The latest World Travellers on Don’t Stop Living are a double act of Kevin and Kate from the Emerald Isle. They are Happy Irish Wanderers and a full time travel couple.
Who are you?
Hello, we are Kevin and Kate, An Irish husband and wife travelling the world full time since 2022.
In 2016 we left Ireland and decided to go on a 3 month break in SE Asia, only to come home nearly 7 years later for the first time! We ended up in Australia, and once we got out citizenship we decided to pack in our 9 to 5 jobs and follow our dream to see every corner of the world.
World Travellers: Kevin And Kate – Happy Irish Wanderers And Full Time Travel Couple
Where are you from?
Kevin is from Cobh, County Cork. Known to be the last Port of call of the titanic and the main emigration port for many Irish. But most importantly, Cobh Ramblers , where a young Roy Keane was discovered.
Kate is from Clonlara in the gorgeous County Clare, home to the majestic cliffs of Moher.
We met each other in Scotland, got engaged in Thailand, and got married in Spain.
Travelling the world had to be the next step!
Where have you been?
In 2016 we set of on our first proper big trip. This was only meant to be for 3 months but we ended up travelling for nearly 9 months, visiting nearly every country in SE Asia, (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and India)
After Asia, we ended up in Australia unplanned for 6 year. From Oz we were able to visit New Zealand, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia.
Then in 2022 we started our full time travel adventure, beginning with a full lap of Australia for 8 months.
Followed by a Cairo to Capetown overland adventure through Egypt, Sudan, a detour to Oman, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.
Kevin was in the Irish army for 12 years and got to experience 3 overseas missions to Liberia, Kosovo and Lebanon as well.
Where are you now?
We’ve been in Koh Lanta for the last 4 months waiting for China to warm up to start our next big trip – Beijing to Mumbai.
We love Thailand and this is our 9th time visiting this great country!
What are the top 3 places you’ve visited?
We’re lucky to have visited some top class places such as Bagan in Myanmar, East Java – Indonesia, Meroe Pyramids in Sudan , and a 3 week road trip through Namibia which was like visiting another planet!
Obviously we love Ireland and if we had the weather we would be hands down the best country in the world!
But if we have to pick 3 places, we would choose 3 countries where we would live tomorrow.
First on the list has to be Thailand. We absolutely love this country, the friendly happy locals, delicious food and very affordable living.
Next up is Kenya. We spent 3 months hanging out in Kenya on our 2023 Cairo to Capetown trip.
Again, the people are what make this country so great, everyone is just “Hakuna Matata”
Then ofcourse you can visit great places such as Maasai Mara, Longonot Volcano, Lamu and many chill beach towns along the coastline.
Last on our list has to be Australia. We lived in Queensland for over 6 years, and it was paradise!
Besides cyclone season and everything wanting to kill you, there are still so many great things to see such as the class native wildlife, paradise beaches, tropical forests, a view of the milky way every night, lots of gorgeous waterfalls, camping in the middle of nowhere in desert’s, and lots more! We love Queensland and Australia!!
What is the best travel experience you’ve had?
We have done hot air balloons, safaris, cruises etc, but what we love the most when we visit all places is the local life.
Simply hanging out and people watching as they go about their daily routine.
Every country showed us something new, and it also showed that we’re all the same, we all laugh, cry and shite!
Another bonus when mingling in local life is that it can be very cheap when you eat, travel, and sleep in local establishments
And it’s great craic!
Even today, we still talk to many people from all over the world, although with a bit of help from Google Translate!
World Travellers: Kevin And Kate – Happy Irish Wanderers And Full Time Travel Couple
What is the worst travel experience you’ve had?
Travel in Sudan was not easy. There is not much catered for tourism and not many people speak English.
While we were in Sudan, trouble broke out in Ethiopia which created a problem for us as we could not enter Ethiopia.
