Category: Travel

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Travel With What You Already Have

These days, companies seem to be continually releasing new products and upgrades, and many people buy them. For instance, I know several people who bought an iPhone 8 even though they already had a perfectly good iPhone 7 that they’d had for under a year.

This just seems wasteful to me. Not only is it an unnecessary waste of money, it is a great way to fill landfills quickly. So even though a lot of the equipment I’ll take with me on my upcoming travels isn’t the most up-to-date and may be a bit bulkier/heavier than I would like, I see no point in replacing it while it still works.

Backpack

The backpack I’m using isn’t a backpacking-type backpack; it’s the kind of bag students take to school. As I’m taking a suitcase and not just a backpack, it doesn’t have to be the best backpack ever (the suitcase is a safety thing – taking more stuff makes me feel less anxious about being away from home).

Besides, I already own this backpack and it is certainly adequate for carry-on. When it wears out, I’ll buy one more suited to backpacking. Hopefully by that time I’ll feel better about taking less stuff.

Camera

My camera is a simple cannon point-and-shoot that my Mum bought for me four years ago using flybys points. I like it because it’s easy to use and is small enough to carry around without attracting attention. However, it doesn’t take fantastic pictures and changing the settings is generally cumbersome.

Eventually, it’ll die, and I’ll get something better. Hopefully, it’ll be just as small and inauspicious. In the meantime, what I’ve got is perfectly adequate and I won’t throw it away just because it’s not the latest and greatest out there.

Tripod

When I look at ways to take photos with me in them while travelling on my own, tripods are always listed as essential equipment. However, I don’t want to shell out money for a tripod, and I really don’t want to carry a tripod around with me and set it up whenever I take a photo (aside from the fact that many museums, churches, and other sights won’t let you use a tripod inside).

The solution to this is a gorilla pod. They’re small, flexible, and versatile. While I wasn’t willing to shell out money for one untested, my brother has one that he never uses that I’m borrowing. If it goes really well, I might look at buying one for myself.

Laptop

My current laptop is an Aspire E 15 Start. It’s pretty bulky, not light, and generally isn’t ideal for long-distance travel, but that’s not what I bought it for. I bought it nearly five years ago for university: it had all the features and hardware that I needed while not costing too much – weight wasn’t a consideration. It still does what I need it to do and I’m not going to replace it while it still works. When it dies, I’ll replace it with something more suitable for travel.

Toilet Bag

I inherited my current toilet bag. It is fairly large and I wish it had more than two compartments (which are too big to be of any practical use in sorting things). Eventually, I’ll buy a new, smaller toilet bag, but my current one has several years of use left in it.

Clothes

In a foreign country, you want to blend in, wear clothes like the locals wear. Apparently, this increases security and contributes towards a more authentic experience (makes sense). The fact that this time I’m going to Europe helps; most of the clothes I already own are suitable. I can travel with the clothes I have and not have to buy something new just for the trip.

Other items

I’m also borrowing several things from my mother. This includes packing-cubes, a micro-fibre towel, and an umbrella. These aren’t highly technical items and don’t cost a lot, but I see no point in buying new or going without when Mum has some that she won’t be using.

Do you have any stuff that you still use even though there’s a newer version available?

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Auckland Museum

Recently, I went to the Auckland War Memorial Museum with my brother and his girlfriend. We went on a rainy Friday afternoon that had previously been set aside for a visit to the zoo (it was too wet, though). It wasn’t over busy (aside from a couple of Chinese families with children who kept getting under foot), and we were there for about three hours.

The following is a selection of the photographs that I took during my visit. Enjoy!

“Firing” the canon in front of the museum
Lifting rocks
Looking at the dinosaur exhibit
An absolutely gorgeous pinafore
All the Bells on the memorial wall

Conclusion

Overall, it was a fun day and the museum was interesting, but it’s not worth paying to visit. I wouldn’t go if I had to pay for entry ($25 for people who don’t live in New Zealand). Fortunately, I’m a kiwi, so I didn’t have to pay.

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Auckland Zoo

Entry to Auckland Zoo is quite expensive (adult single day pass is $24 – reduced while they revamp their South East Asia precinct). If you can afford it, however, I highly recommend it. I recently visited the zoo with my brother and his girlfriend, and we saved $29 by presenting my student ID card (I’m no longer studying but the card hasn’t expired) and an entertainment book voucher.

We started by visiting the otters (sooooo cute) and the Australian animals. We spent a lot of our time looking at the various monkeys and cats, but only looked briefly at the birds and other non-mammals. Here are some of the photos I took. Enjoy!

