I was destined to travel.
As a child, my dad and I would sit at the dining table, placing pins on the world map that hung on the wall and dreaming about all the places I would one day explore. We didn’t have many holidays growing up — we were a working‑class family — but we had endless dreams, and those dreams shaped me.
I met my husband, Gary, in a car park in South Africa in 1984, and from that moment our lives became intertwined with the road. We spent the next seven years travelling with small backpacks, a US$10‑a‑day budget, and second‑hand Lonely Planet guidebooks. Those were the days of poste restante, aerogrammes, film cameras, long‑distance phone calls, and walking door‑to‑door to find a room for the night. It was raw, simple, and unforgettable.
When we eventually returned to Australia in the early 1990s with our one‑year‑old son Brett, everyone assumed our travelling days were over. But a few years later, we set off again — this time for 12 months around the world with Brett (8), Tom (6), and Demi (4). That journey sealed it: we were travellers for life.
Check out the places we’ve seen so far — hover over the map to discover each destination.
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Where have we been so far?
You'd would think it would be easy to say how many countries there are in the world, but not so. Using the UN guidelines I believe there are 253 countries that fall into 4 categories.
194- Independent Nation states including the Vatican (the only non UN member)
55- Dependancies- mostly old colonies but still dependant on the colonial power. A hard group to count
1- Antarctica- a special territory - owned by no one but everyone.
3- Others- No-one knows how to classify these few (Kosovo, Palestine, Taiwan)
The disputed ones go to the dominant country, Tibet (China), Western Sahara (Morocco), Kuril Islands (Russia) and Kashmir (a line down the middle splits it between India and Pakistan)
And there are some that none owns that are not counted at all - Spratly Islands
Places on my list.....
ASIA and MIDDLE EAST
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Tajikistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, East Timor, North Korea,
EUROPE
Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus,
Faroe Islands (Denmark), Greenland (Denmark), Bouvet Island (Norway),Svalbard (Norway), Jan Mayen Island (Norway), Isle of Man (UK), Channel Islands ( UK)
AFRICA
Uganda, Togo, Somalia,Sierra Leone, Rawanda, Nigeria, Niger, Mauritania, Mali, Madagascar, Libia, Liberia, Gineau Bissau, Ghana, The Gambia, Gabon, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Dijbouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Comoros, Chad, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Burundi, Bukina Faso, Benin, Angola, Algeria
THE AMERICAS
Guyana, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, El Salvador,Guatemale, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Columbia, Equador, Suriname, Venezuela
French Guiana(France), Saint Barthelemy (France), Saint Martin (France), Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France), Wallis and Futuna, Mayonette (France), Saba (Netherlands), Saint Estatius (Netherlands), Aguila (UK), Monserrat(UK), British Indian Ocean territory (UK), South Georgia (UK), St Helena (UK)
AUSTRALIA & PACIFIC
Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu
Navassa Island (USA), North Marianas (USA), US Minor Pacific Islands (US), Christmas islands (Aus), Cocos Islands (Aus), Coral Sea Islands (Aus), Heard and McDonald Islands (Aus), Norfolk Island (Aus), Cook Islands (NZ), Niue(NZ), Tokelau(NZ), Pitcairn Island (UK)
Wisdoms from one traveller to another
