Who is the Adventure Addict?

Hello and welcome to my blog. My name is Nick and I am an adventure addict.

Ok so let’s be honest, i’m not a total adrenaline junkie who goes throwing himself out of planes every weekend or isn’t happy unless he’s free-climbing to one of the worlds highest mountain peaks. I do however have a passion for travel and love to be doing something outdoors whenever possible. Whether it’s a 4 month backpacking trip through South America, a week spent exploring the german lake district by canoe, or a weekend on my mountain bike at the local bike park, the next adventure is just around the corner.

My aim with this blog is to create a record of where i’ve been, how I got there and what I experienced along the way. I recently came to the realization that after visiting so many different places over the years I am starting to lose track of everywhere I’ve been and all that I have experienced. So I am writing this blog just as much for me as for anyone else. However if it turns out that someone else with similar interests reads something that I have written and takes something from it or gets inspired to do something similar then I will be all the happier because of it.

How did it start?

I guess the story of my adventure addiction began in 2010 when over a few beers at the pub one evening myself and a friend decided that we should both leave our jobs in the UK behind and book a round-the-world backpacking trip. I had always wanted to travel, but it wasn’t until I had a co-conspirator that I finally thought I could make this dream a reality. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for solo travel and anyone who tells me that they would love to go travelling always gets the same answer from me, “you won’t regret it, just do it!” However this wasn’t me back then and I needed someone to give me that extra push to make it happen. I now realize that this was one of the best decisions that I have ever made and I am very grateful to my friend for taking the plunge with me as it set me on a path which I am still following to this day.

So over the next few weeks we set about researching possible destinations, meeting with travel agents and settling on a travel route which would take us from Thailand, through South-East Asia, via Australia, New Zealand and Fiji and finally to the west coast of the USA over a period of 9 months. On 20th September 2010 we finally put on our backpacks and set off on our great adventure. As my intention is to attempt to re-count this journey, at least in parts, in future posts on this blog, I will avoid going into too much detail here. Suffice it to say that along the way I had many amazing experiences, lost my original travel buddy but found many others and also met the future love of my life.

Where am I now?

Fast forward 14 years and I now reside in the west of Germany with my partner, fellow adventurer and soon-to-be Mrs Adventure Addict (yes I know, better late than never!). After first meeting in New Zealand, both on our separate round-the-world trips, we subsequently made plans to go back to Australia for a year on a work-and-travel visa, travelling together initially as friends but eventually as a couple. After our year was over it was my partner’s wish to return to her homeland of Germany to be closer to her parents due to health concerns. So being the adventure addict that I am and not having a strong reason to return to the UK, I agreed to join her.

While our adventures have grown shorter over the years and our destinations closer to home, we have never lost that backpacker mentality that we had when we first met. We would much rather spend our holidays wild camping our way through the breathtaking landscapes of Scandinavia for example, than staying in the comfort and luxury of a 5-star all-inclusive hotel, something which I don’t think will ever change. Germany itself is also a very beautiful country with lots of amazing scenery and is ripe for exploring, something which we have attempted to do on many occasions. I even chose my current job as a postman based on the fact that I get to spend most of my workday outdoors, breathing in the fresh air, and engaging in physical activity.