A giraffe stands in a dry, sparse landscape with bushes and trees, under a soft pink sky.

Sixty before 60 – the New & Improved Bucket List

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Welcome to my Sixty before 60 bucket list!

In 2020, just as Covid hit, I made myself a bucket list of things to do before I turned fifty. I had no idea at the time I would not be able to leave the country for almost two years, and occasionally not even be allowed to leave my house.

Needless to say, I did not get to do everything on the list. It was ambitious anyway, to achieve all 50 things on the list in less than three years.

Now I have a whole ten years to get through this 60 before 60 list – so I’ve included all those things I didn’t get to on the old list and a whole pile of new things to make it up to sixty new travel experiences. Surely this time I will get through them all!

If you are wondering what this bucket list is all about, the short version is that I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019, and again in 2024.

I went through treatment and came out the other side with a renewed sense of making the most out of life and living it with purpose.

It will be no surprise to hear that travel is my passion. It is what lights me up and brings me joy, so that is what my bucket list is all about.

I have always had a (long!) list in my head of all those things I want to do next – now I also have it in writing. There is always more to see and do, but this gives me a list of things I can prioritise, rather than just waiting to see what comes along.

The first section below is carried over from my previous list. I have purposely left some spots blank so that I can add them if I come across something else. Ten years is a long time (yet not so long at all!)

Do you have any suggestions for bucket list ideas for 60 year olds? let me know, I may include it on my list.

Note: some links below (as I tick things off) go through to my other website, Exploring South Australia.

Current tally: 19/60
Deadline: 2033

  1. Trek in the Himalayas
  2. Walk the Milford Track
  3. Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef
    a female snorkelling underwater
  4. Eat an insect
  5. Walk on the Great Wall of China
  6. See the Aurora Australis
    Pink and purple streaks of the Aurora Australis in the night sky
  7. Watch sunrise at Mt Fuji
  8. Fly first class (again)
  9. Do a wine-blending class at the d’Arenberg Cube
  10. Cycle the Riesling Trail
    Female in cycling helmet standing under a metal archway with "The Riesling Trail" sign. There is a red bike in the background
  11. Swim with sea lions at Baird Bay
    A seal swims gracefully underwater near the sandy ocean floor, surrounded by clear turquoise water.
  12. Start walking the Heysen Trail
  13. Go to Womadelaide
  14. Visit Darwin (and Kakadu National Park)
  15. Go on a paddle steamer on the Murray River
    A white, double-story paddle steamer at the wharf with a sign on it saying Rothbury Built in 1881
  16. Swim in an outback waterhole
  17. Visit my last three South East Asian countries – Brunei, East Timor, Philippines
  18. Ride in a Helicopter
    a blonde female standing in front of a red helicopter
  19. See a Platypus in the wild
    A woman in outdoor clothing points to a rocky, forested area across a calm body of water.
  20. Cruise the Nile (done, blog post coming soon)
    A large boat called Andrea at dock at night time
  21. Visit Yellowstone National Park (oldest)
  22. See the Pyramids (done, blog post coming soon)
    Josie posing as thought she is holding the tip of the largest Pyramid of Giza
  23. Visit the Museum of the Future in Dubai (done, blog post coming soon)
    Josie with her back to the camera, looking at the curve of the ornate Museum of the Future. The building is silver and covered in Arabic Script.
  24. Attend Oberammergau (2030)
  25. Visit continent #7 (done when I visited Egypt, blog post coming soon)
    A hand holding a curvy glass filled with a bright orange juice. The blurry background shows a matching orange sunset and the Pyramids of Giza
  26. Do an African Safari
  27. Trek to Macchu Picchu
  28. Visit Saudi Arabia
  29. Visit the remaining Great Wine Capitals of the World (Cape Town, Bilbao-Rioja (done), Lausanne, Verona, San Francisco-Napa Valley, Hawkes Bay – oh no, they keep adding to the list!)
    Bilbao
    Josie taking a selfie in front of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The building is silver and curvy.
  30. Set foot on Antarctica
  31. Stay in an underwater hotel (like Reefsuite on the GBR)
  32. Cruise to the Galápagos Islands
  33. See an erupting volcano (done Mt Etna, post coming soon
    Woman in outdoor gear taking a selfie in front of a rugged, grassy volcanic mountainside under a cloudy sky.
  34. Go back to Agra and this time actually visit the Taj Mahal
  35. See the Grand Canyon
  36. Explore the Giant’s Causeway in the UK (done, blog post coming soon)
    josie standing on top of some of the Giant's Causeway pillars. In the background is a green cliff
  37. Walk the Camino de Santiago
  38. Visit the Coral Coast in WA
  39. See the landscape of the Atacama Desert
  40. And the Bolivia Salt Flats
  41. Do a Sydney Harbour Cruise
  42. Drive across the Nullarbor
    A road sign found when crossing the Nullarbor that says "90 Mile Straight Australia's Longest Straight Road 146.6km"
  43. See the Sydney NYE fireworks
  44. Drive the Victorian silo art trail
  45. Hike to the top of Mount Kosciusko
    Josie standing with her hand on a tall stone cairn that marks the top of Mount Kosciuszko. Josie is wearing a black cap, sunglasses, a black unzipped jacket and a grey t-shirt. In the background are views over the mountains and valleys beyond.
  46. Get to Lord Howe Island
  47. Actually speak in a foreign language (probably German)
  48. Go skiing
  49. Stay in an Agriturismo
  50. Drink a Singapore Sling at Raffles
  51. See how many of the remaining European countries (12 + 1 not officially recognised by the UN – Andorra (done), Belarus, Iceland, Ireland (done), Kosovo, Malta (done), Moldova, Monaco, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Spain (done), Ukraine) I can visit.
  52. Go to the Sydney Mardi Gras
  53. Visit the Qantas Museum at Longreach
  54. Travel on the Ghan
  55. See the stairway to the moon at Broome
  56. Spend a few days in Robe
    A woman standing by the "o" of the town sign for Robe, South Australia
  57. See the white beaches of the Whitsundays
  58. See the Sagrada Familia before it’s finished
    A selfie of Josie in front of an ornate Gothic cathedral, the Sagrada Familia. There are also large cranes as work on the cathedral continues
  59. See an Equinox at one of the special viewing sites
  60. (blank)

Learn more about my travels here
My Adult Gap Year in Review
Our Ten Biggest Gap Year Failures
151 Inspirational Ideas for your Best Travel Bucket List

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Josie Kelsh

Josie will help you to plan your next trip filled with bucket list experiences balanced with budget travel. She discovered travel in her late thirties, but since then has travelled extensively, visiting more than 60 countries and taking an adult gap year. She is now based in Australia and loves sharing all she has learned about travelling on a budget but with the added comforts a Gen Xer requires.