My holidays: Hilary Barry

Hilary Barry reads the news on Paul Henry and 3 News. Photo / Steven McNicholl

What was your greatest holiday?
We love the Far North and some of our most memorable holidays have been spent there exploring the beautiful beaches of the Hokianga, Karikari Peninsula and the Tutukaka coast. As a family, we love walking, free diving, surfing and paddling, so the upper North Island is our favourite place on earth.

And the worst?
There are no worst holidays, that's like asking what's the worst chocolate bar? That said, appalling weather dampened our exploration of the Central Plateau several summers ago. After days of reading and scrabble, we embraced the wet and went white-water rafting and tramping in the pouring rain.

If we bump into you on holiday, what are you most likely to be doing?
I'll be the one under the big pohutukawa tree on the beach reading a book, waving out occasionally in an encouraging manner to my boys (Mr Barry and the teenagers) who are probably surfing or paddling.

If we could teleport you to one place in New Zealand for a week-long holiday, where would it be?
Take me to Northland; any one of those beautiful white, sandy beaches will be enough to replenish my soul.

How about for a dream holiday internationally?
I'd love to have a white Christmas one day, maybe in Salzburg or Prague. I've only ever had summer Christmases and I'm dying to have that fairy tale cake-tin experience; the lights, the cold, the carollers, the horse-drawn carriages in the snow.

What's the dumbest thing you've ever done when travelling?
Eating food from street vendors in China. What was I thinking? It took weeks to get over that gastro bug.

Hilary Barry with her kids at Karikari Beach. Photo / Hilary Barry

Complete this sentence - I can't travel without...
Earplugs and lip balm.

What's the best travel tip you've ever been given?
Tie a bright-coloured ribbon on your suitcase so you recognise it quickly on the luggage carousel and don't fall for that gold ring scam in Paris.

What was the most memorable meal you've had while travelling?
The most memorable meals for me are generally the ones where you feel like you've been on an episode of Fear Factor. I remember vividly accidentally eating horse in France (poor translation skills on my part), forcing myself to eat goat in Kenya (because I was starving) and eating various odd-looking sea creatures in Japan (because I didn't want to be rude).

Favourite airport to land at?
Wellington. I grew up there and when it's a southerly and I'm on the right side of the plane, the flight path takes you right by our old house. Something swells in my heart even though it's not home anymore.

What's the next trip you've got planned?
The summer holidays are tantalisingly close and we'll be spending plenty of time at the beach. We'll also be going bush for a while too, tackling the Routeburn Track.