What was your greatest holiday?
I did the big OE in my 20s. Fifteen months after getting my degree, I finished up my job at Starship and headed for Europe with a mate and a Eurail pass. There's an amazing feeling of freedom leaving home with just a backpack and no
clue what will happen. I travelled for three months, worked to save up, travelled again and repeated that pattern. You know that movie Before Sunrise where two strangers meet on a train and find out they're soulmates? That happened to me again and again (without the hook-ups). I made lots of friends, and many I'm still in touch with. I learned how to sleep in a six-bed hostel room. I danced with the captain of a ship in Antarctica. I sat down with the whole population of Easter Island to a traditional umu feast. I travelled overland Beijing to London (last bit by sea). Russian border guards laughed at my Kiwi passport, patted my head and let me through — apparently the sight of a tiny Chinese woman wearing a ginormous backpack and toting a toy kiwi opens hearts and doors.
I learned people are the same the world over — we have more in common than we have differences.
And the worst?
A resort holiday in Fiji. It was our first overseas family trip. I've never been a resort person and it turns out neither are my kids.
If we bump into you on holiday, what are you most likely to be doing?
Swapping silly faces and fart jokes with my kids (5 and 6) to keep them entertained. Hitting the nearest food markets to taste everything and carry our finds to the nearest park to indulge.
If we could teleport you to one place in New Zealand for a week-long holiday, where would it be?
We are massive fans of Whakatāne. I sometimes go there for work and the kids and hubby come too. If we're lucky we score a house by the beach, we hit all the playgrounds, the L'Epicerie Larder is hard to go past for brunch and, unfortunately for my waistline, there's an icecream shop on every corner. We walk along Ohope beach, exploring the driftwood sculptures, dipping our toes in the sea foam and watching the long orange fingers of sun slide down the sand.
