My adventure wishlist: three places still waiting

There is a part of my mind reserved for places I have not been, and it is permanently full. When I am not travelling I am feeding it — saving images of dream destinations, or losing an evening to photographs on my Twitter feed and wondering how it would feel to live in them. A few trips happen every year. The really ambitious ones wait for more money, more leave and a better plan.

Then the Alikats Bucket List Challenge turned up, and I decided to commit three of them to paper. These are the adventures I would book tomorrow if the calendar allowed it.

Three trips, in no particular order

Norway, on foot

Norway's coastline has a hold on me that grows with every article I read. Picture waterfalls dropping into still water, paths along the edge of a fjord, and boats that take you further than your legs will. It reads like a destination designed for people who carry both a rucksack and a camera.

Timing matters. June through August gives you daylight and the freedom to walk late into the evening. From October to March the appeal shifts to the northern lights, at the cost of shorter days.

Bora Bora

In the middle of the Pacific, Bora Bora is wrapped in a barrier reef, with a lagoon caught between the reef and the island. I have lost hours to photographs of that water on Instagram and Pinterest, and what I want most is to be under it rather than looking at it — snorkelling, diving, then a walk inland to see the island from above.

Before going anywhere, I like to know how to say hello. The blogger behind orientalflowers lists the basics: Ia Ora na (yo-rah-nah) for hello, Nana (nah-nah) for goodbye, E (ay) for yes and Aita (eye-tah) for no.

Ladakh

Ladakh has been in the back of my mind since 2005, when I visited Kashmir. I am not proud of how little of India I have seen, and the far north is the gap I most want to close. It has become a popular destination, with group departures and packages increasing every year, which is all the more reason to go before it changes further. Mountains, high lakes and monasteries, all in one of the northernmost parts of the country.

Summer, from May to September, is the season for road trips. Snow can begin in October, so the alternative is a winter visit built around snow treks rather than driving.

The reserves

Three is an artificial limit, so here are the places waiting just behind. The Balearic Islands, naturally, since one of them gave me my name, and the others are close enough to visit while I am there. Tasmania, which I have been told about so often that I have stopped resisting. New Zealand. Ask me again in a year and the list will be longer.

Your turn

What is on your list? Leave a comment and tell me where you would go first — I am always short of ideas. The opening photograph is from wanderlustmoms.com.