183 down... 183 to go. Half way!!!

Today marks the half way point of my journey; a journey which has so far taken me to 27 countries across three continents, has introduced me to an unbelievable number of amazing people, from an incredibly diverse range of backgrounds, religions, beliefs and cultures, and has opened my eyes – and my mind – to a world I could previously barely even imagine, let alone believe exists!

In many ways, it seems like only yesterday I was saying goodbye to my friends and family at Adelaide Airport, and setting out on an adventure I knew would change my life forever. I wasn’t well the day I left Australia, and my departure was a mix of nerves and excitement at the journey ahead, apprehension at leaving my family behind for so long, and plain misery as my fever took my temperature from boiling hot to freezing cold, and left me with a wonderful Australian farewell gift – an entire outfit of sweat-soaked clothes!

It has been an amazing six months, and I feel unbelievably fortunate to have had the opportunities, experiences and adventures I have had. I’ve been lucky to have met the most amazing people on my travels, who have not only introduced me to their families, friends and communities, but in many cases have unreservedly welcomed me into their lives – a gift for which I will be forever grateful. I can’t even begin to comprehend the extent to which these people have impacted on me, and I know for certain that the effects of these experiences will continue to shape and direct my life well into the future.

However, more overwhelming than the six months of travel I have already completed, is the realisation I have another six to go! My return ticket to Australia is booked for January 20, 2013, which is exactly one (leap) year from the day I left, and when I look back on the adventures I have had, it seems simply impossible the world can offer me any more! I feel I have already well and truly had my share of what this planet has to offer, yet I am ridiculously excited about being greedy, and having six months more!

As with everything in life, things aren’t always smooth sailing, and this week has once again proven how drastically things can change! The collapse of tour company Kumuka Worldwide has thrown my Africa and South America travel plans into chaos! With 84 nights of accommodation, food and transport booked with the company, I am now faced with having to try and find an alternative company to travel with, or to backpack solo across the two non-English-speaking continents. While it is disappointing to have to rearrange or change my plans, and I am yet to find out what is going to happen with the over $7000 I have spent with the company, this is just one of the hurdles I knew I would have to conquer along my way, and I am ready to face the challenge. While travel is a luxury I am incredibly fortunate to be able to afford, for many small businesses and families in the areas this company operated, this collapse will have a much greater impact than it will on me – and financially, I am in a much better place to find a silver lining from such a situation!

As I head out into my 183^rd day of travel, into the dreary, miserable weather of Hamburg, Germany, I want to say THANK YOU! Thank you to all the people who have shared this journey with me so far – whether beside me on the roof of a stranded bus in Nepal, in a smuggle train carriage in the Siberian winter in Russia, on a rickety old boat in the Albanian mountains, or through this blog from your home computer screen or iPhone, thank you! I write this blog for no one but myself, however it is nice to know people do read it, and I thank you all for the comments, jokes and laughs we have shared along the way. I thank all the people who have opened their homes and their lives to me, for the experiences and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities they have provided, but above all, I thank the millions of people in the communities I have been lucky enough to visit in the past six months – I thank you for simply going about your everyday lives, for ‘living’, and for making me by far one of the luckiest people on this planet.