Hoorah! I’ve Received a Liebster Award!

 

Hoorah! Last week was a good week, not least because I was awarded for the Liebster Award not once, but twice. I know two times, in 1 week, how cool is that!

I feel very lucky to have received the Liebster Award firstly because it is a peer-nominated award, i.e. bloggers bestow it on fellow bloggers – bloggers they like, bloggers they admire, blogger that inspire them.

As such, it’s pretty nice to be nominated really.

Secondly, I feel very lucky to have received this Award because my nominations came from 2 very talented female travel bloggers who I also like, admire and who inspire me.

Those fabulous ladies were the wonderful Sierra from Take me With You and the fabulous Emily of Airplanes and Avocadoes.

I strongly suggest you check out these 2 ladies’ great blog as they really are both fine examples of female travel bloggers. I love the vegan slant to Airplanes and Avocadoes (FYI. I am a vegan addicted to avos) and the incredibly useful and easy-to-follow travel tips given by Take Me With You.

Thank you ladies, your recognition via the Liebster Award really does mean a lot.

For those not familiar, the Liebster is an award that consists of 1 travel blogger nomination another 11 travel bloggers and giving them a set of questions to answer. The recipient travel bloggers must then, in turn, award 11 other travel bloggers and provide them with another set of questions.

And so it continues …

Because I was nominated by 2 other travel bloggers this week, I’ve decided to combine the questions they set for me. That means I will alternate between them by answering questions 1,3,5,7,9 and 11 from Sierra of Take me With You and questions 2,4,6,8 and 10 from those put to me by Emily of Airplanes and Avocadoes.

I hope that all makes sense folks, because here we go!

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The 11 questions from Sierra and Emily are…

 

#1 Someone hands you a free plane ticket… but you must embark tomorrow to use it! Where do you want to go?

I would love to go to Iceland. I’m not sure why I just wrote that really, but it was the first thing that popped into my head!

I think that sitting here sweltering in an Australian summer really has me hankering for the cold, which is not like me at all!

The idea of jumping into some hot springs however, or enjoying a lovely warm sauna, while I gaze out at snow on the ground around me really appeals right now!!

 

#2 Where have you had the best food abroad and what was it?

I’ve got to admit, Australia has some incredible cafes for health-freaks like me with loads of exciting raw, gluten-free, organic and vegan places popping up all the time.

Noosa Farmer’s Market has an incredible array of local, sustainable food producers and stalls with the Sunshine Hotel’s incredible super food smoothies being a real favourite of mine!

‘Mother Earth’. with its subtle hints of mint and cocoa nib toppings is a particular favourite!

 

#3 What is the Most Frightening Thing you’ve Ever Experienced While Travelling?

I was heldup at gunpoint in Colombia, but weirdly didn’t find it that frightening!

Check out my post where I ask is Colombia is safe to travel to learn why.

Aside from that I had a pretty sketchy experience while hitchhiking in Mexico.

Being involved in 2 car accidents within the space of 10 minutes (the second of which involved the car flipping and sliding down a bank) definitely made me a bit wary of getting on the road in that country again!

 

#4 What’s the Craziest Excursion you’ve Ever Done?

In Colombia I hiked into the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta with a local man and some other travellers I’d met.

This was no organised tour – instead we were invited by the man to camp at his hut in the middle of this remote mountainous area.

Getting a glimpse of the life of by the highly private indigenous Kogi who live in this area was a rare and unique treat that few Colombians, let alone foreigners, get to experience.

 

#5 Did you Start Travelling Solo or with a Companion?

I first backpacked outside of Europe to South Africa at the tender age of 19 with my best friend and what an amazing trip that was – a total coming of age experience!

After that I travelled with other friends, but slowly came to travel solo more and more as I got older until that became my norm.

Now I’ve met a partner however, so it’s back to compromising while on the road – I’m not very good at that!

 

#6 Do you Prefer to Explore a City Early in the Morning When it’s Quiet or in the Evening When it’s Alive and Bustling?

I have to admit I’m a total early bird. I love the mornings when the day is fresh – everything feels so full of potential and possibility.

This quiet time is when I get the introvert thought time I really need everyday.

When the world is not quite yet awake, it’s always the best time to get out and explore!

 

#7 What’s the Number 1 Lesson You’ve Learned from Travelling?

To let go.

Travelling directly shows you how little of life is under your control and forces you to go with the flow.

This is such a wonderfully liberating experience for me – a lesson I learn again and again!

 

#8 Which Season do you Prefer to Travel in and Why?

Dry season in the tropics, summer in temperate zones.

I love the beach, but I hate the humidity!

 

#9 What is the Number 1 Misconception you Hear about Travel Blogging?

That it’s all beer and skittles, or to be more accurate, that it’s all free trips and tequilas.

It’s not, it’s hard, hard work.

I generally put between 25-35 hours a week into my blog.

No one told me I’d be doing that!

 

#10 Has Becoming a Travel Blogger Made you Approach Travelling Differently?

I don’t go anywhere without my camera now and I’m constantly thinking about angles for posts or good SEO keywords.

That’s annoying!

 

#11 What’s 1 Place that you Really Want to Return to?

The whole of Latin America captured my heart in such a way that after 2 years there, a piece of me will always remain there.

I’d like to return to South America most, to explore some of the countries further south that I ran out of time trying to visit last time.

 

And now my turn!

The 11 Travel Bloggers I Nominate for the Liebster Award are..

1. Ruben & Rachel of Gamin Traveler
2. Sarah of Tales from a Fork
3. Susanna of Wandering Chocobo
4. Jen of Jen There Done That
5. Sandy of Global Wanderings
6. Ivy of Kollecting Koordinates
7. Claudia of Eat Drink Love Live

 

The Rules of the Nomination are…

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog
2. Answer the 11 questions they asked you
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers and inform them of the nomination
4. Create a new list of 11 questions for your nominees

 

And My 11 Questions for My New Nominees are…

1. When did you first realise you wanted to travel?

2. Do you think this desire was something innate or something taught / learnt ?

3. What made you start blogging?

4. What’s your number 1 tip to new travel bloggers?

5. Do you think travelling can make a difference? Why?

6. What’s the best place you’ve stayed while abroad?

7. Which city in the world would you most like to visit and why?

8. What has been your worst moment as a traveller?

9. Travelling romances, do they ever last?!

10. Which other travel blogger most inspires you?

11. What’s the Number 1 country on your Bucket List?

 

When you’ve posted your answers folks, I’d love to read them, so please include a link in the comments box at the bottom of the page, or tag me on social media.

Thanks again to Sierra and Emily for nominating me for the Liebster Award ! 🙂