Back in 2009 when I launched Travel Boating Lifestyle (TBL), travel blogs were in their infancy. I’d come up with the name while sailing around Australia on our yacht, writing stories and taking photos of the waterfront destinations, islands and outposts we sailed to. I’d fallen into travel writing without even knowing it was actually a Dream Job and highly sought after.
When I created TBL I had no real clue what I was doing or where I was going with it. Travel blogs were just emerging and yet to unleash themselves on unsuspecting travellers. I just knew I wanted to have my own publishing platform to showcase the wonderful destinations, activities and people I was meeting as we sailed from Fremantle around the top of Australia.
Fast forward ten years and I am honoured for TBL to be shortlisted for Best Travel Blog in the 2020 and 2019 Travel Journalism Awards for Excellence with the Australian Society of Travel Writers (ASTW).
Fiona Harper, the developer and Managing Editor of Travel Boating Lifestyle was a 2019 Finalist for Travel Photographer of the Year.
About the ASTW
The ASTW is the leading organisation for travel journalists and public relations people working in travel and tourism. My colleagues and peers are the best of the best in the travel media industry. Truth be known, much of the time I feel like a fraud and suffer from Imposter Syndrome. Despite 15 years in the travel writing game I still wonder when I am going to be exposed as a pretender. My fellow finalists are renowned as the best in the business so I’m up against some tough competition again in 2020. The winner of this category in 2019 was Aleney de Winter’s blog BoyEatsWorld.
Travel Boating Lifestyle is thrilled to be a Finalist for Best Travel Blog
To be nominated as a finalist alongside such terrific travel writers is an honour. No matter who takes out the top gong, I am thrilled to see TBL recognised for all the incredible hard work and long hours that go into keeping our readers (God Bless the two of you!) coming back for more. This past year has been tough, tossing up plenty of personal challenges on top of some life-threatening health issues. But there have also been wonderful adventures to the Solomon Islands, Tasmania, Fiji, Thailand and locally around Queensland.
Ever improving my writing and photography skills, my drone is getting a regular workout, with my images available for purchase at Getty Images and SkyStock.
In 2020 I launched MiTribe Media as a creative studio to combine all client projects that I’m working on.
I’m extremely grateful to all the terrific colleagues, associates and peers I work with that allows me to write about travel destinations and products. I could not do this without your support. Thank you.
Fiona x
