The big one: Indonesia, Hawaii, North America – 1992
Every young Australian dreams of an epic world travel adventure. I am no exception. In 1992 I set out to distant shores, with a surfboard, to find the world, and some waves. It was two year’s before I returned. Full of enthusiasm I dispatched a series of letters to those at home, and many people said they enjoyed them immensely. Although today I cringe at many of the things written, as I like to think I’ve improved with age, here they are in all their brash glory.
They start out with two months in Indonesia, two more in Hawaii, and thence trail into North America. It’s a little light on photos as only these few have made it to digital. Apparently the description of riding waves at Lacerations are a highlight.
I hope you enjoy the adventure. This trip remains a definitive highlight of my life.
Read the 1992 Travel Letters: Indonesia, USA, Canada.
Three Weeks on the south island of New Zealand – 2002
In 2002 I finally made my way across the ditch to explore the South Island of New Zealand. Travel to far off lands is always exciting and exotic but for all of us some of the best travel experiences are right under our noses. This is the blog I kept during those weeks; from chook pens to Hot Springs, from wineries to tramping, from Glaciers to heliskiing. It’s all here for your pleasure.
Read the story of “Mee, John, In New Zealand”
James and Isabelle’s travel letters – 1998-2002
During my Canadian Adventures I met and became very close to two french canadian girls named Chantal and Isabelle. Not an eternity after we parted ways Isabelle met James, they became married and so became the entity ‘jamabelle’. The most distinguishing feature about this marriage was that James and Isabelle were very rarely together. They both worked in hospitality and even when they worked in the same country (France) they were going flat out guiding their separate tours of the country for the head-swimmingly-rich-and-(not-always)-famous. During the off seasons they had lots of cash to travel the rest of the world – sometimes even together!
Before ‘blogging’ came about, James emailed all and sundry increasingly poetic letters describing his adventures. I’ll concede that they start out fairly mundane, but as time goes on and I guess he realises he’s reaching an audience, they get more and more entertaining.
In tribute to my friends I registered www.jamabelle.com (now lapsed) and maintained an archive of these letters there. Their marriage finally seccumbed to the strain of distance so from there James traveled even more extensively, somewhat in search of healing and the meaning of life (think indian gurus a la the beatles).
This is a catalogue of James, and sometimes Isabelle’s letters; strictly preserved in their original form. Perhaps I’ll come back and point you to the best ones, but for now you’ll have to dig for the gold on your own. 
