Our motto: “The world is our playground!”
Travel is our passion! Although, we don’t get to do it as much as we would like with our full-time jobs at the moment, we travel whenever we get the opportunity. We are neither budget or luxury travellers – we like to consider ourselves as comfortable and modest travellers, just doing what we love.
Our love of travel began in 2005, when we went on our first overseas trip together as 23 year olds. That trip sealed the deal – we would spend the rest of our days exploring the world. This same trip made us realise how much we enjoyed spending time together and we became inseparable.
When we first began travelling, we knew we had contracted the “travel bug” and thought that with time and a few overseas trips, we would be cured. But this was not to be…
Symptoms include: hours of daydreaming of holidays, gravitational pulls to travel agencies to flick through brochures, salivating over Facebook friends’ holiday photos, probing everyone about their last holiday. So one day, we woke up and succumbed to the travel bug and accepted that we would have it chronically! The only treatment we could prescribe was to keep travelling! Until we can give up our day jobs, we will fit in our travels around full-time work!
Planning the next holiday is our way of life!
Our travel style is exploring and getting “lost” in the destination. Having been born and bred in Australia, we accept that travelling will generally mean flying at least 3 hours to go anywhere internationally. So with every trip overseas, we tend to focus in on the one country and make the most of our time there.
We’ve always recorded our adventures in a diary: one for each continent that we visit – scribbled inside at the end of each day what we had done. The good reliable pen and paper are still items that go on our “to-pack” list before every holiday. Through our travels, we have come to learn a lot about ourselves and the places we have seen and we would like to share our experiences and photos. There may also be occasional pieces of “wise” trivia, reviews or tips.
When COVID hit in 2020, all of our international travels had to come to a screeching halt. We spent most of 2020, 2021 and 2022 doing road trips within our home state of New South Wales. All these mini getaways kept us sated.
Why “Wise Monkeys Abroad”?
Along with our love for travelling, we also enjoy collecting three wise monkeys, particularly if we find them overseas. Hence where our blog name came from!
Thank you so much for swinging by our blog 🙂
We hope you will connect, stay in touch and come back often,
Le and David
(Please note: all our posts including photos are our own and are not sponsored, unless specified. Where the photos are not ours, we identify where they have come from)
wise monkeys abroad 
August 6, 2014 at 5:17 pm
It’s great getting to know you guys a little better! I can so relate to this post on so many levels. Given that I identify with all the symptoms you enumerate here, I guess I’ve contracted the dreaded (well, not) wanderbug too! o.O And I knew my boyfriend was a keeper when we started travelling together and our travel styles clicked together perfectly. Travel compatibility can make or break a trip (or relationship!)… it’s amazing to find someone with whom you want to spend your lifetime travelling. 🙂 Wish the best to both of you!
August 7, 2014 at 4:20 am
Awww… what a truly lovely comment to read! You are so right! If you cannot travel with that person – chances are you can’t live with them. Travelling will test any relationship and so if you can travel together, you are “keepers” 😉 Well, here’s to hoping that you and your boyfriend will share many more travel experiences together and have an amazing time doing it. Happy travel and have fun 🙂
August 3, 2014 at 12:04 am
Thank you for visiting and following my blog. I had also the chance to see Lonesome Georges before he died.. going to galapagos islands was a dream for me and I really enjoyed it ! I look forward seeing more of your adventure !
August 3, 2014 at 12:09 am
Thank you for following our blog! The Galapagos is such a wonderful place, isn’t it? Glad to be connected with you 🙂
August 1, 2014 at 2:01 am
Thanks, Le and David, for dropping by and following our blog. Your posts are so inspiring. I am especially a fan of your UNESCO page. Can’t wait to read more. 🙂
August 1, 2014 at 2:02 am
Is this Julia or Victoria? 🙂 (Not that it matters…)
Glad to have you visit us and thank you for your lovely words!
August 1, 2014 at 2:06 am
This is Victoria. 😀
And any time; same to you.
July 26, 2014 at 12:44 pm
what i nice blog! now i am a follower!
