Bay of Biscay. Three words to strike terror into the mind of any sailor. Only after announcing my trip, did I hear of its fearsome reputation. ‘You’re sailing across Biscay? Ha, good luck,’ or ‘rather you than me!’ said far more experienced sailors than I. A little research explained why. To the west, the nearest […]
adventure travel
A Caribbean Calling – Sailing the English Channel
The Grand Departure A draw-bridge, lifted every two hours, separates Weymouth Marina from the sea. It represented the last physical barrier between the me that was talking about sailing across the Atlantic, and the me that was actually sailing across the Atlantic. We joined the flotilla of boats queuing for the 10am lift on a […]
Caribbean Ahoy – How Covid Led Me to Sail across the Atlantic!
Stepping onto the solid ground of Durban Marina after nearly three months bobbing across the Indian Ocean, the relief was overwhelming. I’d survived storms and seasickness and eaten enough fish to last a lifetime. I skipped away from Leia B for a final time, delighted I’d sailed across an Ocean, delighted I never had to […]
The Mountain Kingdom – A Bike Tour through Lesotho
If you love cycling in the mountains, keep reading; a bike tour through ‘The Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho’ could be for you. Lesotho earns its nickname because the entire country is in the mountains. The lowest point is at 1,400 metres, which makes it the country with the highest low. Predictably, it’s a tough place […]
Cycling up Sani Pass
Sani Pass connects the pleasant, rolling hills of South Africa’s ‘midlands’, with the remote, inhospitable mountains of Lesotho. This results in one of the most spectacular and iconic mountains passes in Africa. When planning my bike tour through Africa, I was urged to ride up Sani Pass; with plans to pave it, there is only […]
Sailing into Durban – Indian Ocean Complete
It is 4am and my final night-watch. There are all the usual creaks and groans of the boat, the same star-studded Southern Sky, but tonight a beautiful halo of light is crowning the horizon. It’s beautiful, because it is the lights of Africa. I can’t see land yet, but it’s there, and oh man – […]
“This is Going to Eat Us” – Storm in the Indian Ocean
There are three things a newbie sailor like me never wants to hear on their first trip sailing across an ocean, and I had just heard my Skipper, Wyn, say all three. First, as we watched the advancing wall of grey storm close in on us, he said ‘This is going to eat us.’ There was […]
How Much Does it Cost to Cycle Around the World?
During my 2.5 year adventure cycling around the world, I tracked every single penny, rupee, lira and dong that I spent; I’ve added everything together, and can reveal how much it costs to cycle around the world. I set off after University, doubting whether the limited money I’d saved would last until Australia. But I […]
Cycling Across Australia 9 – More Mawson please!
The Mawson Trail I learnt long ago that ‘easy’ is not the same as ‘best’. Around the world, it is on the most challenging, poorly-paved and lesser-travelled roads, normally in the mountains, that I have had the best experiences and met the most interesting people. So, as ready as I was to reach Adelaide, thus […]
Why travelling by bike is the best way to see the world!
If you are genuinely interested in seeing the world (not just being drip-fed the tourist highlights), having an adventure, learning about yourself and about other people who live lives wildly different from your own, then there is no better way to travel than by bicycle. It doesn’t even matter if you’re a cyclist or not! […]