Julie Woods chases 60 countries by the times she is 60

By Julie Woods | Posted: Wednesday Sep 03, 2025

When Julie Woods was a little girl, she never thought about travelling the world, or of going blind…

But she has done both, and this month she will achieve her dream of visiting 60 countries by the time she is 60.

 

“Chasing this dream is not something I really set out to do” says Julie, “it just kind of happened.”

 

After visiting 50 countries by the time she was 50 in 2016,  the die was cast for her next goal, until a world-wide pandemic struck.

 

“I gave the goal away when Covid-19 came along” she continues, “but like a lot of things that have happened to me, just when I think everything is over, sometimes it’s not.”

 

Julie and her husband Ron Esplin visited the three Pacific islands of Fiji, Vanuatu and Tonga last year, and will head to Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan for Julie to chase her 60 countries before she turns 60 on February 1, 2026.

 

Her list of countries includes Bhutan to Belgium, Estonia to Egypt and Sweden to Samoa, along with 54 others.

 

Asked her favourite she said it was difficult choosing, although she did say Asia was her favourite continent, Italy had her favourite food, India her favourite people with France having her favourite son, Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille.

 

“I wouldn’t have seen as much as I have if it wasn’t for my husband Ron Esplin,” shares Julie, “who believes in Hans Christian Andersen’s words “to travel is to live.” He also paints what he sees, and the image is what he saw at the Great Pyramids of Giza. 

 

Julie sets off for 17 days on September 11, with Ron and her notebook. Every day she is away she writes one thing she smells, hears, tastes and touches as it is how she sees the world.

 

Here is how she saw Egypt:

Dust, Strange pancakes, “welcome to Africa”, hotel pizza, the friendly Egyptian handshake of Ramses, the sweet-smelling perfumery, tooting of all the cars, rice wrapped in vine-leaves, an Egyptian mixed grill, sitting on the pyramids of Giza that felt like two-tonne LEGO blocks, George telling me about the canopic jars, aromatic leather, hard boiled eggs, the sound of vendors bargaining, Egyptian chicken and chips, walking around the scarab statue seven times, fried fish, Arabic music on the car radio, “merhaba Habibi”,  the engraving of the key of life at the Mortuary temple of Hatchepsut, cool fresh air on Kitchener Island, koshari tea, the sound of the ring tones on the Aswan train, splashing water from the Nile river while on the felucca, diesel at the airport, the story of the reconstruction of the temple of Abu Simbel, Coca cola, running my hand up the leg of Rhamses 2nd on the temple wall…

 

For any enquiries about Julie’s dream to visit 60 countries by the time she is 60, please contact: 

Julie Woods (she/her)

Professional Speaker, Author, Advocate & Coach

021 913 513

 

 

Global Ambassador Blind Low Vision NZ | Visited 50 countries in 50 years

| Including 7 wonders of the world! | Walked 10 Dunedin half marathons |

walked every street in Dunedin ! | 3 times nude touch rugby referee | Author of WHY NOT &  WONDERlust  | Supreme award winner for the Cooking Without Looking show.| Dream to write 1 million names in braille | Get your name written in Braille to help me reach 1 million: Shop | That Blind Woman NZ