July 26, 2014 at 2:19 pm
Welcome!! We are so glad to have you join us!! Thank your for the follow 🙂
July 23, 2014 at 9:44 am
Stop by the Philippines if you get a chance. 🙂
July 23, 2014 at 1:50 pm
Yes, we have a really good friend who is Filipino and she tells us all about it! We will one day – everywhere is on our list 🙂
July 23, 2014 at 4:01 am
Wow . You guys are cool . You are definitely living a life .
July 23, 2014 at 4:03 am
Thanks Priyanka for swinging by and for your awesome comment!! You have us smiling now. We like to think that we are living the life we have chosen for ourselves 🙂 More travel would be good but for the moment, the way things are works for us!
July 21, 2014 at 4:04 pm
Hey guys thank you for visiting Keep Picturing and of course for likes too. Your visit gave me a chance to come here. Your blog is really wonderful. I would love to follow your journey. Keep Travelling. Nice to meet you. Have a good day..:)
July 21, 2014 at 9:44 pm
Thank you for returning the visit 🙂 We are thrilled to meet fellow bloggers & have them join us on our adventures. Hope you have a lovely week ahead and we appreciate you leaving us a comment!
July 22, 2014 at 2:41 pm
🙂
July 16, 2014 at 5:28 am
Hey guys! I’ve nominated you for a Versatile Blogger Award! 🙂 http://mrsaylasadventures.com/2014/07/15/the-versatile-blogger-award/
July 17, 2014 at 1:21 am
Oooh wow! Thanks so much Ayla! Will have to duck over to your blog now to have a look 🙂 We are sooooo honoured!
July 15, 2014 at 3:04 am
We definitely do 🙂 I checked out your blog btw, I really like it! Ive had it nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award, you can check it out here 🙂
http://travelinginyourtwenties.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/nominated-for-the-versatile-blogger-award/
July 15, 2014 at 3:08 am
Wow! That’s lovely of you! Will be sure to check it out when we get a chance. Glad to have you following and thank you for nominating us 🙂
July 15, 2014 at 1:56 am
Hi. I have nominated you for the One Lovely Blog Award and will be delighted if you accept. 🙂
July 15, 2014 at 1:59 am
Wow – thank you so much for the nomination! We will duck on over to your website to read more as this blog award is one we have not been nominated for previously 🙂
July 6, 2014 at 10:44 pm
Thanks for the follow, I’m glad you found me and I can’t wait to read more about your adventures! I have the same travel bug. I leave for Europe in 6 days, I hope you enjoy your trip!
July 7, 2014 at 8:41 am
Thank you for following our blog 🙂 We leave for Europe in 5 days – where about will you be going? Hope you too enjoy your trip!!! Look forward to following your adventures!
July 7, 2014 at 11:26 am
I’ll spend a week in the Verdun area of France (that’s the work part), and then the fun part will be a few days in Brussels, Paris, and London. There’s a lot I want to squeeze in during those short visits! Where will you guys be going? I can’t wait to read about it and get ideas for my next trip!
July 6, 2014 at 6:08 am
Thank you for following our blog. Through our photography and words we hope to inspire others to follow their dreams and passions and see the world. It’s never too early or late to get started on what you would really like to do. Cheers, Wooly and Raeski.
July 6, 2014 at 8:17 am
Very true!!! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
July 3, 2014 at 6:22 am
Hello wisemonkeys! I will now think of you every time I see three cheeky monkeys 😀
July 3, 2014 at 7:41 am
Thanks for following our blog – it’s great to be connected! Hope we share many travels stories between us 🙂
July 2, 2014 at 8:06 am
Thank you for the “Like” of my “About”. I’m now following Wise Monkeys Abroad. When I saw your photos of the Acropolis in Athens I began looking to see if you had one of the Parthenon, and sure enough you did. I was there many, many years ago and it’s one of my favorite places in Europe. I look forward to reading about your travels.
Bob Cloud
July 2, 2014 at 8:45 am
Why thank you!! We are so glad to have you on board and hope we can inspire you somehow with our travels 🙂 Parthenon just took our breath away – it really is something! Have a great rest of the week.
