunate to be able to. Travel opens up the mind. It makes me realise how much it means to live in a peaceful part of the world, where there is freedom of speech and an open democracy, although my own country has been through difficult and turbulent times.

We all live on this small planet, hurtling around a vast galaxy, and, in spite of our differences, people the world over have the same needs and desires, wishes and hopes.

Personal freedom, a safe place to call home, adequate food, clean water, are things I take for granted, yet for millions of people, these are impossible dreams, because they live in appalling situations. Women and children, in particular, survive in circumstances that I can hardly contemplate. They struggle on, because they have no choice. Life is very difficult for the poor and oppressed people with whom we share this planet.

In 2002, I left my job, sold my car, filled a backpack and travelled with a friend around the world for a year. We tried to make sure we visited countries that neither of us had seen before, and ended up going to Australia, Bolivia, Chile, China, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Hong Kong, India, Nepal, New Zealand, Peru and Vietnam. It was an amazing trip! You can read some of the highlights here.

It wasn't the first time for me to go to far-flung places. I’d already been to Bolivia, Guatemala, Jordan, Lesotho, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Peru, Singapore, Thailand, South Africa, most European countries and several U.S. states.

Since returning from my year long travels, I’ve continued to make short journeys, as commitments permit.

In 2005, I flew to the United States to visit Amish Communities in Pennsylvania where I stayed with a Mennonite family on their farm. It was a wonderful insight into a fascinating way of life.

I returned to Australia in 2006, as I hadn’t been to the Northern Territories and wanted to see Darwin and Kakadu National Park. Unfortunately, we were chased by a Category 4 hurricane and had to flee the area. I hope to get back there someday.

In 2008, I spent time with Christian and Muslim Arabs in the West Bank in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and saw, first hand, the appalling circumstances in which they have to live. The long bleak conflict has brought terrible suffering and hardship to these displaced people.

During the summer of 2009, I went to Kenya and Tanzania, where I camped in a tiny tent in the wilds of the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti National Park. I spent time with the Masai people and, at night, lay in my sleeping bag and listened to hippos and zebras, hyenas and rhinos grunting outside. I chilled out on the exotic island of Zanzibar before returning home.