It all started one ordinary friday in Griffith where I had been working for the past 3 months. I got up at 5:15am and went to work like any other day. Being a casual employee at a wine factory earned me good cash but it also meant they could leave me jobless without a moments notice.

It turned out that they had to let me go on this fateful friday. The vintage was coming to an end and they didn’t need that many workers anymore. That night I found myself at a goodbye party of some fellow backpackers and realized that I was without any plans or responsibility whatsoever. I was as free as ever and could go wherever the wind would take me.

Life, being what it is, a series of intersecting lives and incidents out of anyone’s control, put a new adventure in my path. The travelers who were throwing the goodbye party spontaneously invited me to join them on their road trip. I said yes and the next day we were on the road!

First stop was Port Augusta where we jumped into the sea, had some snacks and kept on driving throughout the night.
We followed the road to Coober Pedy, a town that is mostly built underground so that the people are safe from the rising temperatures. We stayed the night in a underground hostel and the next morning jumped back into the land cruiser.

In the desert near Curtin Springs we met two people who were traveling Australia in a caravan baptized Missy Daisy.
When traveling you usually find yourself in all kinds of random situations, in this case we ended up making origami in the middle of the desert with these great people.

When we ran out of paper we continued to Uluru and hiked around Ayer’s Rock. Even though the aboriginals continually stress people not to climb on their sacred rock, when we arrived it looked like one big circus of overweight, sweaty and exhausted tourists who could not resist to climb it.

After driving through Alice Springs, the heart of Australia, we made our way to Julia Creek where we coincidentally arrived on the day of the rodeo festival. We had a great time and met some great people. We couldn’t stay for the entire festival because we were eager to get to the east coast.

Arriving in Townsville we had a wonderful night sleeping on the beach, but woke up with many sandfly bites who still haven’t stopped itching!!

In Airly beach we had the opportunity to go on a Sailing trip around the Whitsunday Islands. With a total of 12 people we spent 2 days on the water. Aside from enjoying the scenery and relaxing on the boat we experienced Snorkeling, scuba diving and walking on a island that only exists a few hours a day because of the tides.

While we were making our way to Darwin, Our land cruiser “Rodney” had a few problems and we had to get him to the local mechanic. Accepting this obstacle as part of a real road trip experience we pushed Rodney all the way and were back on the road in no time!

We drove passed Mount Isa, one of the biggest cities of Australia. It has only 0.4 people per square kilometer! Statistically speaking of course!
Afterwards we continued to Tennant Creek and arrived in Darwin not soon after! We met up with a group of other travelers and all of them continued their adventure by flying to Thailand together.

I’m staying behind and will attempt to hitchhike through Australia. It’s supposedly the easiest country to hitchhike in, but also the most dangerous because of the great wide open and high temperatures.

I guess it’s time for some Myth busting!

Together with a group of travelers we decided to try and climb to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko. This mountain in south east Australia is the greatest of the snowy mountains and the highest in all of Australia.

After a long drive we started our journey upwards. In the beginning it all seemed like a challenging but easy enough hike.
We sometimes think we have conquered the world and that we are masters of our environment but sleeping outdoors in the mountains with temperatures below zero and strong icy winds showed me how much control nature still has over our fragile bodies. We didn’t sleep much and some of us even had to cuddle up to stay warm due to lack of protective gear.

The next morning we continued at around 5:30 am and reached the summit later that day. The mountain had beautiful sights to offer and conquering it’s summit felt quite good!

Mount Kosciuszko is one of the seven summits. These are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a great mountaineering challenge.

The first one to conquer all seven mountains was Richard Bass. He did it on april 30th, 1985.
Over the years many have tried to rival him in this amazing feat but in all of history still less than 350 people has conquered all seven summits.

The seven summits consist of:

Mt. Kosciuszko (Australia) 2,228 m
Mt. Vinson Massif (Antarctica) 4,892 m 
Mt. Elbrus (Europe) 5,642 m 
Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa) 5,894 m
Mt. Mc Kinley (North America) 6,194 m
Mt. Aconcagua (South America) 6,962 m
Mt. Everest (Asia) 8,848 m 

Since a few years there has been some discussion wether Mt. Kosciuszko should continue to be part of the seven summits since Mt. Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia is higher and is officially part of the continent Oceania. Some choose to follow this new list, some choose to climb all eight mountains. But most stay true to the original seven summits as postulated by Richard Bass.
Even though this is the most accessible of the seven summits, for me it was a very rewarding challenge.

Every great journey starts with a single step, who knows where this first summit might lead me in the future!

Chasing the sheep across the lands in the back of a land rover felt like great freedom and adventure. After experiencing this wide open land, I now know for sure that I will not settle down in a big city. Long live the country life!