June 30, 2014 at 8:03 pm
Glad you like my blog! Looks like we have the same disease – travel
June 30, 2014 at 8:05 pm
Yes!! Yes – we do! Struck with the travel bug 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
June 21, 2014 at 1:06 pm
Great blog! I enjoy trying to see as many UNESCO sites as possible as well. Australia has some beautiful ones 🙂
June 21, 2014 at 1:26 pm
Glad to hear you are a UNESCO collector also:-) Thanks for stopping by and for your comment.
June 21, 2014 at 12:23 pm
Thank you for your approval of ‘Long Walk to Camaraderie’ about my son and me walking the Camino de santiago in 2011. I wish you both well on your planned journey on the Camino this September. Buon Camino!
June 21, 2014 at 12:24 pm
Thank you!! As the time approaches, our nerves are kicking in. We appreciate you dropping by our blog 🙂
June 20, 2014 at 4:05 am
Love the blog! 🙂
June 20, 2014 at 4:08 am
Thanks Charity 🙂 So glad to have connected with you guys!!!
June 14, 2014 at 2:00 am
Hi, I love your blog and decided to nominate you for the Versatile Blogger Award! Bye Kamila
http://spicyroad.com/2014/06/13/versatile-blogger-award/
June 14, 2014 at 2:01 am
Hi Kamila!
Thank you so much 🙂 We are honoured that you nominated us!!
We will look at your post later when we get a chance.
Thanking you again!
June 14, 2014 at 7:46 pm
You are very welcome, and have a nice weekend! K.
June 10, 2014 at 3:06 am
Just popped over to thank you for stopping by my blog and wow, am I glad I did! Your photography is amazing! I’ve only spent a minute or two looking around and love what I see so far. Looking forward to reading more about your travels! 🙂
June 10, 2014 at 6:23 am
Thank you so much for visiting our blog and leaving such an encouraging comment! You’ve simply made our day 🙂 We are thrilled to be connected & to have you on board 🙂 Hope you have a fabulous week ahead!
June 9, 2014 at 2:37 am
My kind of folks! Wandering has been a passion all of my life… by foot, bike, car, RV, kayak, airplane, bus, etc. Anything that will get me there. 🙂 Seems you have the same ‘bug.’ I look forward to joining you on your adventures. Thanks for following me. –Curt
June 9, 2014 at 7:43 am
Thanks Curt for visiting us and following our blog!! Ahhhh – love connecting to those with similar passions as then it inspires us even more 🙂 it’s a ‘bug’ we would happily not cure!!
June 8, 2014 at 10:23 pm
What a lovely couple you are! I am a huge fan of monkeys, I absolutely LOVE monkeys so when I saw your gravatar pop up on CrazyChineseFamily’s blog in the comments section, I just had to check out who you are. I am so glad I did. What an interesting blog you have about being on the move and traveling, and what great photos to go along with them too. Also, love connecting with Aussie bloggers! I’m from Melbourne. Thanks for sharing all your travels, looking forward to reading more 🙂
June 8, 2014 at 10:27 pm
Hi Mabel. Firstly we sincerely thank you for your encouraging and uplifting comment. It has simply made our Sunday night 🙂
Secondly, we too are so glad to make new blogger friends, and its already like we have a connection when we have something in common – in this case, being Aussies & loving monkeys 🙂
Last but not least, we are so glad to have you on board. Huge thanks for following. Welcome and hope you will visit often. Off to check out your blog now!
Have a great long weekend!!
June 8, 2014 at 10:31 pm
Thanks for the reply, Monkeys. I wish I’d checked out your blog sooner – have seen you commenting around but have never checked you out until now. So glad I did, best thing I’ve done today 🙂 You enjoy the long weekend too! We all deserve it.
June 8, 2014 at 10:34 pm
Awww…. that’s such a lovely thing to hear! So glad we are now connected 🙂
We just checked out your blog – awesome stuff!! Look forward to your future posts!
