In a world of screens, filters, fake images and photoshopped perfection, where everything is done for the ’gram or the next “instafamous” moment, it’s refreshing to remember what I consider the last true years of travel. A time before any of this existed. A time when you set off with nothing but a backpack, a guidebook, and most importantly, your wits.
I’m not talking hundreds of years ago – just thirty.
My Jessica’s Global Adventures series was born from a desire to breathe life
back into those earlier days of travel, when curiosity led the way.
Each story is inspired by my own real travels and written for children to:
These stories blend adventure, education, imagination with real-life experiences to inspire future travellers to ask questions, encourage a curiosity and thirst to learn about the world.
Jessica is my daughter and the namesake and heart of the entire series.
While the stories come from my real journeys, they’re retold through the eyes of a young explorer, making adventure feel accessible, exciting, and magical for today’s children.
Growing up hearing these stories again and again, Jessica knows them so well it almost feels as if she lived them herself. Through sharing these adventures she has developed a love of travel, curiosity about the world, and an appreciation for cultures beyond her own.
Jessica is my daughter and the namesake and heart of the entire series.
While the stories come from my real journeys, they’re retold through the eyes of a young explorer, making adventure feel accessible, exciting, and magical for today’s children.
Growing up hearing these stories again and again, Jessica knows them so well it almost feels as if she lived them herself. Through sharing these adventures she has developed a love of travel, curiosity about the world, and an appreciation for cultures beyond her own.
My name is Karen Christie — a lifelong traveller who left home in my early twenties to explore the world.
Across more than 67 countries, I have climbed mountains, crossed deserts, sailed lakes, slept on trains, and trekked through jungles — collecting stories that shaped who I am.
In 1989, I set off on what we called “the big OE” (overseas experience) an almost a rite of passage back then.
Life on the road in the late ’80s and early ’90s meant backpacking, bus-hopping, and crisscrossing countries many still dream of visiting. It was a time that felt daring yet strangely safe and the only proof you’d been somewhere lived in passport stamps and handwritten diaries.
Today, I live in sunny Queensland, Australia with my daughter Jessica.
I’m still an avid traveller — and I work as a travel agent, helping others create unforgettable journeys of their own.
Jessica’s Global Adventures is my way of passing those stories forward — inspiring the next generation of curious explorers.
