Hello, I’m Joe, 25 and about to embark on what I hope will be a huge adventure.

I chose to write a blog of my travels because it lets me record my thoughts and perspectives on my experiences and travels but also lets my family and friends know that I’m still alive and enjoying life. I also hope that my experiences could potentially help others who are new to backpacking.

After ending a relationship that wasn’t working and deciding what my future will hold, I chose travel, its something I’ve wanted to do for a while and whilst I have no obligations this is probably the best time to do it. I worked and saved for the next couple of months to fund my travels, I had so many questions and I wasn’t entirely sure of where I wanted to go but I knew I wanted to travel, I knew I wanted to get out and explore the world.

I wrote out a list of all the places I wanted to travel and sort of ruled them out one by one until there were only a few options left, I then chose somewhere that I’d like to start, and that’s brought me to where I am now…

…Currently back living with my dad, unemployed and waiting for my adventure to begin, Less than two weeks to prepare myself for the biggest adventure of my life. I can’t deny that I am extremely excited about my plans although the nerves are beginning to kick in a little bit.

The packing, trying to decide if I have everything I need before setting off, not knowing exactly what I need or what I wont need although I’ve researched it 10 times over, checking over multiple sites to review and compare everything. How much of this and how much of that, one person says this and another person says that. I guess you can never really understand what is best until you have experienced it yourself, but I guess I’ll find that out pretty soon.

I can’t wait to experience things I’ve never seen or done before, open my eyes to new things, learn more about myself, meet new people and create long lasting friendships, develop new skills, give myself a wider perspective, educate myself, explore different cultures, challenge myself and give me cool stories to pass to others along the way.

So, my adventure to New Zealand begins on the 9th June…