June 7, 2014 at 9:56 am
Thanks for the support wise monkeys 🙂 Glad to have found your work on here as well. It’s inspiring and beautiful to see the open hearts that are out there. I’ll be creeping you 😉
June 7, 2014 at 10:00 am
It’s so cool meeting people all over the world with similar interest! Thanks for stopping by – glad to have made a new blogger friend 🙂
June 4, 2014 at 10:50 pm
Hi, nice to meet you! You blog is very inspiring and positive! I love it. I look forward to share our experiences…Bye. Kamila
June 4, 2014 at 10:52 pm
Hi Kamila, Thank you so very much for your beautiful and encouraging words 🙂
We hope you visit often! And we are thrilled to be connected with you.
May 31, 2014 at 6:01 pm
Great to meet you! Thanks for the follow. Reading your description about your love of travel is like holding up a mirror to myself! Can’t wait to hear about your World Cup trip.
May 31, 2014 at 6:45 pm
Thank you for stopping by!! It’s wonderful meeting people through our blog and even more exciting when we get to meet like-minded! Only 5 days left of work and then we are off to the World Cup 🙂 Cannot wait!
May 31, 2014 at 2:52 am
Hello, nice to meet you guys! You’ve got a great way of looking at the world, I look forward to checking out some posts/future posts. Thanks for visiting my blog too 🙂 Happy travels, Alice.
May 31, 2014 at 7:10 am
Thanks Alice for visiting and following our blog 🙂 Travel is the world university – so much to learn & experience 🙂 Glad to have you on board with us!
May 29, 2014 at 7:13 pm
Wow, what a great blog, so much to read. This will clearly take me a while to go through 🙂
My wife and I also love traveling however we had no “time” thus far. Before we both were studying,now we have a little monkey with us who shouldnt be on a plane for a few further months and soon we move to Germany, postponing everything once again.
I believe your blog might help us to pick some nice destinations for the future
May 29, 2014 at 11:17 pm
Thank you so much for following our blog and for your encouraging comment. We are so pleased to hear that you like it and might find some ideas from us.
Congrats again on your “little monkey” and on your move to Germany.
We have never been to Finland, but it along with the rest of Scandinavia is on the list 🙂 We will be close by though in July when we visit Russia!!!
Thank you again for swinging by our blog.
May 30, 2014 at 5:19 pm
When visiting Scandinavia it would be best to go there during the summer months of June/ July as everything else might get too rainy, windy, cold, frustrating or you plan a winter visit in which you wont be able to visit all “famous” places due to heavy snowfall etc.
Going from Scandinavia, especially around Midsummer time is a great experience, sun not setting at all, mosquitos as big as birds (just joking) and a great nature, besides even these lands have a few unesco sites 🙂
May 30, 2014 at 5:59 pm
Awesome – thanks so much for the tips! We will definitely keep this in mind. It looks like an incredible part of the world.
May 25, 2014 at 10:15 pm
Wow, you guys know how to travel. Keep it up – it’s inspiring! 🙂
May 26, 2014 at 5:33 am
Thank you so much for visiting and for following our blog 🙂 Your words are very encouraging and we hope we can keep travelling!
May 23, 2014 at 9:16 am
Hi Wise monkeys couple,
Please check this
http://yunitagena.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/im-loved-and-lets-spread-the-love/
It’s a Liebster Award, i don’t know if you like this things, but i feel like to share it with you both. 😀
May 23, 2014 at 10:06 am
Hi Yuna!! Wow, so completely honoured to have you spreading the love to us! Thank you for thinking of us – we will check it out later tonight! 🙂
May 24, 2014 at 9:29 am
I’m glad that you both like it. 😀
Thank you.
May 23, 2014 at 9:12 am
[…] Wise monkeys couple […]
May 19, 2014 at 7:39 am
Hello, I think you have a wonderful blog and I’ve nominated you for The Versatile Blogger Award: http://buildingwingsanddreams.wordpress.com/about/
Cheers ☺
May 19, 2014 at 7:53 pm
Oh wow!! Thank you so much for thinking of us! We feel very humbled by the nomination. Will check it out 🙂
May 16, 2014 at 11:31 am
im sorry if i missed it – what part of Australia are you living at right now? great blog by the way thanks for following mine!
