Simeon (middle aged male, sometimes seen in lycra)

Beyond The Hill is about sharing adventures and writing about what’s good in the world. I wasn’t quite on the planet when Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the moon, but no matter, I reckon there’s plenty here on Earth to see and appreciate.

Moving from one side of the world to the other as a kid opened my eyes and mind to such great adventures and just a few of the great treasures that can be experienced as we move around the globe. So it was a natural step to start my working life in the travel industry. But after ten years in corporate and retail travel the shine became a bit tarnished, and shock, horror, I actually let my passport expire. To be fair, by then I was raising kids, paying a mortgage and working at re-skilling. With a new career, children old enough to be left on their own for a few weeks, and a wife who was happy to give me free reign in organizing independent trips to anywhere, the time was ripe to get back to the airport and on the way to somewhere, well anywhere actually!

So why am I blogging about this?

• I reckon that some people are anxious about exploring the world independently, but you don’t need to be
• With a bit of advice and a decent amount of planning you can stretch your dollar a lot further as an independent traveller
• I’ve had plenty of people tell me they love my observations and photos from when I’m travelling, so here’s my vehicle to share with you too

Why Beyond The Hill? Well, in age terms I’m already Over The Hill, but that just a label isn’t it? I live in suburbia, on top of a hill, and while I love where I live there’s so much to see, do, experience and contribute in the wider world. That could be just down the bottom of the hill in my own suburb, or it could be a thousand miles away or more. And visually, there’s nothing more intriguing that a pathway that entices you to explore a place that you’ve heard about, or to simple step into the unknown, that place that’s just Beyond The Hill.

So what are you going to find here?

• Zero advice on what to do with the kids in location XYZ – mine are in their twenties, and we stared leaving them behind a long time ago!
• Information that is dated as soon as you read it – so if I tell you it cost 20 Krone to get into the castle when I went, it might not cost that much when you get there.
• Zero official advice of visa and immigration protocols, these rules change all the time, your passport is different to mine, and there are official websites for that.
• Hopefully lots of tips and suggestions that inspire you to explore, and help make things a bit easier once you get there.

So buckle up, take note of where the exits are (remembering the nearest one might be behind you, just like the best view, the most comfortable bed, and the most delicious meal), breathe normally (even in stressful, remote or high altitude locations), and let’s go explore Beyond The Hill