We are Oksana & Max, a nomadic couple inspired by the world, fuelled by curiosity, a sense of adventure, and a desire to make a positive impact on the destinations and communities we visit.
We are on a mission to explore the world in a responsible way, to take nothing but photographs and leave nothing but footprints.
In 2015, we quit our jobs, sold our possessions and left the 9-5 life behind to embark on the biggest adventure of our lives. We’ve been traveling full time for over 4 years and don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon!
Our paths first crossed in 2006 in a boring University lecture hall in a small town of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. But our story didn’t begin until a few years later. While in University, we dated for a few months but didn’t take our relationship seriously.
After graduation, our lives took us all around the world. Max moved to Australia to pursue his Masters in 2009 and Oksana embarked on an adventure to the UK in 2011. Travel has always been our passion and the force that eventually brought us together.
After many years of long-distance friendship and solo travels, our love for adventure and a desire for a travel lifestyle brought us together in sunny Australia in 2013.
At the top of Mt Warning in Australia back in 2014
Between 2013 and 2015, we lived and traveled around Australia, exploring all of its nooks and crannies far beyond the major sights and attractions. We took advantage of holidays and time off work to travel outside of Australia, falling more and more in love with each other, and with adventures on the road.
Australia holds many wonderful memories for us but as much as we loved Australia, we weren’t happy with our part-time travel/full-time work routine.
We longed for more adventures and a nomadic lifestyle…
Our journey to the lifestyle of freedom wasn’t easy!
In 2013, we had over $100,000 in debt, and nothing more than a dream to travel the world.
We wanted to travel full time and we were willing to do whatever it took to chase that dream. We didn’t sit on our hands hoping to win a lottery or get a big payout. We worked hard and made a number of sacrifices. It took 2 years of hard work and dedication to set ourselves up for this lifestyle.
We tightened our budgets and reduced our expenses to get rid of debt and put away some money into our savings and invested it into some real estate projects. We spent our weekends learning new skills, ranging from web design to social media marketing, creative writing, photography, videography, and more. We worked hard on our blog and on a few other projects that would help us earn money on the road.
In August 2015, we quit our 9-5 jobs, sold all of our possessions, and set off on the biggest adventure of our lives.
When we left Australia, we didn’t have it all figured out. We had some savings, a little blog and a big dream to travel the world! We took a leap of faith hoping that our little start-up would take off and our hard work would eventually pay off.
Today, 3.5 years later, we are still on the road with no desire and no intention to ever go back to the 9-5 lifestyle ever again!
Since August 2015, we have been living a nomadic lifestyle, traveling full-time and earning our income while working on the road.
We have already been to over 75 countries, but our travel wish list seems to be growing longer with every new trip.
Over the years we have been on some pretty amazing adventures. We have embarked on a pilgrimage climb to the top of Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka, sailed in the Adriatic Sea, experienced the magic of the Sahara Desert in Morocco, slept in a ger under the starry skies in Mongolia, summitted Mt Kilimanjaro, and got a chance to kayak to a glacier in Patagonia.
In 2017, after 2 years on the road and after seeing the impact that tourism can have on destinations, we made a commitment to travel more sustainably!
To Travel in a Way that is Responsible and Conscious
Today, we aim to inspire a travel lifestyle that is sustainable and respectful of the world we now call our home, of the nature that surrounds us, and of the local communities that we meet along the way.
In late 2018, our desire to learn more about Sustainable Travel pushed us to take yet another BIG LEAP OF FAITH!
We bought an old hotel in Costa Rica, renovated it, and turned it into a beautiful Eco-Lodge that opened its doors in October 2018!
Our hotel, Drift Away Eco Lodge, from above
The lodge serves as a beautiful example of simple eco-luxury and we are so pleased with how it turned out!
But the lodge didn’t take us away from our biggest passion! We were able to hire a great team to carry out our vision of the Drift Away Eco Lodge and run its operations, so we can continue to do what we love doing the most – TRAVEL!
Today, we are still on the road and have no intention of settling down any time soon!
Overlooking the islands of Raja Ampat, Indonesia
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We invite you to follow along our journey, to learn more about our ways of travel, about the destinations that we visit and the people we meet along the way.
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