My brother is almost as tall as a baby giraffe
Captain the Cockatoo didn’t like me taking his picture
A sleepy capybara resting in the sun
We found this sign really funny
Lunch selfie – those chips were delicious
Burma the Elephant takes a bath
Rainbow Lorikeet houses, painted by students from a local school
GIraffes and Zebras at Auckland Zoo

Make the most of your visit

Avoid weekends: the weekend is when all the parents take their kids out. As a result, the zoo can feel a bit noisy and overrun by small children. We went on a Saturday and there were a lot of children. Despite watching our path so we didn’t trample anyone, my brother still had a toddler crash into his legs.

Take your own lunch: the zoo has several places where you can buy food. However, the prices are horrendous (we paid $12 for two pottles of chips to share between us – very good chips, but so expensive that we went to McDonalds for a proper lunch after we were done).

Try for fine weather: most of the zoo is outside, and while there is plenty of shade, much of it is under trees and entirely unsuitable for shelter from rain. The day we went was mostly sunny but cold and very windy.

Auckland Zoo recommends that you start with the African animals, followed by New Zealand and South America on a loop around the zoo. Alternatively, you can start with the South East Asian and Australian animals. I’ve done it both ways and neither seems any better than the other.

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Why I’ve Chosen the UK for my First Solo Travel Adventure

In a few months, I’ll be going on my first international adventure without my parents. Living in New Zealand, surely there are places that would be cheaper to visit than the UK. Vietnam. Fiji. Argentina. All nearer, all cheaper, and all easier to get to.

So why go to the UK?

One of the barriers keeping me from travelling is my mental health. I have suffered from depression and anxiety for a couple of years now. Most of the reasons that I chose the UK can be traced back to this.

Firstly, the culture and language of the UK is not all that different to what I’m used to. This means that I won’t be dealing with major culture-shock, and I won’t have the added stress of trying to communicate in a different language. I find it difficult enough talking to people I don’t know without being unable to speak the same language; under such circumstances I would withdraw and get no enjoyment out of my time away.

Another reason that I chose the UK is that I have two elder half-sisters who live there. I can spend some of my trip staying with them, which will reduce my accommodation costs. Also, with my mental health issues, having someone nearby who knows and loves me will be a great comfort. When I need support, they will be there, and if I have any emergencies while away, I won’t have to deal with them alone.

Finally, I chose the UK because I like it. As a child, I loved reading about English kings and queens, especially Elizabeth I. I’ve read the novels “London” and “The Forest” both by Edward Rutherford numerous times, and I look at countries that have old buildings with envy. When my family spent two weeks in London in 2015, I loved it; we weren’t there long enough and I couldn’t wait to return.

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What I Want to Do UK 2019

Planning to visit the UK later this year, I’ve been researching what there is to see and do. The following is what I want to do while I’m overseas, categorised by city. I might not get to do all of it, but this list provided some small direction to my trip. It also helps with looking forward to the trip (and I am so getting excited for it!!!).

London

Big Ben seen through the London Eye

London is a brilliant city full of history and culture. I would love to spend several days just walking around, looking at things, discovering hidden gems that might not be in travel guides and tourist brochures. However, I wouldn’t just wander around aimlessly; I have a book (bought 2nd-hand) called “Walking Village London” which details a selection of walks around different areas of London that I would use as a rough guide.

I absolutely must go to The British Museum and The Museum of London. We did go to The British Museum in 2015 but couldn’t spend as much time there as I would have liked (I could spend a week in there, easily). Both museums are free to visit and I intend to spend a significant amount of time at them.

I would love to spend a day at The Tower of London and another at Westminster. However, both places cost quite a bit for a proper visit (£22.50 entrance to The Tower), so I might have to content myself with walking around outside.

As a day trip from London, I would like to visit St. Albans. Apparently, St. Albans used to be one of Roman Britain’s largest cities. It is now home to St. Albans Cathedral and Verulamium Museum, both of which I would like to visit. I also wouldn’t mind a trip out to Windsor Castle, but that would cost a bit much.

Cambridge

One of the sisters I’m hoping to stay with lives a short train ride from Cambridge. I’ve been looking at what there is to do, both in and around Cambridge as well as at various stops along the train line that runs past her place. If I can’t stay with her, I will still spend a week or two in Cambridge (by the look of things, I could easily find plenty of enjoyable things to do there).