Today I learnt that sometimes the most wonderful experiences are just around the corner.
For the past three months I’ve been working at Casella Wines in Yenda. Here I worked together with casual employees from all over the world. Even some Australians with other occupations come to work here for a few months a year since the vintage promises many hours and good pay.

One of my co-workers turned out to have a huge property in the small town of Rankin Springs. All year round he takes care of his flock and land and makes a living breeding and shearing these sheep.

Together with Priit, Mathieu and Yu, we went to the Glen Rowan Ranch and spent a day with Troy and his family on this peaceful and exciting sheep and wheat property. We rounded up sheep, sorted the good from the bad and the ugly and removed woolen fleece in the shearing shed.

As we rounded up the sheep we were accompanied by a dog named Boxer. This kelpie is very intelligent and helped us round up the sheep by following every command. When the times comes to settle down, I would love to get a kelpie myself! These dogs need a very active life style and need a purpose in their lives. If you keep them in a urban environment or in the confined space of a house they will run am mock in no time. In other words, good motivation to keep an active life style!

At the end of the day we enjoyed a relaxed evening with some beers and a barbie together with the family.

Chasing the sheep across the lands in the back of a land rover felt like great freedom and adventure. After experiencing this wide open land, I now know for sure that I will not settle down in a big city. Long live the country life!

An unfortunate side effect of travel is that you sometimes find your money dwindling from your wallet. It’s easy to become fearful and stop traveling as soon you reach this litteral point of no return and aren’t able to buy a ticket home.

Luckily most places in the world have a society that works somewhat the same and people across the world tend to work for their money! So why not get a job in a foreign country and immerse yourself in their working culture.

I believe, that with the right attitude you can get a job almost anywhere in the world. Don’t be too picky or feel too good for a job and soon you’ll find yourself climbing the ranks of the employed and doors will open up for you.

I ended up working in Australia. Backpackers, long-term travelers and economic refugees alike come to the land of Oz and find work. Jobs are plenty and jobs are varied. From fruit picking and farm jobs to mining jobs or cleaning the houses of the elderly. Australia has something in store for everyone! A bonus is that it pays quit well compared to most countries and currencies.

To get to the land of Oz all you have to do is:

1. Apply online for a working holiday visa.
2. Get some starting cash to bridge the job search period
3. Fly over here and start making Ka-ching Ka-ching so you can keep traveling!

A working holiday visa is valid for one year and you can get one until your 30 years of age. To get a second holiday visa you need to prove to the government that you have worked for at least 3 months. These have to be one of the eligible jobs which consist mostly of fruit picking, farming or working in the wineries.

At the end of the Australian tax year you can get all your taxes back and even cash in you superannuation which is the Australian equivalent of a pension.

During my stay I lived in a working hostel. These hostels are incredible fun since you live together with travelers from all across the planet for a couple months and become one big family. The hostel also helps you get a job and usually has good connections with all the working locations in the area.

If your dream is to travel and stay on the road indefinitely, than working in Australia is good news for you! After 2 years in Australia you can go on to “working holidays” in New-Zealand and Canada, you can keep making money and keep exploring the world!

The only limits we have are those we place on ourselves!

This year I spent christmas in the summer with the Watkins Family. These wonderful people live right next to lake eildon in the small town of Mansfield.

I ended up in this secluded but beautiful town through Rebecca, who I have met during my travels. We had a great christmas dinner and sunshine every day! Temperatures where as high as 40 degrees so the thirst-quenching beer flowed richly.

The past two weeks the family introduced me among other to Aussie BBQ, horse racing, cricket, fishing and filleting. They brought me up to speed on the Australian slang and showed me how peaceful and relaxing small town life can be!

After Christmas and New years in Mansfield I traveled to Griffith where I am currently working night shifts as a supermarket floor cleaner. Not much of a career upgrade but you got to start somewhere:) I’m hoping to find a job in the Winery business since this is the pinnacle of backpacker jobs! Next week I’ll be posting a video on how to start working in Australia in no time!

Thank you Peter, Sue and Rebecca for taking care of me and giving me a wonderful Christmas that I will never forget!

I personally believe that anyone can travel the world. No matter what circumstances you find yourself in. A common believe is that traveling is very expensive, this doesn’t have to be true.

Nowadays we live in the age of consumer travel but for decades travel used to be more about Hand-to-Mouth. You would travel with just enough money to get food for that day. Traveling can actually be cheaper than staying at home. When you travel you don’t have to pay rent for example. If you choose to live out of your car while backpacking you don’t need to pay for hostels or hotels either.

Once you’re on the road and you’re open to the world. You will see that opportunity presents itself and that there are many different ways of making a living on the road.
I am working on a couple of videos which will talk more about how to travel cheap and how you can work abroad almost anywhere!

For now ask yourself the question!
Would you?

After building our hut in a secluded part of the island, we unfortunately had to move after being robbed.

