Elisabeth Easther talks to Jacqui Wilkinson of Adventure Capital.
Growing up in Upper Hutt in the 1970s, my parents really believed in road trips. Back in the day of the bench seat, they'd fit six kids in a Vanguard, a large 1960s vehicle, the roof loaded with luggage. My brother and I would sit up front with Mum and Dad and everyone else would be crammed in the back seat. Dad loved driving, and the trip that made the biggest impression on all of us was to the East Cape, past Gisborne to Hicks Bay. This was a proper adventure, lots of gravel roads, really remote and the most stunning beaches. And every time we went anywhere, Mum would pack banana boxes full of food. We loved picnics and Dad had a little barbecue and was always cooking something.
When I was 18, I had the opportunity to study fine arts in Sydney. I remember flying in a plane across the Tasman and thinking it was the biggest thing anyone had ever done in their whole life. Returning to Auckland, to AUT, I decided I didn't want to be a struggling artist all my life so I studied advertising and marketing. Foolishly I thought advertising was a creative industry — and of course it wasn't.
Since then I've travelled all over the world but probably my favourite place is Borneo. The wildlife is outstanding, it's like visiting a zoo but in the wild. Proboscis monkeys are fascinating. There are lots of orangutans, they're so smart. They're pretty nervous around people but if you tread carefully and keep a respectful distance, you'll have the most amazing wildlife experience.
My first trip to Borneo was quite frightening because I was petrified of the insects. The moths and butterflies are ginormous and the first time I went hiking in the jungle, I covered myself from head to foot so just a slit of eyes were showing. I was so scared they were going to bite me, or fly into my face. One person in our party on that first trip had her whole lower body covered in leeches. Ideally, you wait till they've finished sucking your blood then flick them off. But she freaked and started trying to pull them off. The guide laughed at her, saying it's just a bug. But she was freaked out and she was very sore after that.