Instead we had to fly to Oman from Khartoum ( great improvisation as Oman is a brilliant country to visit) explore Oman and then fly to Uganda to continue our trip to Cape Town
We left Khartoum Airport at 3AM on the 15th of April 2023.
A few hours later we landed in Muscat, only to discover Khartoum and Khartoum Airport had been attacked by a rival militant group opposed to the government and the start of the latest Sudan civil war which is still ongoing now…..
Luck of the Irish I guess!
What is the funniest travel experience you’ve had?
Hardship is part of full time travel, and unless you are a millionaire travelling, you will come across this many times.
These are the experiences that you just got to laugh at, or else you will go insane!
Transport will break down, 2 hour trips turn into 12 hour trips, you will spend a night in the dirtiest room on earth, shiting yourself for 24 hours, it’s all part of the journey and they are always funny stories to talk about.
One strange experience we had was in Tanzania when we ordered a pizza through Room service, waited 3 hours and finally got our pizza, with 2 slices missing!!
What is the scariest travel experience you’ve had?
On our first trip in 2016 we almost died in Bali by a truck whose brakes gave away and came crashing down a hill.
We had to jump for our lives as the truck came thundering down the hill crushing our bike.
There are many accidents in Bali in regards to tourists and motorcycles, but this was 100% in the wrong place at the wrong time….
This also brought us unexpectedly to Australia as Kate got fairly bust up and nearly broke her ankle when jumping of a road into rocks.
With Kate on Crutches for over a month we recovered in Perth where Kate’s sister lived and decided to apply for work visas.
Funny how Oz was never planned, yet we stayed over 6 years and became citizens.
World Travellers: Kevin And Kate – Happy Irish Wanderers And Full Time Travel Couple
How do you fund your travels?
Covid was a strange time around all the world, but it was also a great time to save money!
We were planning on buying a house in Australia, but then thought – why wait till retirement to see the world.
This combined with smart spending, self guided tours and a lot of common sense, allows us to get the most out of our savings and travel the world full time.
Our main goal now is to create a website that generates enough passive income to allow the dream to continue for a long time!
What 3 tips would you give a new traveller before they set off on their adventure?
1 – Set up a savings account with a high interest rate. Don’t just accept the bad rates your bank offer.
2 – Bring small gifts from your country such as postcards, stickers and keyrings to give to people as a small thank you.
A small gesture, but very much appreciated by locals who are often very happy to help and do you a favour.
3 – Accept the fact that things will not always go to plan, and that’s OK.
It’s how you react to something going wrong that matters.
It’s all part of the adventure!
What are your future travel plans?
It’s a big world and we have big trips planned to see a lot of it for the next couple of years.
In April this year, we will be starting our third big trip – Beijing to Mumbai. (China, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Back to Thailand of course, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Pakistan.
Argentina to Mexico is another massive overland trip that is happening in the future.
Istanbul to Central Asia, (hopefully we can do a self drive for this one)
We will be visiting every country in Europe by car and get a few road trips in to Morocco and Tunesia as well.
Lastly, discover much more at home in Ireland, and include a big campervan trip across the pond to Scotland, England and Wales.
So, busy bees for the next few years.
Biography
We are full time nomads Kevin and Kate, aka Happy Irish Wanderers.
Since 2010 we have travelled over 50 countries together.
Kate is a family counsellor with over 15 years experience and Kevin was in the Irish Army for 12 years before joining the local laws team in Australia.
In 2022 we started our long anticipated plan of full time travel and created our website www.happyirishwanderers.com to show people that world travel without spending a fortune is possible.
Follow us for daily adventures, tips and a bit if craic on –
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/happyirishwanderers
Slán go fóil
Happy Irish Wanderers
Full Time Travel Couple
Thanks to Kevin and Kate for being the latest in my series of World Travellers! If you travel the world and run a travel blog or are a travel writer, please get in touch, you can be featured , either e-mail jonny (at) dontstopliving (dot) net or head to my contacts page and get connected! You can also subscribe to Don’t Stop Living by filling in the form below! Safe travels!