Meet the Nomads – Charli and Ben of Wanderlusters

Meet Charli and Ben of Wanderlusters. They left their home in the UK last May 2011 to explore the world and live a life of adventure. They also sold most of their possessions in the process and saved as much as they could before they left to travel the world.

Charli is a freelance journalist who’s also a PADI dive master, runner,and a culinary enthusiast. Ben is also a PADI dive master, an extreme sport enthusiast and an IT guru. Both of them are passionate with travel and photography.

Wanderlusters provide tons of helpful information about scuba diving (as both of them are dive masters), gorgeous photos of the places that they’ve been to and a lot of travel tips that I’m sure you’ll find very useful.

Get to know more about Charli and Ben and follow their adventure at Wanderlusters.

But before you leave this page, check out my short interview with Charli and Ben.

How did you discover your passion for travelling?

“Ever since we met a little over eight years ago travel has been a constant in our lives. Living at opposite ends of the UK during our first year of dating we were frequently travelling to visit each other. After a year or so we took a road trip around Europe, an impromptu escape it allowed us an insight into the nomadic existence we have found ourselves in today.

While travel has always featured in our lives it has really only become a passion in the last few years. Having spent three months road tripping around the west coast of the USA in 2008 we decided that normality was no longer a viable lifestyle choice. Four years later and we’ve made that dream our reality.”

What’s the most horrible experience that you’ve had on the road?

“We’ve been pretty fortunate and have yet to have a really terrible experience while travelling. Although there have been days that have presented challenges such a lost or stolen gear, delayed flights and cancelled accommodation, these are all just experiences that add to your photo album of memories.”

What’s the best travel experience that you’ve ever had?

“It would have to be diving with sharks out at Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea. 150 KM from the Australian coast Osprey is a submerged atoll rising from depths of over 2000 meters. We spent two weeks volunteering on the dive deck of a five star live aboard and over 70% of that time underwater!

The shark dive involved watching the ocean Gods feasting on bait placed strategically by the crew. Tuna heads were attached to a long metal chain anchored to a sheer coral wall and the divers were invited to dive in and watch as the sharks had their fill.

Although it sounds like it would be terrifying it was simply mesmerizing and you were too entranced by the scene unfolding in front of you to be scared.”

What’s the biggest realization that you’ve got out of travelling?

“I think we’ve realized that there’s more to life than earning a wage. Life should be a myriad of experiences and while finance can restrict the opportunity to take part in activities there’s a lot to be gained from the act of travel itself.

We’ve met some fascinating characters and made incredible friendships through the course of our journey, the like of which we may never have come across without travel.”

What keeps you going? What keeps you motivated?

“Each experience we have drives us on to the next. No two days are ever the same, just as no two sunsets, scenic views of conversations with strangers are a repeat of the one before.”

This is a silly and hypothetical one. If you would be given a chance to travel with a popular person or a celebrity, who would it be and why?

“Oh that’s a good one!”

Ben: “I’ve always said I’d love to travel with a scientist such as Prof Brian Cox. To be in the company of someone who can explain the wonders of the world in such detail would be just fascinating.”

Charli: “I think I’d have to choose a great story teller, someone who would be able to captivate my imagination and recount our journey in alluring prose! Mark Twain perhaps, or Bill Bryson.”

Where’s your favorite place in this planet and why?

“At the moment we would have to say southern Costa Rica. The lush tropical rain-forests and the diverse range of native wildlife had us hooked the moment we arrived. The lifestyle is completely different to that of the UK. The pace is slower and the inhabitants seem to be more content. It had a great vibe and we’d love to return one day.”

What’s your best tip for newbie traveler?

“Pack no more than a third of the items you think you’ll need. We’ve found that a lot of the items we thought we couldn’t live without are left moot in our backpacks. We have even give things away because they are just taking up dead space.

Anything you need you can buy, and if you can’t buy it then you really don’t need it!”

What’s the funniest and silliest thing you’ve ever done while travelling?

“The day we left Seattle we were running late for our flight out to Hawaii. Our journey to the airport was pretty simple, go to the train station, get the airport line and get off at the airport.

Simple right?

Running like mad to catch our train we ran down onto the platform and both launched for the train sat on the platform. Unfortunately there were two trains on two separate platforms, one to our left and one to our right. Charli ran for the right and Ben for the left.

Charli’s train left immediately and was unfortunately bound for the city center not the airport!”

How do you keep yourself safe on your travels?

“Common sense and following your gut feeling.

We often hear tales of travelers who have found themselves in sticky situations and 9 times out of 10 it was by doing something that in hindsight they knew probably wasn’t a good idea. There’s a lot to be said for considering what your mother would advise!”

What do you think about yourself?

“Oh boy. Erm. Charli is a scaredy cat on the outside but there’s a brave lion inside her. She’s overcome a lot of anxiety in the past few years and owes a lot of that to the fact that she draws her strength from Ben. Trained in the arts she loves nothing more than expressing herself with words on a page or with color on a canvas. She’s a penchant for dark chocolate too, although has been known to eat Ben’s supply of peanut butter laced milk chocolate!!

Ben is the glue holding our lives together. He has a calm nature and is able to rationalize almost any problem before finding the most cost effective solution! An adrenaline addict by day he transforms into a super nerd by night and loves nothing more than reading up on the latest nerdy news.”

“Wanderlusters is a platform dedicated to providing wisdom for wanderers. Our aim is to inspire others to feed their desire for adventure whether that by flying to the other side of the world or exploring their own backyard. Full of location guides, activity reviews, engaging travel narratives and savvy travel advice, Wanderlusters has become a trusted resource for adventure travelers across the globe.” – Charli and Ben of Wanderlusters

Editor’s Note: All pics are provided by Charli and Ben.

Next: Sam and Pete of Travelling King Previously: Marina Villatoro of Travel Experta For more interviews with travel bloggers, check out the archives of Meet the Nomads.