I moved to Vancouver Island 10 years ago (from UK) and fell in love with its raw beauty. The coastline is rugged and beautiful with both rocky cliffs and some enormous sandy beaches. There are hundreds of islands just off the coast and many opportunities for whale watching, kayaking and winter surfing. The climate is temperate rain forest so inland there are forests and lakes galore with thousands of miles of hiking and biking trails. The terrain is largely mountainous, but there are also rolling pastures with lots of small farms, vineyards and an enthusiastic local food scene. I live in Duncan, known as the City of Totems, which has a large and popular Saturday farmers market. Victoria is the capital city of BC and is rich with history, good food and culture. The Inner Harbour is a lovely place to walk around to see the boats, historic buildings and the BC Museum. Vancouver is just over an hour away by car ferry or 15 minutes by float plane.

This place is special to me because it’s where my husband and I got married on the beach 8 years ago.

This place is special to me because I studied here at the Savannah College of Art and Deign for four amazing years. You can bet I became acquainted with every coffee shop that stayed open past 6pm! From the hangout across the Illustration building to the coffee shop that has s'mores, wine, AND tacos, these are my favorite places to get a caffeine fix!

A map of the koala territories that I know of along the Murray River at Cobram & Barooga. I grew up on the banks of the Murray River in Corowa (just upstream from this map), but there was no koala population there. Since moving back to the area, it has been wonderful to find that the koalas are returning thanks to a very successful relocation and breeding program. I hope that this map will inspire people to visit our beautiful part of the world.

A map of Arizona, the Grand Canyon state! With jaw-dropping sunsets, and natural wonders, fantastic animals, and beautiful cactus of all shapes and sizes. Arizona is my home state, and I never get tired of exploring all the natural beauty and culture it has to offer.

Edinburgh is a special place to me because it's my second "home". I've been living in Edinburgh for 12 years and 3 months now and so many sweet and sour memories happened in this beautiful city and shockingly I have never illustrated anything about Edinburgh before. That's why I decided to illustration this beautiful city as my second entry for this competition. I use to working in one of restaurant in this map for 4 and half years as a professional chef before I turned my career into professional illustrator. My first Children's menu commission job was commissioned by one of the most delicious burger restaurant in Edinburgh and it's also in this map. All the locations I decided to illustrated in this map are my favourite location in Edinburgh. Maybe one day when you have chance to visit Edinburgh you can use my map as guide!

This place is special to me because it's where I grew up in. After living in the US for the past year, making this illustration brought memories and homesickness! These are just some of the many fun spots to visit in my home country, called the land of lakes and volcanos (cause we have sooo many!), Nicaragua. Scuba diving! A lake with freshwater sharks! Volcano boarding! Come visit!

This place is special to me because I love the juxtaposition of old cobblestone streets and colonial architecture in a thoroughly modern city. Boston has the best of everything ... a bustling, beautiful, cosmopolitan city that is small enough to walk from end to end. This little city really shines in the fall when the students return and the leaves start to change color. It’s a great place where new ideas are always blooming, yet is steeped in history and tradition. Come see for yourself!

This place is special to me because I love running here. Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, USA is an excellent running spot as it has birds, turtles, flowers, trees, plants and views to check out. Not into running?! There’s more to do-you can picnic, snack, rent a boat, shop for souvenirs, see Huntington Falls, sit in a pagoda, people watch and relax on a bench. A bit of Stow Lake history — the lake is man-made. An observatory existed on the top of Strawberry Hill but it was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. Butterflies look for mates on Strawberry Hill and there’s a ghost that haunts the lake. Come visit!

I moved last year to Nottingham and since then I fell in love with the city and its landmarks. There are so many beautiful things to see in this English town that I thought it deserves to be share with you all.

The map shows all my favourite spots to walk dogs in the North of the city of Oldenburg in Germany. There are forests, lakes, moorlands, and little villages. I added shopping facilities or cafés where you could warm up after a long walk, use the toilet, or get some water for the dog(s). You can also see my home on this map.

This place is special to me because of the magical feeling you get when you visit Inverness. I travelled there this month with my boyfriend and we loved it. The wild nature is magical itself with lots of trees of different kind everywhere. It’s easy to understand why they have so many stories about magical creatures. Although I didn’t see the Loch Ness monster it wasn’t disappointing, the lake is beautiful and so it was the Ness Islands and all the old buildings like the Chanonry Point Lighthouse or the ancient stones of Clava Cairns. My favourite story was the one about two men who spent the night in Tomnahurich partying with two fairies, the next morning they found out that a fairy’s day was equivalent to a hundred human’s years as they turned into dust when they stepped out of Tomnahurich.

This place is special to me because Australia is a place that both fascinates and terrifies me. Sydney is the capital city of New South Wales and is mostly safe from all of the deadly critters that call Australia their home, though maybe you'll catch sight of a kangaroo on one of the city's golf courses. Sydney is also home to one of the most iconic buildings in the world: the Sydney Opera House. Along with catching a performance there, visitors might decide to participate in the Sydney Harbor BridgeClimb if they're feeling daring. Sydney, Australia is also the setting of one of my favorite Disney films, "Finding Nemo".

This place is special to me because it was one of the most interesting places I visited during my 2017 solo trip in Japan. Naoshima definitely lives up to its name "Japan's Art Island" - where contemporary art meets architecture meets nature. The two GIANT pumpkin sculptures by one of the most acclaimed Japanese artists, Yayoi Kusama, were massive and became the symbol of the island. James Turrell’s work at Chichu museum and Minamidera blew. my. mind. The garden that built just like Monet's paintings was so beautiful. It felt like I stepped into his artwork! I also loved the beauty of simplicity and the creative use of natural light in Tadao Ando’s architecture. And of course - the delicious food and friendly people there. Spend a day on Naoshima next time you are in Japan. You won’t regret it!

This place is special to me because it’s my lovable little college town in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge mountains. I feel like a local by now, but here’s the thing: when I’m traveling to an unfamiliar spot, I like the idea of staying undercover as much as possible. Anyone relate?? Yep, I know I’m snapping photos every 2 minutes and have an itinerary straight out of Yelp, but do the locals really have to roll their eyes and shake their heads?? So, to help you avoid being targeted as tourists by eagle-eyed college students, I want to pass on some tips on how to blend in and convince them you’re one of their own. So check out the map, head into the mountains, and you’ll be feeling 22 in no time ;)