Cambridge has a lot of free churches, museums, and university colleges that sound interesting and that I would like to look around. Of these, I particularly want to visit Little St. Mary’s Church, Magdalene College, Fitzwilliam Museum, and the Polar Museum. King’s College Chapel and Round Church aren’t free, but also sound like they would be worth a visit.

When looking at the train line, I looked at King’s Lynn, a coastal town at the end of the line with a selection of interesting looking sites. While King’s Lynn doesn’t have a hostel for staying overnight, I would like to visit, just as a day trip. I have always wanted to see Ely Cathedral and when I looked, I found that Ely had other sites that I would like to visit on a day trip. Another day trip that I might take is to Bury St. Edmunds. There’s a church, cathedral, hall, and gardens that I would like a look around.

Closer to my sister’s house are the towns of Hertford, Hitchin, and Stevenage. Hertford (the county town of Hertfordshire) has a castle and a museum that I would like to visit, and a heritage trail that I might follow if the weather’s not too bad. Hitchin is home to the North Hertfordshire Museum, along with cobbled streets and a selection of historic buildings. Stevenage has Knebworth House and Park, and the New and Old town centres. Other miscellaneous sites an easy train ride away include Hatfield House and the International Garden Cities Exhibition.

Paris

Breakfast at a Paris cafe – 2015

I would love to duck down to Paris for a week. However, such a trip would add about $1000NZ to my budget, even with my cheepskate attitude to money (I’m looking into Lille instead: the Eurostar also goes direct from London to Lille, and transport and accommodation costs might be cheaper). If I do make it to Paris, there are several things that I would like to do or buy.

One thing I would like to do is to climb up the Eifel Tower during the day; when my family was in Paris in 2015, we went up the Eifel Tower at night and the city lights that we could see were pretty but indeterminate and it was impossible to get a decent photo. (the Eifel Tower isn’t going anywhere; if I don’t get to Paris this trip, I can always do it later)

Aside from that I really just want to wander around, absorbing the ambiance, looking at things. I want to practice speaking French, eat French food, and experience French culture (to a degree). I can do that just as well in Lille as I can in Paris.

If I can find a decent bookstore, there are some books that I would like to buy. I have been trying to read books in French in order to improve my skills in the language. So far, I have stuck to cheap books, but there are a couple of stories that I have read (and loved and reread again and again) in English that I would like to try in French, just because I already know the story really well. However, getting a French copy in New Zealand costs too much.

York

York, in the north of England, has a rich and fascinating history: from its foundation by the Romans, through tussles between invading Vikings and the local Anglo-Saxons, to destruction and rebuilding by the Normans. When thinking about possible places for a trip within a trip, York really stood out.

York Minster is one of my York must-sees; it’s the largest cathedral in Northern Europe and the centre of Christianity in Northern England. Built on the site of a 7th century wooden chapel, the current building is a spectacular Gothic style act of worship. I particularly want to see the crypt and the Rose Window. Another church that I might visit is the Church of the Holy Trinity (it’s free).

I also really must explore the Museum Gardens. They contain several old buildings and ruins that I want to look at, including the Multangular Tower (first built by the Romans), St Mary’s Abbey (a Benedictine Monastery), and St Leonard’s Hospital (also a church and a school). The Yorkshire Museum is found at the edge of the Gardens and contains exhibits on Eboracum (Roman York) and other archaeology. I also want to look at York Castle Museum (not in the Museum Gardens) and their exhibits on every-day life in York over the centuries.

A walk around the York City Walls is another thing I really must do. It still has several Bars (gates) that are well preserved (or restored) and appear to be worth the visit. A couple of the Bars (Monk and Micklegate) house small exhibitions dedicated to Richard III (England’s final Yorkist king) and Henry VII (England’s first Tudor king), both of whom I find interesting.

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Our 2015 London Trip

In July 2015, The Salvation Army had a large international congress in London. My parents had been expecting that one would be held in 2015 for over ten years, so we’d been planning to go for a long time. Fortunately, the dates lined up with my holidays from study, so I was able to join.

My family in front of the royal palace in Kuala Lumpur

Our flights to London included a stop-over at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We spent the night at a hotel at the airport, and the next day, took a taxi into KL city. The taxi driver drove us around many of the popular tourist sights including some memorial garden, the royal palace (Istana Negara), and lunch at the Petronus Towers.

The first week in London was the week of the Congress. We had a small apartment that was about a ten minute walk from the O2 centre where the events were being held. We attended great meetings, listened to brilliant speakers, and went to fantastic band concerts. Congress ended with a fantastic march down The Mall to Buckingham Palace.

