Everyone needs a bucket list, right? That list of the things that they must do before they “kick the bucket”. I started one a while ago and I just keep adding to it… and adding… and adding… The more I read and learn about the world, the more things I want to do and places I want to see.
It’s also nice to have a few things to look forward to, some big travel and life goals to keep me motivated.
So here’s my list of all the things I’d love to do in my lifetime. You can even read about the bucket list items that I’ve already ticked off! Items in bold or with links are things I’ve done already.
(I also have a specific “50 before 50” travel bucket list that I’d like to achieve before I turn 50!)
STATUS: Bucket list 33% complete!
- Travel overland through eastern Africa (read my blog posts on Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania)
- Climb Mt Kilimanjaro
- Sleep under the stars in a desert (done in Australia – in the Outback and the Kimberley)
- Visit the pyramids in Egypt
- Trek to Machu Picchu (done in 2015)
- See the Northern Lights
- Swim with sharks
- Eat sushi for breakfast in Japan (done)
- Live in another country (tick: Papua New Guinea, Argentina, USA)
- Learn how to scuba dive (done – but I’m actually not a fan of it!)
- Stand in awe in Moscow’s Red Square
- Ride a motorcycle or a bicycle across another country (done in Argentina in 2015)
- See gorillas in the wild (done in 2022)
- Drive around Cuba in an old American car (done in 2016)
- Take a road trip across the US (done multiple times!)
- Spend a month in a country learning a language (I spent two weeks in Nicaragua at a Spanish school; I lived in Argentina for almost two years – alas, my Spanish still isn’t at the level I’d like it to be!)
- Sail from Panama to Colombia – after spending a little time in Panama City, this is the way I’d like to get down to Colombia
- Take the Trans-Siberian train across Russia
- Sail down the Nile in a felucca
- Sail down the Amazon River
- Hike the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea (done in 2013)
- Experience Carnaval in South America
- Visit Uluru at sunset, and eat under the stars (done in 2022)
- Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef
- Eurail my way through Europe
- Visit the Grand Canyon (done in 2017)
- Visit New Orleans (done in December 2015)
- Visit Petra, Jordan
- Set foot on all seven continents – six down, just Antarctica to go!
- Visit a blues bar in Chicago (done in 2017)
- Travel India by train
- Visit Patagonia and travel across a glacier (done in 2016)
- Take a boat up the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea
- Watch a futbol game in South America
- See the Great Wall of China
- Go on safari (South Africa, November 2011; Uganda and Tanzania, February 2020)
- Have a beer at Oktoberfest (done in Argentina (!!) in 2015)
- Experience the Crocodile Festival in Papua New Guinea
- Go beach-hopping across the Greek Isles
- Experience Dia de los Muertos in Mexico
- Attempt to understand Darwinism on the Galapagos
- Get lost in the souks of Marrakesh, and munch on Moroccan food at the Djemaa El-Fna
- Go winery hopping in Argentina (done)
- Laze away a few days in the Kerala backwaters
- Sip a cocktail at sunset in Zanzibar after spending a day exploring Stone Town (done in 2020)
- Visit Ethiopia
- Visit the Taj Mahal
- Spend a night in a castle
- Skydive (I’ve survived this one!)
- Eat steak in Buenos Aires (done multiple times while living in Buenos Aires in 2015 and 2016)
- Spend some time in Spain, munching on tapas and enjoying siestas
- Be amazed at Iguazú Falls
- Beach hop around Brazil
- See the beauty and wonder of Angkor Wat (done)
- Walk the Camino de Santiago
- Hike the Camino Portugues
- Ride the TAZARA train from Zambia to Tanzania
- Walk the Lost City Trek in Colombia (La Ciudad Perdida)
- Visit the Alhambra in Spain
- Travel around Australia in a caravan or campervan (done on several trips)
- Visit Antarctica
- Experience the Midsummer festival in Sweden
- Visit The Kimberley in Australia (done in 2023)
- Learn more about Indigenous Australian culture (an ongoing pursuit)
- Hike the Camino de Ronda along the Costa Brava
- Spend at least 3 months travelling (done – 4.5 month road trip through the USA in 2019 and a 3.5 month road trip around Australia in 2023)
- Do a multi-day hike solo (this one really scares me!)
- Live in Mexico
- Ride the Rocky Mountaineer across Canada
- Travel the coast of Brazil
- Hike from the south to the north rim of the Grand Canyon
- Trek the Lycian Way in Turkey
- Travel the Silk Road
- See the Southern Lights
- Road trip through Canada
- Drive all of Route 66
- Join a Second Line parade in New Orleans
- Learn how to play poker
- Visit Timbuktu
- Take a road trip through Oman
- Road trip through Namibia
- Visit the Australian Outback (done on several trips)
- Visit Easter Island
- Drive the Garden Route in South Africa (done in 2011)
- Drive the length of New Zealand
- Hike a section of the Pacific Crest Trail (or all of it?!)
- Visit the Choquequirao ruins in Peru
- Live in Spain
- Hike the Larapinta Trail in Australia’s Northern Territory
- Hike Tasmania’s Three Capes Track (done January/February 2022)
- Island hop through Indonesia
- Drive the length of Ruta 40 in Argentina
- Or maybe go even further and drive the all the way along the Pan-American Highway!
- Hike the Jatbula Trail in the Northern Territory
- Walk the 9-day Lurujarri Heritage Trail in Western Australia
- Ride the rails from Bangkok to Singapore
- Learn how to play chess
- Road trip through Italy
- Soak in an onsen in Japan
- Ride the Ghan from the top to the bottom of Australia
- Walk the little-known Jordan Trail
It’s a long list but I’m determined to get through it!