My Holidays: Gary Pointon from ZM

Gary Pointon in Athens.

What was your greatest holiday? I had two months off before starting work at ZM so I posted on my Facebook: "Where in the world do you live and can I come stay?" Friends from all over the world responded and I built an itinerary from there, which included Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia. It was great to catch up with old friends and see new countries.

And the worst? Going to Landebia in France was a bit tough. My first trip to Europe was this super-rural town with a population of 462 and my girlfriend's family chose it as the place for their first reunion in 10 years. I was in the middle of nowhere trying to stay on my best behaviour and getting to know an entire household of people I'd never met.

If we bump into you on holiday, what are you most likely to be doing? Briskly walking towards something else on our checklist for the day. GPS in hand, wife in tow and a ukulele on my back.

If we could teleport you to one place in New Zealand for a week-long holiday, where would it be? Definitely Otaki, it's where the whole family goes for little breaks and it has great weather, fishing spots, a little shopping and we have a ping-pong table, which can keep me and my brothers entertained for days.

How about for a dream holiday internationally? Well, while we're dreaming ... making our way across North and South America from the top of Canada, through the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama and everywhere else all the way to Argentina.

What's the dumbest thing you've ever done when travelling? I put a €50 note into a machine at the airport to buy an internet card. The card cost €5 and the machine didn't give change ...

Aisle seat or window seat? Aisle seat for sure. I got given window once on a flight to London and the aisle seat people fell asleep. I felt bad about waking them so just held it for eight hours ... never again.

Complete this sentence: I can't travel without ... my ukulele. It always comes in handy, a great tension-breaker with other tourists and doesn't need batteries, so I've always got something to keep me occupied.

What's the best travel tip you've ever been given?

Not to overplan a trip. It's good to have a loose itinerary for structure but if you plan everything before you even get there you can often miss out on those random opportunities that pop up. The random nights are always the most fun, whether it's on holiday or in normal life.

What was the most memorable meal you've had while travelling? Mushroom soup at the base of Mount Fuji, Japan. The mushrooms grow only on the mountain and it was so good.

What's the best thing you've brought back from a trip? I'm not one for souvenirs but I did fill up a bottle of water from the Dead Sea in Israel.

Favourite airport to land at? Back home to Auckland Airport. I love it when I've been away for a long time and the Customs person or security guys say, "Welcome home."

What's the next trip you've got planned? Our honeymoon — road-tripping across the United States or climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. Either way, it's gonna be a blast.

Gary Pointon runs ZM's Secret Sound. Listeners can win $50,000 if they can identify the mystery sound.