When I arrived in Bali I was very cautious. I just flew in from Casablanca, Morocco and was still in “watch out” mode. In morocco I got screwed a few times in the beginning. When you enter a completely new country you usually need a couple of hours to adjust to your new surroundings. I call it culture shock, but there probably is a better word for it!

Arriving at the international airport I got bombarded by the main question you will hear around these parts: “Transport!? Transport Boss!?”

Of course I didn’t mind them calling me Boss. But it becomes annoying very fast. after walking away from the airport for about 10 minutes I accepted a transport offer for about 50% of the price you normally have to pay at the airport. It’s all about supply and demand! Around 10 p.m. I arrived in Kuta and set up my hammock in the middle of town between two tree in a shady looking corner. I hadn’t closed my eyes for long when I was confronted with the first visitors. Luckily they left me alone after inspecting my hammock from a distance. Then I was introduced to the rainy season.. I hadn’t put up my rain tarp cause it was very hot there and I didn’t expect it to rain. But reality slapped me in the face and within 30 seconds I was drenched!

The next day I made my way to Lembongan Island after picking up some survival tools. I made my way to Ceningan Island right away and started looking for a good spot to set up camp. I built a nice shelter in a beautiful location but the next morning it turned out  to be a fishing spot for locals.

The locals on Ceningan Island aren’t very used to tourists or backpackers since this second island is only just taking off tourism-wise. They were very curious about me and were all joking with each other in their own language. The jokes were at expense I presumed. They kept saying: “Why you stay here? Why you stay here?”. They couldn’t understand what a, in their eyes, rich tourist was doing sleeping in the wild! Why would you do that?? It was a interesting morning. After they let me try their simple but effective fishing method I started to look for a more secluded spot on the island.

I found a great location, built camp and went back to the airport in Bali to pick up Rebecca. A few days later, after continuing to build up the camp it turned out we were robbed while we got some food. Fortunately is was only minor stuff, but enough to cripple us from having somewhat of a decent outdoor experience.

The next week we choose to live a more luxurious life. We slept in hotels and home-stays for cheap prices and explored the island and other cities.

After Rebecca went back to Australia I stayed on the wonderful island of Lembongan a bit longer and got 2 diving certifications. I hope to become a dive master later on but this requires a month of internship! After this I will be able to work on cruise ships and dive centers across the world. Who wouldn’t want that?

Around christmas I’m going to Australia where I will experience my first summer-christmas with the Watkins family!

Spending some time in the desert was amazing. The silence and the endless dunes create a wonderful place to think and it seems to remove all stress and worries of the normally fast paced life.
Together with Rick, an avid photography blogger who is also traveling the world and Paul we decided to venture further into the Sahara to see what it had to offer. Eventually we got caught in a sandstorm and we had to navigate our way back to civilization. We did however have some interesting encounters with the nomads of the area.

here’s a link to Rick’s  Photography Blog for a more detailed story and some amazing photos!

After five weeks of walking, blistered feet, legs of steel and meeting many pilgrims we finally arrived in Santiago.

A while back I decided I wanted to walk a pilgrimage. Stories of the famous pilgrimage to Santiago inspired me to start this adventure so that I could prove to myself that I have the necessary will power to complete it.

The way of St. James or El Camino de Santiago (Spanish) is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain. They say the remains of the apostle St. James are buried here. Legend holds that St. James’s remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to Northern Spain where he was buried on the site of what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela. Together with the journeys to Rome and Jerusalem they make up the three most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times.

I had an amazing experience. I met so many people with so many different walks of life. When I started I wanted to walk fast and walk as many kilometers as possible. Over time I learnt to slow down and live in the moment.

It is said that the pilgrimage from St. Jean to Santiago consists of three stages. The first  stage, which leads from St. Jean to Burgos is known as the physical stage. It passes through the Pyrenees and has many challenges.
The second part consists of the journey from Burgos to Astorga which leads through the flat and endless Mesetas (Plateau) with burning heat and little shade all day. The mental stage. From Astorga the path slowly leads upwards toward the highest point on the Camino. Physically and mentally confident the pilgrim makes his or her way towards Cruz de Ferro. At the cross, which towers high above, every pilgrim places a stone which is taken from their homeland symbolizing the burdens they’ve been carrying in their lives. Leaving the stone behind the pilgrim leaves his old life behind. Completing his or her transformation.

From here the third stage starts. The spiritual stage. I didn’t expect to experience this spiritual stage at all. I’m a very rational person. But in the end the journey did have a great impact on my life. I met many people from all walks of life and my eyes were opened by the stories and lives that I witnessed during my pilgrimage.

A man carrying the ashes of his deceased daughter and walking over 75 kilometers a day.  A woman with a muscle disorder who could barely walk but did the pilgrimage anyway. I met a man who swore an oath of silence and was walking to Santiago barefoot. I also got to know an older lady who is suffering from cancer and decided to carry her sick body to Santiago instead of taking chemo. I had conversations with people who simply stopped along the way and started serving other pilgrims, living off donations. Not worrying about anything.