May 16, 2014 at 11:56 am
Thank you for following back 🙂 We are Sydney! You are in Melbourne? Or is that just a temporary arrangement? Glad to be connected with fellow Aussie bloggers.
May 14, 2014 at 4:18 pm
Outstanding blog
May 14, 2014 at 6:38 pm
Thanks 🙂
May 14, 2014 at 3:28 pm
Hey there, just tuned in and followed your blog. If you like, come over to http://www.thatssojacob.wordpress.com to return the favor and play with me 🙂 thanks!
May 14, 2014 at 6:39 pm
Sure thing – we will head over now and check out your blog 🙂 Thank you so much for following our blog!!
May 13, 2014 at 11:36 am
How exciting that you have been bitten by the travel bug at a young age! The world is huge, and the possibilities are endless, but with your determined spirit, you will see so much in your lifetime. Thanks for following my blog, Oh, the Places We See. Best wishes for seeing the world in good health! http;//ohtheplaceswesee.com
May 13, 2014 at 11:50 am
Thank you for visiting our blog! We are so glad to be able to see the world while we can! We appreciate your kind and encouraging words! We look forward to reading more on your blog!
May 12, 2014 at 7:53 pm
Greetings from a fellow travel-lover in the UK! Thanks for visiting my blog and the kind words. Very impressed with the list of places you’ve visited so far plus your enthusiasm and positive attitude to the world. You remind me of us!
May 12, 2014 at 8:00 pm
Thank you for visiting our blog and for the words of encouragement!! We hope our list of places grows more with time and we look forward to your drawings 🙂
May 11, 2014 at 10:03 pm
I like your way of thinking 🙂 Thank you for following my blog! Linda.
May 11, 2014 at 10:04 pm
Thanks Linda for stopping by our blog! We look forward to your future posts!!
May 2, 2014 at 10:23 pm
Hi! I’ve nominated you for the Versatile Blogger award and Dragon Loyalty award. Please visit my blog for next steps if you choose to accept. Thanks! http://foodradical.wordpress.com
May 3, 2014 at 6:33 am
Wow – sincerely honoured you thought of us for TWO awards!! We will duck across your site and have a read in more detail 🙂
Thank you so very much!
May 3, 2014 at 8:55 am
You are welcome! Well deserved.
May 1, 2014 at 2:34 am
Hello!!
Thanks for following my blog! It is greatly appreciated. I look forward to checking out your corner of the blogging world! And I love your list of symptoms – I’m a fellow “sufferer” for sure 😛
Kendra
May 1, 2014 at 5:51 am
Hi Kendra! Thank you for visiting our blog! We hope Australia doesn’t disappoint 🙂 Let us know when you are in Sydney!!
P.S. Glad you like the list of symptoms, classic wanderlust, right? 😉
April 30, 2014 at 10:20 pm
I have enjoyed browsing your blog and looking at the fantastic photos. Thank you for sharing your travels with us. Also, thank you for stopping by Aspiring to Inspire and your kind words. I hope that I can continue to be an uplifting presence for those who stop by. Have a beauty-filled day.
April 30, 2014 at 10:27 pm
We look forward to your posts and appreciate you visiting our blog! Thank you for following and your encouraging words 🙂 We hope you continue to enjoy what we have to share of our travels/adventures!
April 29, 2014 at 10:54 pm
I love, love, love your travel adventures and like you I am currently tied down by the corporate world and can only to afford to travel for a certain number of days in a year. I am looking forward to the day when I can finally give up my desk job and travel full time. That would be a dream come true. Continue traveling and enjoying every moment of it.
April 29, 2014 at 10:56 pm
Thank you 🙂 We wish you all the best in finally getting to where you want to be with travelling full-time. We know its just about taking that leap of faith and having the courage to do it. But it would also mean balancing our connection to “home”.
Let’s be positive that we will get there one day 🙂
Happy travels to you and hope you continue to enjoy travel every opportunity that you get!!
