TRAVELLER: Libby Troy, Mudjimba Queensland, Australia

[Editor’s note]: I met Libby at TravBuddy, an online travel community. She was particularly impressed with the photography in my coffee table books, which she saw at www.globerovers.com. The next time she visited Hong Kong we met up at a coffee shop on Hong Kong’s Tsing Yi Island where she literally drooled over my travel pictures (or so at least I saw it, LOL). We had a great chat about everything related to travel. Since then she has become one of my most loyal supporters, editors, and buyers of my books and magazines. She can be found at www.allaboutphotography.com.au where she and Rich Johnston offer photography workshops and tours mainly around Australia. As a born traveler, she also has a trained eye for good photos!

Libby Troy, Mudjimba Queensland, Australia

This interview was conducted in early 2014 by email: 

Globerovers:  How many countries have you been to?

Libby Troy:  Fifteen.

GR:  What are your 5 most preferred countries for leisure travelling?

LT:  Cook Islands, Hong Kong, Vietnam, New Zealand, Cambodia.

GR: Among those countries you have not yet visited, which ones are at the top of your “must do” list?

LT:  England.

GR:  Based on your experience, if you were to recommend the one most amazing destination for intrepid ?

LT:  Antarctica.

GR:  Please tell us about the one most incredible experience you have had during your recent travels.

LT:   On the Island of Aitutaki, Cook Islands, I returned with a new Union Jack Flag for the Girl Guides, as theirs was 50 years old, tatted and torn. It was amazing being thanked from the pulpit of the Church and then having doorstep!

GR:  Which people by nationality or subgroup would you say have been the most hospitable during your travels and why do you say so?

LT:  Polynesian as a race is extremely hospitable as they embraced us as we visited there over 14 times, always greeted at the airport with “Welcome home!” I feel that if you give back to humanity you will be rewarded by simple gestures: a wave when you are out on the bike, a smile from the kids and a laugh at our jokes.

GR:  How do you think travellers has changed over the past 20 years?

LT:  I remember when my late husband left Australia in 1963 and travelled for 3 years around the world, there was no Internet; it was snail mail and long waits in some towns to get the necessary visa, etc. Now the world has changed – we can look at reduced, making it easier to get where we want to visit.

Website:    www.allaboutphotography.com.au

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/allaboutphotographybyrich