1. Kia Ora! Welcome to my blog

The origin of this trip is a massive glut of FOMO experienced during the doomy days of 2020, when New Zealand closed its borders in response to Covid-19, the world was seemingly coming to an end, and it looked increasingly like i'd missed my chance to visit. FFS! Why had I not got my arse over to New Zealand sooner? 

My mum had visited 10 years earlier, in the pre-whatsapp era, sending back unusual emails that said things like 'HELLO FROM AWESOMELAND!', with impressive pics of epic scenery attached. Roll on two years and I decided to take a career break, giving me the time for a decent stint in the furthest away country ever. I then spent what was probably an equivalent amount of time telling people I was going away and having goodbye drinks and dinners, with friends ultimately being quite unimpressed that I was only actually going to be away for a few months.

I am taking a lot of stuff. Or it feels that way. My big rucksack is half full up with a tent and sleeping bag... because I felt that a campervan was too expensive for me alone. My plan now is to hire a car and stay in campsites for some of the trip. Plus, am hoping to volunteer at a festival with my friend Clare. I also have a ukulele and tablet and keyboard. And a hiking bladder! And a water bottle with a filter in it so I can drink undrinkable water if needed. Whether or not all this is overkill is a constant pre-occupation in the back of my mind.  

This blog will mainly be textual anecdotes, with more photos on my instagram @helenska_. I hope its an enjoyable read!

p.s. The excellent blog title comes via Pippa Hodges, cos it made me laugh, but sadly is not the first thing to exist on the internet with this title, (great minds eh!)



Comments

  1. Rob LevyFebruary 14, 2023 at 11:18 PM

    Good luck Helen! Remember that suffering, doubt and boredom are not only side effects of travelling but are WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT! Er... at least I think that's right. Lemme double check.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2. Planned perfection ends and reality begins

Image
Departure day arrived: I woke up to read the news that Auckland was flooded with unprecedented climate breakdown related rains. Man. I know we are seeing heatwaves and floods in the UK too, but i'd been harbouring a growing fear in recent years that travelling further afield is a riskier business, and lo and behold, I hadn't even landed and it had begun. I had a final lunch with my mum before catching the tube to Heathrow. All packed, and after what felt like weeks of agonising over how many trousers to bring, a cack-handed waiter managed to smash a glass of red wine all over me. Aargh no... 'You stupid man' I wanted to shout at him; 'I am not like normal people...I am now a TRAVELLER! I have to wear these trousers for the next 15 hours!'. They were alright in the end. Khaki turns out to be an ideal colour for going to war. I mean, abroad. The flight was fine, the seat next to me empty so had half a seat extra to spread out into as I tried to sleep. Every couple...
Read more

8. Backpacking

Image
Backpacking = Travelchat! The same conversation, every day, with endless new people, ad nauseum. Where are you from? How long have you been in New Zealand? How long do you have left? where are you going? Are you going to do a skydive? Early conversations like this in Auckland lead to the growing realisation... that everything here is booked up! tours, hostels, buses, rental cars... This was seriously disappointing as I was really hoping to hire a car and be free to stop off randomly around the south island. I posted a facebook ad asking if anyone with a car wanted a travel buddy, and only got messages back from kiwi men in their 60s, with additions like '... and may I also add that you are very beautiful'. Sigh. All these interactions, plus countless hours online researching and booking travel, accommodation and activities... in addition to lugging your too-much-luggage about, (because you thought you'd hire a car) makes backpacking on your own absolutely exhausting. Also...
Read more

3. Kuala Lumpur (stopover)

Image
My taxi driver from the airport was a cheerful chatty Indian Malaysian man, who brought me up to speed on the current state of affairs in Malaysia. In particular the realities of living in a country run by a Malay Government, when not Malay yourself. Apparently everything is weighted in favour of the Malay people in Malaysia, so Chinese and Indian students have to gain higher scores in school than Malay students, to be on an even footing. Malay people are able to buy property at less cost, and are able to borrow money on more favourable terms. However, despite our tanking economy and the embarrassment that is Brexit, taxi driver man said if he was going to leave Malaysia then London would be his number one choice of destination. He dreams of living in a meritocracy where skills and effort are rewarded fairly. Wow. Can't believe we've still got it. People in my bubble are so busy lamenting the latest Tory misdeeds that its easy to lose sight of the plus points; we still live in ...
Read more