The Travel Ten: Wanderlusters

This week’s Travel Ten interview comes courtesy of Wanderlusters. Here’s a little something about them:

In 2010 Charli & Ben made the decision to live a life less ordinary and six months later embarked on an undefined period of travel.  Enforcing no restrictions on their itinerary they have chosen to travel at a slow pace and incorporate house sitting assignments in each country they visit.

With no time limit restricting their experience they are content to continue exploring the world as digital nomads. From backpacking through Central America to road tripping around Australia they embrace each and every opportunity for adventure.

Best place you’ve ever been?

Scuba diving the Poor Knights Islands in New Zealand is one of the highlights of our journey so far. The islands are the remnants of an extinct volcano and provide a pristine marine environment for divers to explore. The awe-inspiring underwater architecture was sculpted during the last ice age, and during the big freeze water pounded the volcanic rock causing weaker areas to collapse forming vast sea caves, tunnels, overhangs and archways.

The diving is superb and the amount of life was quite overwhelming! It was designated a marine reserve in the early 1980’s and is able to sustain a diversity of life like nowhere else on earth. The fish, sharks and stingrays are much more relaxed in the presence of divers and we were able to get up close to so many intriguing species.

Scorpion Fish spotted whilst scuba diving at Poor Knights Islands

Worst place you’ve ever been?

It’s really difficult to class a destination as the ‘worst place we’ve been’; although we were disappointed to find that the Canadian side of Niagara Falls was so ‘touristy’. It is always disheartening to see industry and tourism taking over an area of great natural beauty. There’s a fine line between responsible tourism and exploitation.

Favorite food you’ve eaten on the road?

Tamales on the buses of Nicaragua. Homemade parcels of goodness.

Funniest travel moment?

We were scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef and had just ascended to the deco bar. I spotted a huge reef shark and tried to signal for Ben to turn and look while taking a picture of him with the shark in the shot. I obviously failed to communicate anything understandable as Ben looked thoroughly confused and missed the shark altogether! I did snap a rather comical photo though!

It’s behind youuuu!

Three things you always carry in your luggage?

Our bucket list, passport/visas, clean panties.

Most embarrassing travel moment?

It would have to be confusing a few Spanish words while taking language lessons in Costa Rica. We won’t go into details but it involved asking for an intimate part of the body instead of a vegetable at the local market.

The greatest challenge you’ve faced while travelling?

Long term travel provides plenty of character building exercises and scenarios that push you way out of your comfort zone. We’ve overcome personal fears – Charli, claustrophobia while learning to scuba dive, – and pushed our problem solving abilities to the limit – Ben, fashioning a bodge-it electrical fix on our Winnebago in the remote Australian Outback. Each time we face a new challenge it gives us the opportunity to learn new skills and bank another irreplaceable travel memory.

One thing you don’t like about travel?

Leaving a destination you love.

While travel opens doors and allows you to explore unfamiliar territories it is sometimes hard to tear yourself away from a place you’ve called home for a month or two. We utilize housesitting to facilitate a slower pace of travel and as such have a ‘home’ at each destination we visit. Leaving at the end of each assignment is a little reminiscent to leaving our own home when we made the decision to travel. It’s sometimes quite emotive although we’re always excited to get back on the road.

Charli & Ben with a family they met through house sitting in Costa Rica

Top three dream destinations you’ve never been to before?

Japan, Malaysia, Antarctic

Most useful piece of travel advice?

“If you’re not living on the edge you’re taking up too much space.” – Anonymous

Push the boundaries of your own existence and find that which makes you happy.

Thanks guys! If you want to hear more inspiring stories from Charli & Ben, find them on Facebook and Twitter or catch up with their journey at their travel website Wanderlusters.

Charli & Ben in California’s Redwood Country