2021 in review

Unlike 2020, when it was almost impossible to travel, 2021 turned into a pretty busy year for my travels. That meant that, alongside all the behind-the-scenes updates to the website, it was also a big year for publishing new posts. That didn’t mean it was smooth sailing, though. I managed to visit some of Australia’s best spots and tick more locations off my Australia list, while constantly dodging snap lockdowns, cancelling my New Zealand plans for the third time, and almost getting stuck in Sydney‘s longest lockdown. In the end, all was well that ended well—the year closed exactly where it started: back on King Island. If you haven’t followed everything, it can be hard to keep track of where I’ve been, so I put together a map of everywhere I slept in 2021 to make things clearer. Here is 2021 in review!

The year began on King Island in Tasmania, and after a short tour with my local band, Yentl As Anything, the plan was to return to Melbourne. Covid changed that, so I flew to Hobart instead and made a full loop around Tasmania. Bruny Island kickstarted the road trip, the South Coast Track marked the wild and muddy midpoint, and everything wrapped up nicely in the north. I did eventually fly into Victoria, continued my journey, squeezed in a quick King Island visit, made it across to South Australia, and then headed north to the Northern Territory. When my New Zealand trip fell through yet again, I suddenly found myself in Queensland for about two months. With 2022 in mind, I headed back to King Island to work and rebuild the travel fund.

As of 2022, my website celebrates its tenth anniversary. Over the years, it has changed many times, and 2021 was probably the year with the biggest transformation. From its launch in 2012 until the end of 2018, the site focused purely on my music career, listing music projects plus past and upcoming gig dates. When my travels kicked off in 2019, I decided to wipe the slate clean and switch from yentldoggen.be to yentldoggen.com. That first year on the road brought a wave of travel blogs and vlogs, but it didn’t feel right that everything before travel suddenly disappeared. In 2020, I added back a music and online education section, yet the mix of music and travel turned the site into a bit of an unorganized mess.

In 2021, my real life was a great blend of touring and travelling, and being on the road inspired me to rethink the whole purpose of my site. I had wanted to make travel videos and travel guides for ages, and it felt like time to let my experience in both travel and music actually help other people. First, though, I had to untangle the chaos. About halfway through 2021, I moved from a hosted environment to a self-hosted site—more complex to manage, but with far more flexibility. Then in August, with help from friends, I redesigned the entire layout and started rewriting older posts. The site I had at the start of 2022 finally felt like everything I had ever wanted from a website, even if it took the full year of tinkering in 2021 to get there.

Travel videos in 2021

My first attempt at travel videos earlier never really took off. At the start of this trip, I planned to make a video for every destination, but in reality I only finished two videos in Thailand and a couple of after-movies for Melbourne and the Great Ocean Walk. In 2021 that changed: over twelve months, I managed to add ten new travel videos—seven from Tasmania and three shot in Victoria. There are still plenty of clips sitting unpublished and unedited, and I’m pretty confident I can at least double that number in 2022. For a year full of website changes, it’s the progression that matters most, so below this post I highlight some of the best videos from 2021.

Travel guides in 2021

Adding the travel guides section was probably one of the most meaningful steps of the year. Whenever I travel, I rely heavily on other people’s guides—the ones that help you build itineraries with all the essential must-do activities, best things to see, and why certain places are special. I’d wanted to write my own lists for years, but two things held me back: English isn’t my first language, and I wasn’t happy with the old structure of the site. Once the rebuild was done, only the language barrier remained, and after some trials throughout 2021, I’m confident 2022 will bring more—and better—guides. I’ve already shared a few from last year underneath this post.

Music updates in 2021

Considering I live on the other side of the world in the middle of a pandemic, I’m pretty happy with my 2021 music calendar. My band Yentl As Anything played multiple gigs throughout the year. The logistics were occasionally chaotic, with me flying in and out of King Island more times than I can count, but it also gave me the chance to perform with other musicians and projects, turning 2021 into a really strong year for music. Most of those gigs came with fantastic photos and videos; as far as travel souvenirs go, that’s pretty hard to beat. Unfortunately, the music education section didn’t get updated at all, even though there are many ideas on the list. I hope to carve out some time in 2022 to finally move that part forward, and I’ve added the 2021 highlights further down the page.

Blogs and vlogs in 2021 

After vlogging daily for the first six months of my trip, I completely burned out on constant editing. I had planned to restart vlogging in 2021 but, looking back, that never happened. It’s a bit of a shame, especially since I filmed vlogs on both the Larapinta Trail and Fraser Island. It’s not that I don’t want to release them; I just haven’t had the time to edit everything yet. Still, I have exciting plans for 2022, and even the “late” vlogs from last year should eventually make it onto the blogs and vlogs page. In the meantime, I did manage to write several blogs in the first half of the year, and my entire trip through Tasmania is quite easy to follow on the site. Plus, 2021 brought my first sponsored post and a handful of new recipes—small wins that still feel good.

Are you enjoying following our blogs and vlogs? Please let us know in the comments below! If you need help or have questions about exploring this fantastic world, check out our travel guides or contact us through the contact page. We are happy to help with all your travel needs and questions!

To keep up-to-date with future adventures and travel guides, follow us on Facebook or just simply check this website regularly. We can’t build this platform without our readers, so we thank you for your continued support. Stay tuned for many more adventures to come! Furthermore, I would like to wish you a great 2022, and I hope that our paths will cross somewhere at one point. If anyone wants to come and visit me, please do! Thank you for all the love and support. Happy New Year, everybody! Thanks for reading, 2021 in review 🙂