I am amazed at the different ways of life and can only conclude that there is no right or wrong way to live, there’s only “different”. My belief not to worry about tomorrow has buried it’s roots much, much deeper.

For me the pilgrimage turned out to be about the people. I wish all my fellow pilgrims the best of luck in their lives!

Making my way to France was surprisingly easy! It completely restored my faith in humanity!

I’ve always been very curious about hitchhiking. Is it still possible in 2011? Do people still trust each other enough? How long will I be waiting? Will it be dangerous?

It turned out all my fears were unfounded. On the 1st of Sept. at around 8 a.m. I left my student flat and made my way to the hitchhiking location in Groningen, Netherlands. After about 15 minutes a car stopped and a young Danish guy picked me up and helped me out to get to a gas station on the highway. From here things went very fast! At the gas stations I was able to talk to people and show them that I wasn’t some kind of chainsaw killing psychopath. The first person I approached helped me out and brought me halfway through my small country. From gas station to gas station I arrived in Hilversum fairly fast. Not having to wait any longer than ten or twelve minutes at a time. Around noon I was at my brothers house and spent the rest of the day there with him and his wife. After a nice warm meal and some good conversation we called it a night. Early the next morning my brother dropped me off on the highway again and my adventure continued. Before I knew it I was in Belgium and arrived at the French border. The first couple I approached turned out to be a Dutch couple who were driving all the way to Paris. This was my first destination so I felt very lucky! The Dutch couple had always talked about picking up a hitchhiker but never did. Now that I approached them they were excited to help me out.
A few hours later I thanked the nice couple and wished them a nice romantic weekend in Paris. For me the real challenge started now. I didn’t know any French at all except for “Omelette Du Fromage” which turned out not to be the correct answer to everything!

I felt a culture shock coming up as I all of a sudden couldn’t communicate with anyone anymore and felt lonely. As I ate a sandwich with nothing but old paté I felt myself wondering what I was doing here and how I was ever going to keep this up for longer than a few days. I smiled at myself and my own thoughts as I recognized that this was exactly what I knew I was going to feel at some point. I got up, enjoyed Paris, met a few tourists as I felt the feeling fade. I slept in my hammock that night in the outskirts of the city between two shaky trees and survived the first day outside in a foreign country.
The next day I made my way to Chartres where I spent the day enjoying the cathedral and the freedom of doing whatever the hell I wanted to do! I met Gerard, a 66 year old Frenchman who seemed intrigued by my hitchhiking adventure. He invited me to ride along to his home in Bergerac which is in the south of France. Gerard couldn’t speak any English and my French still didn’t get past ordering beer and explaining that I was hitchhiking by sticking up my thumb. After a few hours Gerard revealed that he knew a little German and his first sentence turned out to apply perfectly to my new lifestyle. “Er macht was er will!”. He kept repeating. So now we could talk a little and we had a lot of fun imitating famous historical German figures all day!

After a long day of driving he gave me food and shelter and the next day he showed me around the amazing town of Bergerac, which was home to Cyrano de Bergerac. This historical person became famous because of the play written after his death also called “Cyrano de Bergerac”. This play was then turned into a movie named “Cyrano” starring Gerard Depardieu, which I had seen on a rainy sunday a long time ago. It talks about an embarrassed soldier/poet who romances his cousin by proxy.
Gerard, who drove me all across France dropped me off the next morning at a promising location and it didn’t take more than six cars passing me before I was on the road again.
A few rides later I met a woman who used to hitchhike herself through Africa and didn’t mind telling me about it in many chaotic details. After getting lost repeatedly we arrived in Orthez quite late. She gave me the key to her spare apartment and told me I could stay as long as I pleased, she showed me where to find the food and left me as the king of the castle!

The next morning I felt like moving on as I was eager to start my pilgrimage in St. Jean. It took me another five or six rides to cross the small distance left. The closer you get to your destination the harder it becomes to reach your goal. For example, when you’re far away everyone is going south, but this changes with every mile that you get closer to your destination. In St. Jean my slow and painfully acquired French vocabulary went down the drain as I suddenly became surrounded by tonnes of American and Canadian pilgrims. There were pilgrims from many nationalities and I had to make the switch back from speaking simple english sentences (which was a lot easier when communicating with non english speaking frenchmen to speaking in correct English.

My faith in the goodness of the human race has been restored by my experiences hitchhiking! I discovered that many people love to extend a helping hand, all you have to do is ask!
I learned that it is important to look clean and shaven if you want to be picked up fast.
Though the most important car-stopper was definitely smiling and making contact with the driver in some way.

Hitchhiking is still very much alive! and I will continue to do it after my pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.