April 29, 2014 at 9:50 pm
Thank you for your kind comments on my blog. I’ve viewed some of your posts and have decided to follow yours also. Have fun travelling and enjoying the sights and the people of the world!
April 29, 2014 at 9:56 pm
Hi Hien
Thank you so much for following us. We appreciate you taking the time in visiting our blog 🙂
Hope you come back often!!
April 29, 2014 at 4:28 pm
Are you guys headed to Brasil for the world cup?
April 29, 2014 at 5:08 pm
We sure are!! Thanks for the follow! Are you going??
April 29, 2014 at 5:36 pm
for sure, my gf and I do meerkattravelgang and I first saw you guys on there. yeah headed there in 1 month to scope the area out, and stay for the games. what cities yall planning on hitting?
April 29, 2014 at 5:50 pm
Oh right 🙂 Cool! So is your blog an off shoot of meerkattravelgang??
We are going to all the Aussie games so the three cities they are playing! And then finish up in Rio of one day.
Where are you guys going to be?
April 26, 2014 at 6:20 am
Your travel philosophy is the same as ours. It takes a long time to get to anywhere from Australia so we like to “do a place and do it well” instead of scratching the surface of lots of different places. We like to stay a while, get to know the town and feel like we belong. I’m looking forward to reading more of your adventures.
April 26, 2014 at 8:58 pm
We really do have lots in common 🙂 are you guys Sydney based too?
So glad to have you onboard with us!!
April 27, 2014 at 6:50 am
No, we’re in Toowoomba. I’m looking forward to reading more about where you go.
April 26, 2014 at 1:57 am
Yes. I love traveling to and don´t have an official bucket list but a list in my head.. 🙂 Will try to write it down. Are you in Singapore at the moment or writing from home?
April 26, 2014 at 5:01 am
We have just returned from Singapore 🙂 So now back to writing from home. That zoo post was while we were in Sing alone!! Would love to see what your ‘list’ involves.
April 26, 2014 at 5:10 am
Haha. Yes. Well. The transsiberian railway is one. 🙂 Backpacking Europe is another..
April 25, 2014 at 10:21 pm
Thanks for the lovely comments! I hope you guys found some interesting ideas for your next trip on my blog. I see Spain is on the list of visited countries you guys have been to. Spain is big, I intend to return to the mountains next year. There is so much to see (still!) Barcelona certainly is amazing but once you leave the big cities real Spain “opens up” 😉 Cheers!
April 25, 2014 at 10:25 pm
Thank you so much for following our blog 🙂 We certainly love looking at blogs such as yours for inspiration. Spain is somewhere we want to visit more of as we ran out of time back in 2006!
Happy travels and do stay in touch!
April 21, 2014 at 5:11 am
Your blog is very inspiring, I look forward to picking up some tips on where to go next 😀
April 21, 2014 at 10:09 am
Thank you so much for stopping and by and for following our blog. We are so excited to hear that you find our blog inspiring! Your words encourage us greatly 🙂
April 19, 2014 at 3:07 am
Love the blog guys, its crazy how many “like minded” people there are out there and how easy it is to connect by the internet. Looking forward to reading what you guys are up to and thanks for checking out our blog!
April 19, 2014 at 7:47 am
Thanks for stopping by! So very true as to how many “like minded” there are out there and we just simply love meeting them 🙂 So glad you like our blog!
April 18, 2014 at 10:47 am
Thank you for visiting my blog. I looked through some of your posts and was blown away by the quality of your photographs. Awesome is a word that is overused but TOTALLY works in describing your pictures!!
Best wishes in your travels!
April 18, 2014 at 7:06 pm
Thank you so very much for your lovely compliment! Words such as yours keeps us motivated and enthused. We appreciate you taking the time to visit our blog and providing us with feedback 🙂
April 15, 2014 at 4:33 pm
Thanks for liking my blog – you’re inspiring.
April 15, 2014 at 5:39 pm
Thank you! What lovely words 🙂
We hope we can inspire everyone to travel!