Covid 19 coronavirus: How to preserve your travel memories

When I was a young child, my father travelled around New Zealand regularly for work. Occasionally, his trips would be timed during the school holidays - and it was an opportunity for all five of us children to pile into our retro yellow Mitsubishi L300 van for a road trip to wherever Dad had to drive for his next conference.

To keep us quiet during the many hours on the road and milling about in the dingy motels of the 80s, we were given scrapbooks so we could draw pictures, journal our thoughts and provide a space to stick mementos we collected along the way. Mum always encouraged us to keep a travel diary.

I don't remember much of the trips themselves, but I do remember how much I loved reliving the holiday once I was back home by going over the scrapbooks and re-reading diary entries.

Here's how you, too, can preserve some of your travel memories until such time as we can travel freely again.

Create a postcard wall

Rather than sticking postcards to your fridge and having them eventually covered up by magnets, put them to better use by turning them into an art display.

Peg your postcards on the wall to create a travel display of your favourite places. Photo / Unsplash

Create a postcard wall by sticking a collection of cards to a pinboard, use them inside picture frames instead of photos, or hang some string up and peg your postcards to the line.

Start a scrapbook

A scrapbook can be as simple or as elaborate as you like.

Grab a notebook or an empty photo album, and spend some time choosing photos or mementos from a trip to collate for your scrapbook. Cut pieces of coloured card and jot down memories that reflect your experience to give context to each image, or add some drawings, lettering or doodles to your page.

If all your memories and photographs are online, you can create a digital scrapbook instead, which is also an easier option for those of us less equipped with creative talent. You can use Photoshop or find specialist digital scrapbook software such as Forever or MyMemories to get you started.

Listen to the music of your travels

Music has the ability to reflect our mood, to channel a particular kind of energy, or evoke memories and emotions about a certain time and place in our lives.

Does the city or country of your memories have a traditional style of music? Perhaps there are unique rhythms and drum beats reflective of the destination. Or you can search online for local artists and musicians from that country. Otherwise, find a piece of music that you listened to while travelling and use it to reminisce about your time abroad.

Drawing or paint a scene from your travels

Pick up a pencil and paper or borrow your kids' art gear and try drawing a scene from some photographs, a postcard or from your memory. Or choose some paint and create something abstract to reflect on your journey.

You don't have to create a masterpiece or be any good at art for this exercise, but you will have fun letting your creativity run wild while remembering details of a particular destination.

Re-create an experience at home

Loved dancing tango in Argentina? Try an online class to recreate the experience. Craving a detox retreat in Bali? Set some time aside to create your own mini-spa in your own bathroom or roll out a yoga mat outside and dedicate some time to working on your asanas.

Roll out the yoga mat and recreate your own health spa session. Photo / Unsplash

If you're stuck for ideas, Airbnb is offering online versions of their Experiences with local hosts around the world. You can do a virtual tour of France, enjoy a concert from Iceland, discover the secrets of Colombian coffee, or learn to dance like a K-pop star.

Write a list of your favourite things

How many of you have always wanted to be a travel writer? You don't have to submit your writing anywhere, but writing about travel is a wonderful way to remember your journeys, good and bad. Start with a list of your favourite memories of your trip and explore why they stood out. The more you write down, the more you will remember.

Re-edit old photos

Go back into your digital editing software and take a second look at your images. Maybe you can crop some distracting features out of the way, tighten the frame, or edit with a new style. Be creative and see what happens. Some photos that you ignored or didn't like initially may look better with some light editing, or they may hold more meaning at a later stage.

Make a travel video of your trip highlights

Few of us our professional videographers, but many of us take an abundance of short videos from our adventures. Rather than letting them forever sit in the cloud, start compiling them together for an extended video of your trip. There are plenty of free and paid video editing software options; the simple ones are often the best for those without any prior video editing knowledge.

You can add some text, background music, some interesting faders between scenes, then gather everyone from your bubble to watch together and share in the memories.

Cook a local dish

One of the best ways to explore a culture is through its cuisine. Fortunately, with the help of the internet, it's never been easier to source recipes from destinations around the world.

Travel the world through the ingredients in your kitchen. Photo / Unsplash

Missing your trip to Fiji? Whip up some kokoda - a coconut fish ceviche. Craving the taste of Mexico? Have a meal with tacos, tostadas and margaritas. Travel the world with your taste buds.

Listen to a travel podcast

Travel podcasts are a great way to escape somewhere different without leaving the armchair. Head to your podcast app and search for the destination of your memories, or for inspiration to plan a future trip.

Don't forget to listen to NZH Travel's very own Trip Notes podcast to get you started on dreaming about travels past and future.