My Bucket List

You might be wondering why I have a bucket list. The simple answer: I want to put into writing the things—both big and small—that I want to experience while I’m here. For me, this list is less about ticking off achievements and more about curating a life that feels fully lived. After being diagnosed with cancer at 23, I became acutely aware of just how short and fragile life can be. That awareness changed me—it made me want to say yes more often, to seek out joy, and to celebrate the everyday as much as the extraordinary.

That’s why my bucket list isn’t only filled with grand, sweeping goals. It’s also brimming with what I like to call “fill my cup” moments—the smaller experiences that enrich our weeks, spark curiosity, and remind us to savour life instead of simply existing. Sometimes that means travelling halfway across the world, and sometimes it just means finding a new café, lingering in the sun, or learning something new.

My bucket list is a living, breathing document. I’ll keep adding to it, crossing things off, and sharing the stories along the way. Because life isn’t about waiting—it’s about experiencing as much as we can, while we can.

#1 Go to a Christmas Market in Germany ✅

Christmas is one of my favourite times of year and the European Christmas Markets are a real artisan delight. In Germany, these markets are full of mulled wine, delicious German food and landmark Christmas gifts that must be experienced first-hand to feel the magic. Read more here

#2 Eat at a Parisian cafe in France – obvs! ✅

Ah, Paris! I’ve always heard that to experience a culture you must eat their food and it’s rumoured that the French take their food very seriously. So, when I visit France, I want to eat a real French meal in a French cafe. Read more here.

#3 Race Go-Carts in Belgium ✅

Cross over the border from Aachen Germany into Belgium and race go-carts – with no speed limits!

#4 Visit the Tower of London

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#5 Stand at the tri-border of Germany, Belgium & Netherlands ✅

Blog to come!

#6 Drive across the Nullarbor – longest straight road in Australia ✅

Blog to come!

#7 See a Shakespeare play

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#8 Visit Buckingham Palace

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#9 Visit the Louvre ✅

Believe it or not, the Louvre was once a fortress and home for French royalty! This place is full of rich French history, not only on the walls and the floors but the very location itself is historically important. Read more here.

#10 See the Eiffel Tower ✅

Built to be the main attraction for Paris; World Fair in 1889, and now arguably one of the most iconic landmarks in the entire world, I want to see the Eiffel Tower and admire this wonderful engineering feat for its’ time. Read more here.

#11 Explore Churchill’s War Room

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#12 Go overseas with my family ✅

There’s something special about travelling with your parents as grown adults and being able to share new experiences with people who have sacrificed so much to raise you. As a “thank you” to my parents, I want to travel as much of this world with them and my twin sister as possible. Read about our trip to Paris here.

#13 See Hampton Court

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#14 Get up close to an Elephant ✅

Blog to come!

#15 See a Pink Lake in Australia

Visited Lake MacDonnell near the small remote town of Penong in South Australia.

#16 Visit the Colosseum in Rome

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#17 Go to Gladiator school in Rome

Be a Gladiator for a day at a Gladiator School in Rome, Italy.

#18 Explore Pompeii

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#19 Ride a horse ✅

I’ve always been scared of horses, so I will get the courage to ride a horse one day. Blog to come!

#20 Cook a 3-course meal ✅

Take a culinary class and learn to prepare a 3-course meal and improve my home chef abilities.

#21 Visit Dachau Concentration Camp ✅

Pay my respects to the victims of the Holocaust, learn about the incredible human cost & reflect on the lessons that can be learnt to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

#22 Visit Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Pay my respects to the victims of the Holocaust, learn about the incredible human cost & reflect on the lessons that can be learnt to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

#23 Visit Normandy Beaches

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#24 Fly in a helicopter ✅

Blog to come!

#25 Hike Mount Kosciuszko ✅

I’ve always been a mountain person, that kind of happens when you’re a country girl who grew up not seeing the ocean until you’re 11. I have always wanted to hike Australia’s tallest mountain. Whilst it’s no Everest, it’s still 2,228m above sea level! Read more here.

#26 Visit LOTR filming locations

See Hobbiton and other Middle Earth filming locations used for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

#27 Visit Pearl Harbour

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#28 Visit Washington D.C

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#29 Explore Flinders Chase National Park, SA

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#30 Visit Lake Argyle, WA

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#31 Visit Rottnest Island, WA ✅

Visit Rottnest Island, cycle around the island, learn its history and see a Quokka!