After congress ended, we moved from our accommodation in Greenwich to an apartment in the city. The day we moved, we left our bags in storage until we were able to enter the apartment, and went to see the Cutty Sark. It wasn’t something we had planned on seeing, but we had time to kill and it was nearby. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

On the deck of the Cutty Sark

That week we saw several of the touristy (and not so touristy) sites around London. My favourite was probably the Tower of London. I also enjoyed Hampton Court and the British Museum. However, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace was over-rated; it was too crowded and there wasn’t all that much to see.

We also attended my sister’s wedding. There was a tube strike on that day. The ceremony was held at a cute little registry office with a lovely garden. It was a sunny day but there was plenty of shade outside (really good, as there was a heat-wave on – road-cones melted).

We spent the night before we left at my eldest sister’s place in a village just north of London. It was great to see the place where she lives and walk along the canal that she writes about on her postcards.

Then we had a couple of days in Paris. We did a river tour down the Seine and went up the Eifel Tower for a night-view of the city. We took a bus tour around the city, saw all the tourist sights, and ate at a French café.

Looking at the Petit Palais, Paris

My brother and I headed back to New Zealand after Paris, while Mum and Dad went on to the Holy Land and Istanbul. It was a memorable trip and unlikely to ever happen again. While I might go back to many of these places, it is unlikely that any of it will be with both my parents.

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How to Use the Train in Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand covers a large area for its population size (about 1.7 million people spread over nearly 4,900km2 in 2018). Such a large city requires a lot of travel to get around, and as such needs an extensive public transport system. On a recent trip to Auckland, I used the train to go into town one day as I didn’t feel like tackling the traffic and inner-city parking.

The following is the basics of how Auckland’s train system works (the train system is only part of Auckland public transport – also made up by buses and ferries).

Train Lines

Auckland’s trains run on four lines: Southern, Eastern, Western, and Onehunga. All lines eventually come into Britomart Station, the large transport hub in the centre city. Britomart also connects the train system to major bus services and is right next to the main ferry terminal.

Southern Line – The Southern line runs from Papakura in the South to Britomart in the centre city. Other major stations include Manurewa, Otahuhu, Penrose, and Newmarket. Trains arrive/depart from stations approximately every 20-30 minutes during the day, every 10 minutes during peak-hour.

Onehunga Line – This line runs from Onehunga to Britomart. It runs alongside the Southern line from Penrose. The other major station on this line is Newmarket. Trains arrive/depart from stations about half-hourly every day.

Eastern Line – The Eastern line runs from Manukau to Britomart. It runs alongside the Southern line from Puhinui to Otahuhu. Other major stations on this line include Panmure and Sylvia Park. Trains go through stations about every 10 minutes during peak-hour and every 20-30 minutes over the rest of the day.

Western Line – This line runs from Swanson to Newmarket with a rail link up to Britomart. Other major stations include Henderson and New Lynn. Trains run every 20-30 minutes in daytime, more often during peak-hour.

Buying Tickets

Ticket from my recent train journey in Auckland

Tickets for Auckland trains must be bought before boarding the train. Several large stations (such as Britomart) have people who will check that you have a ticket before you can enter or leave the station. Aside from that, train workers can check for a valid ticket (or card) at any time. Tickets are valid for two hours after they are bought, so should not be bought too far in advance.

Service Counter – some of the larger stations have customer service desks that can sell you a ticket. If they are there and open, buying a ticket is easy: just tell the person behind the counter what station you would like to go to.

Machine – Ticket machines can be found at all stations (some have more than others). They are dark blue and are often found by walls on the main station building. They are easy to use (some are not so easy to find); just follow the instructions on the screen.

AT HOP Cards – if you are going to be using the trains a lot, it might be worth buying an AT HOP Card. The card itself costs $10 NZD (at this time) but gets you a discount on fares and makes paying for public transport easier. Cards can be bought at a variety of retailers around the city or online, and topped-up at retailers, machines, and counters. To use, just hold the card against the card reader or gate at the station where you start your journey, and again at your destination.

Pricing

For the purposes of pricing for public transport, Auckland is split into zones. The cost of a journey depends on how many zones you pass through. What particular zones you pass through doesn’t matter – the number of zones does.

With an AT HOP Card, the number of zones you go through is automatically calculated and the cost of the journey deducted from you account. This can save you a lot of money if you are using both buses and trains as the price of the journey calculated based on how many zones you go through, not the total of the costs of the individual bus or train trips.

