15 August 2017

There is a regular column in the New Zealand Herald’s travel supplement which poses holiday questions to well-known Kiwis. I asked myself the same questions.

What was your greatest holiday?
We spent eight weeks travelling to our favourite European destinations back in the days before we had a mortgage or children. Starting in London, we went to Paris but spent the majority of the time in Italy (Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast) and Greece (Corfu, Athens, Paros, Santorini). The five days we stayed in a cottage at Nissaki beach on Corfu were as close to paradise as it’s possible to get!

And the worst?
Caravanning with my in-laws: slow progress, close quarters, communal ablution blocks – nothing appealing about it.

If we bump into you on holiday, what are you most likely to be doing?
Wandering around a museum or art gallery, walking up a hill for the view from the top, swimming or lying on the beach reading.

If we could teleport you to one place in New Zealand for a week-long holiday, where would it be?
Raglan, on the west coast of the North Island. This is our turangawaewae – we go there every time we’re back in New Zealand to rest, recuperate, breathe in the clean air, surf and walk, watch the sun going down over the Tasman and the hills across the harbour disappearing into the darkness.

How about a dream holiday internationally?
A North American journey beginning in San Francisco, driving to Denver, flying to New Orleans and then up to New York, driving up the east coast.  Then on to Canada – by boat from Portland, Maine to Halifax, Nova Scotia and not forgetting a couple of days on Prince Edward Island.

What’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done when travelling?
Taking a long drink of water straight out of a Greek tap and suffering an upset tummy for the next 24 hours.

Aisle seat or window seat?
Definitely aisle, unless my beloved is in the aisle seat and then I’m happy at the window.

Complete this sentence: I can’t travel without …
Something to read.

What’s the best travel tip you’ve ever been given?
All you really need is your passport and credit card so don’t sweat over what to pack.

What was the most memorable meal you’ve had while travelling?
Fresh fish from an icebox beside the boat, fried with aubergine by the fisherman’s family and eaten on their tiny balcony near Akrotiri on the Greek island of Santorini.

What’s the best thing you’ve brought back from a trip?
An iridescent black pearl from Rarotonga – a memento of our 30th (pearl!) wedding anniversary trip.

Favourite airport to land at?
Auckland – it means we’re home.

What’s the next trip you have planned?
A week in Sydney with my family, staying in our daughter’s flat by the sea with the train station nearby for easy access to the rest of that lovely city.