#32 Travel the Great Ocean Road ✅

The Great Ocean Road is one of the most iconic road trips in Australia and also the world’s largest war memorial as the road is dedicated to the returned WW1 soldiers who built the road between 1919 and 1932. Read more here.

#33 See the Northern Lights

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#34 See the Southern Lights

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#35 Explore Uluru

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#36 Explore Berlin

Travel to Berlin and explore all WW2 related sites, especially Checkpoint Charlie!

#37 Do a wine making course

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#38 Explore Cradle Mountain ✅

Known for the Overland Track, Cradle Mountain National Park is one of Tasmania’s most famous national parks and Cradle Mountain is the fifth highest summit in the state of Tasmania. Read more here.

#39 Explore Grampians National Park

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#40 Explore Freycinet National Park ✅

Blog to come!

#41 Explore Myall Lakes National Park

Explore Myall Lakes National Park in New South Wales, Australia.

#42 Get up close to a giraffe ✅

I’ve always admired the elegance of the giraffe. The long legs, necks and those eyelashes! So I’d love to have a chance to admire them up close. Blog to come!

#43 Explore Springbrook National Park

Explore Springbrook National Park, Gold Coast, Australia.

#44 Watch the Penguin Parade on Phillip Island ✅

See the Fairy Penguins walk on the beach in Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. Blog to come!

#45 Travel to Fiji ✅

Blog to come

#46 Snorkel on the island where Castaway was filmed ✅

Blog to come!

#47 Go Cave Swimming in Fiji ✅

Who doesn’t want bragging rights to say they’ve swam inside a cave in Fiji? Read more here.

#48 Swim with a Manta Ray ✅

Blog to come

#49 Explore Daintree Rainforest ✅

Explore the oldest rainforest in the world, the Daintree Rainforest, Queensland, Australia. Blog to come.

#50 Visit Bastogne

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#51 Watch a Ballet

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#52 Hike a mountain in Colorado

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#53 Relax in a natural spring

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#54 Visit a Buddha Temple ✅

Blog to come!

#55 Camp at a true blue Aussie cattle station ✅

Blog to come!

#56 See the Cherry Blossoms in Japan

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#57 Visit a Samurai museum

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#58 Visit Hiroshima

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#59 Hike Flinders Ranges

Hike the Flinders Ranges in South Australia

#60 Hike Bluff Knoll

Hike Bluff Knoll in Western Australia.

#61 Watch an Opera

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#62 Explore Edinburgh Castle

Still need to tick this experience off the bucket list!

#63 See the Twelve Apostles ✅

Blog to come!

#64 See the Pinnacles ✅

Visit Cervantes in Western Australia and walk amongst the iconic Pinnacles. Blog to come!

#65 Visit Mad Max 2 Museum ✅

Explore the Mad Max 2 Museum in Silverton NSW, and learn more about this iconic movie. Read more here.

#66 Get up close to a Galapagos Tortoise ✅

Blog to come!

#67 Eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp ✅

Blog to come!

#68 Ride a Camel ✅

Blog to come!

#69 Swim with Sea Lions ✅

Have you ever imaged sharing the ocean with the delightful, playful, and curious Australian Sea Lion? I have, and my dream came true this year! Read more.

#70 Go abseiling ✅

Overcome your fear of leaning off tall mountains or structures and go abseiling.

#71 Visit Wave Rock in WA ✅

Visit the rock formation that looks like a wave, known as Wave Rock in Hyde Western Australia.

#72 See the infamous Dish in Parkes, NSW ✅

The Dish, also known as Parkes Observatory, was used in Apollo 11 to receive live TV images of the moon landing.

#73 See the NASA debris in Balladonia, WA ✅

In 1979, the NASA Skylab space station was hurtling to Earth and crashed in a little outback and remote town called Balladonia in Western Australia.

#74 Run the City2Surf ✅

Lace up my runners and join the biggest Fun Run to celebrate being 15 years in remission from cancer! Blog to come!

#75 Travel on The Ghan train from Darwin to Adelaide ✅

For years, this legendary journey through the heart of Australia has been a “must” on my bucket list. So, when my husband and I realised we had a week available in the year to go on an adventure together, we boarded The Ghan for one of the most memorable adventures through Australia’s Outback. Read more.

#76 Go Opal Mining in Cooper Pedy ✅

OK, so not technically Opal Mining, BUT we did eat lunch in an OPAL MINE! And we did do some pretend opal mining beforehand – so, that counts, right? Read more.

#77 Climb Sydney Harbour Bridge