Conclusion

Auckland’s train lines provide a useful base for the city’s public transport. They are a fantastic way to cover longer distances quickly and easily throughout the city. However, there are many parts of the city that cannot be accessed by train and also require use of a bus. For more information (including exact and up-to-date prices), check out the Auckland Transport website.

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A Week in Auckland

I have just returned home from a looooong weekend in Auckland, New Zealand. It only takes a few hours to drive up there from home, so it’s perfect for a quick break away and a change of scenery. It’s also good for proving that I can spend time away from home without breaking down, before I try any longer trips further away. I left home after lunch on Thursday and drove up to stay with my lovely Aunt (and her husband, child, and pets).

One of my Aunt’s cats sitting on my lap

Friday

On Friday, I spent most of the day in town with one of my friends from high-school (let’s call her Pam – not her real name). I haven’t seen her in four and a half years and it was really nice to catch-up with her. She is in her final year of study at the University of Auckland.

I took the train into Britomart and spent the next 20 minutes wandering Central Auckland, trying to get my bearings and find the place we had agreed to meet. Once Pam found me, we had lunch at a lovely little restaurant called Ortolana. The food was great (I had some sort of kumara gnocchi with lamb, mint, and yoghurt), the service was superb, and the dining area was comfortable. My only complaint would be how loud it got inside; it was hard to hear myself think.

Tea from T2

After lunch, we went to several shops that my friend wanted to show me. We bought macrons at Milse, tasted (and bought) fancy tea at T2, and smelled skin conditioners at Lush. We also browsed a clothing store and shared a hot drink before I took the train back to Aunty’s.

Saturday

Saturday had a lazy start. I spent the morning working on blog posts and watching my ten-year-old cousin play Fortnite on the PlayStation. After lunch, I went with my Aunt as she took my cousin to a karate practice (he has an international tournament coming up). I spent two hours watching kumite and kata (I think those are the right words), talking to some of the parents, and flicking through a book I had taken to occupy myself.

On the way home we stopped for ice cream at Casa Del Gelato in Parnell, but the shop was closed for a couple of weeks due to the owner’s father having had an operation. Apparently (according to a ten-year-old boy) it’s the best ice cream shop in the world. I will have to try it another time.

Sunday

My cousin had a karate practice tournament on Sunday morning. It was rubbish. He did well, but a couple of kids arrived late so the organisers rearranged the schedule around the kids that weren’t there so that the others didn’t have enough breaks. Then one of his kumite matches was against a girl whose mother was judging (so biased) and didn’t give my cousin two points that he earned right at the end so that the girl would win. Also, there was a boy there who did MMA and was using moves from other practices, not just karate; he was a bit rough with his opponents, leading to a few injuries.

We had homemade pizza for lunch, topped with left-over from dinner on Saturday night. The afternoon was spent relaxing, playing Fortnite, and working on laptops. To top off the evening, we watched the new Captain Marvel movie on the big screen TV, having already watched Mary Poppins Returns.

Monday

Monday was a public holiday. In the morning, the four of us went to Botany and watched ‘Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion’ at the Hoyts Movie Theatre. The chairs at the theatre were all soft recliners (very nice and comfy). However, it was freezing; I didn’t move my legs for the whole movie because the rest of the footrest was too cold.

After the movie, we looked through some of the shops looking for a new eggo machine (the old one had stopped tweeting) and glass tumblers, until we got hungry. We then had lunch at Denny’s Manukau. I had a lamb burger with curly fries (Denny’s has the best curly fries).

Tuesday

I finished reading the book I took with me on Tuesday morning (No more book to read!!!!! Disaster!!!!!). In the morning, I took the dog for a long walk, then had a shower and watched lunch in front of the TV (there is nothing worth watching in the middle of the day).

FYI: the book I finished was The Genesis Secret by Tom Knox – RTC

My Aunt had a couple of errands she asked me to run (just some groceries and a visit to the post office). I found the supermarket with little issue (there’s a closed supermarket building down the road that gave me a bit of panic). However, I just couldn’t find a post office; I drove around Papakura and Takanini for nearly an hour looking. I saw plenty of NZ Post vans, and some PO Boxes, but nowhere that I could actually post a parcel.

Conclusion

I returned home on Wednesday morning; the weather was forecasted to worsen in the afternoon and remain bad for the next couple of days, and I wanted to get home before the weather made the roads dangerous.

Overall, the trip was a success. I returned refreshed and ready to get back into life, and proved that I could spend time away from home (a go without mid-day naps) without breaking down.