About Me
G’day!
The name’s Chris. I’m a thirty-something full-time traveler, safari expert, daydreamer, and Aussie larrikin.
Larrikin (Noun): A boisturous, often badly behaved young man.
It’s a tragic result of my upbringing that I have absolutely zero interest in ever holding down a dour 9 to 5 job, raising 2.5 rug rats, and having a mortgage.
Instead, I daydream about a life of scuba diving, beaches, drinking, video gaming, new adventures, and bedding buxom wenches.
Well, just the one buxom wench lately. She’s pretty amazing though.
I came to the travel game late. My first flight and my first trip off of Australian shores came in late 2007 at the ripe old age of 23.
After graduating from university, I found myself stuck in a dead-end job back in my hometown with no real social life or prospects to speak of. Battling clinical depression, I didn’t see a whole lot of hope for a bright or sunny future.
So, when a friend invited me to come teach in South Korea with him, I’d like to say I leaped at the opportunity. In truth, my friends and family gave me a push. I haven’t looked back since.
In the decade since that wide-eyed and naive country boy stepped on the plane from Sydney to Seoul, I’ve been making up for lost time.
I’ve lived and taught English in two countries (China and South Korea), visited more than twenty countries, written a pilot for a Chinese sitcom, become a safari expert with Shadows of Africa, fallen in love a few times, fallen out of love a few times, invented expiry dating, been aimed at by a sniper, broken my arm on a tropical island, gone trekking with gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans, and drank a lot of beer.
I’ve loved (almost) every minute of it.
About Aussie on the Road
From humble roots as a typical ‘expat living and teaching in South Korea’ blog aimed at my friends and family, Aussie on the Road has grown into the animal it is today.
My aim with Aussie on the Road is to inspire people to pursue a life less ordinary. The 9 to 5 lifestyle provides a great deal of comfort and security for a lot of people, but I’m here for those who feel trapped in the rat race.
Whether you’re looking to take your first steps as an expat living abroad, aiming to explore off the beaten path Asia, or you’re dreaming of undertaking your own ambitious travel adventure – I’m here to help.
“Ambitious Travel for the Adventurous Soul”
I specialise in what I like to call ambitious travel.
What is ambitious travel?
Ambitious travel is about embarking on a long-term adventure that others could only dream of. Whether it’s making the overland trek along the Silk Road, teaching English in another country, traveling the length of the Trans-Siberian railway, roughing it in the icy Canadian wilderness, circumnavigating Australia, or undertaking the ultimate African safari.
My Ambitious Travels So Far
In 2016, I undertook the Great US Road Trip – in which my mate, a Mustang convertible, and I spent five weeks driving from San Francisco to New York.
Ambitious travel has seen me spend months exploring the national parks of Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Namibia in my role as a safari expert with one of Tanzania’s highest regarded safari outfits.
I’ve also spent five years of my life living and working as an expat in both South Korea and China.
If you like dreaming big, you’re in the right place.
If you’ve got a massive bucket list you’d love to someday tackle, I’ve got your back.
If you believe that life is about being reckless, wild, and happy, we’re going to get along just fine.
