All Blacks coaching great Sir Graham Henry is about to take on a challenge of a different kind — Spain's Camino Trail — and you can walk alongside him. He tells Stephanie Holmes about the charity expedition and some of his favourite travel memories.
What appealed to you about the Camino Trail?
Both my wife, Raewyn, and I enjoy walking and we are really looking forward to getting to know other like-minded people — those who enjoy good food, exercise, camaraderie and the chance to explore a new destination.
Seeing a new part of the world, one which is very historical.
How will you prepare for it? Both Raewyn and I are pretty active, we walk a lot normally to stay in what I would say is reasonable shape, so hopefully we won't have any issues.
It's a foodie-focused trip — what have been some of your favourite foodie destinations around the world? We both enjoy good food so going out to various restaurants when travelling and trying different types of food is something we really enjoy. We loved the food in Italy, Croatia and France but the highlight to date has to be Cambodia. One restaurant we visited in Siem Reap was so good we had to go back. They served a really special fish dish, and to top it off, all profits made in the restaurant went back to the community. Now we are really looking forward to tasting some great Spanish dishes on the Camino.
Where did you visit while coaching the All Blacks that you'd like to go back to on holiday?
We spent quite a bit of time in the South of France around the 2007 Rugby World Cup — which wasn't a great experience in terms of the rugby — but we really enjoyed the region.
Sir Graham and Lady Raewyn Henry in Dubai.
Now you don't have to travel overseas for work quite so much, do you still like to go on international holidays?
Yes, absolutely. We're off to Japan next year for the Rugby World Cup and we're also going to be doing a cruise for the first time next year, when we will be sailing the Inside Passage from Vancouver to Juneau.
Where is your favourite place to holiday in New Zealand? There are several places really, but Russell might have to be the top of the list — the fishing there is particularly good. We also find the Duke of Marlborough is a very special place to have a meal and a drink, relax and talk to people. We also have a place on Waiheke, so we are very fortunate that all the kids and grandkids come here on holiday and spend time with us.
And your favourite place to travel overseas?
Over the past few years we have been going to Castaway Island in Fiji with our family. We all go there for a week in July to escape winter.
Food will be a big part of the Variety/World Expeditions Camino Trail challenge.
What kind of travel do you and Raewyn most like to do?
We enjoy travelling to new places to experience different cultures and ways of life. Seeing how people in different parts of the world live is very interesting and we also really enjoy trying new foods, wines and learning more about the history in each country — it makes life interesting.
What's your holiday style when you travel solo?
When I travel solo it's because I've got a job to do. When you're coaching rugby, whether you're in Paris, London, Tokyo or Auckland, you've still got the same job to do. The scenery may be different and although that's interesting, the focus has to be on doing a good job and getting the job done. I also travel overseas for various speaking engagements and when I do I make sure I'm in good nick — I make sure I have an enjoyable time but also make sure I look after myself by doing a bit of walking or going to the gym. You have to find a good balance.
Where was your favourite family holiday destination?
Anywhere that involved a beach. For both Raewyn and I, holidays in those days were taking the family to the beach and we both loved that. There was a lot of sport, fishing and relaxing and when we were young parents, this is what our family holidays looked like too. Wainui is a very special part of the world for us, as is Hahei — we've had many family holidays in these two places.
What was the best holiday you've ever been on? Every holiday is different, so that's a hard one to answer. We loved spending time in Tuscany and the Cinque Terre in Italy. We also spent some time in Croatia and sailed from Dubrovnik to Split which was a great experience. Another fabulous holiday was when we spent some time in Canada at the Langara Fishing Resort — one day when we were fishing, a big humpback whale came up right beside us. It's a beautiful place.
What's the best travel advice you've ever been given?
Attention to detail — I may have missed the odd flight, so I now know to keep an eye on the dateline.
The Camino Trail, Spain.
Have a go
World Expeditions and Variety have teamed up for the 11-day Variety Food Lover's Camino Challenge, led by hosts Sir Graham and Lady Henry.
"We've led plenty of Rugby World Cup trips with large numbers of people and we've done a lot of tripping around, but nothing like this," he says. "Raewyn and I are both really looking forward to this trip and hope to have many other travellers join us and take on this challenge together."
The trip to Santiago de Compostela includes fully supported day walks on the best sections of the world-famous Camino pilgrimage trail, including the original route from Oviedo, combined with cooking demonstrations and tastings of local cuisine.
Participants will be raising money for Variety's Have a Go scholarship programme, which provides under-privileged young people with the chance to participate in extra-curriculur activities they might otherwise miss out on.
