My holidays: Andi Crown

Actress Andi Crown found herself in Egypt as the 2011 revolution got underway. Photo / Supplied

What was your greatest holiday?

It was more work than play, but the two months spent photographing an industrial shore-based whaling station on South Georgia Island in the Antarctic last year were pretty remarkable. An eerie, abandoned monument to humankind's insatiable greed for non-renewable resources, Leith Station (built in 1905) was all at once tragic and fascinating to behold. When I wasn't recording the extant buildings, I was down on the beach pretending to be Sir David Attenborough narrating the daily dramas of the local elephant seal colony.

And the worst?

Being in Egypt when the 2011 revolution kicked off - the holiday itself had been amazing, but there was definitely a palpable sense of unease in the air towards the end of our stay. As incredible as it would have been to have been able to witness and document the civil resistance in Tahrir Square, I'm glad we managed to get on the plane just before all departing flights were cancelled.

If we bump into you on holiday, what are you most likely to be doing?

Thoroughly enjoying getting myself lost ... and eating ... there'll be so much eating ...

What's your dream destination?

Central and South America - the whole shebang.

What's the dumbest thing you've ever done when travelling?

It's a toss up between fighting off a knife-wielding mugger in Amsterdam, and breaking into the Strahov Stadium (Prague) to run the 100m after an evening of imbibing. Ah, the foolish things we do when we're 18 and apparently bullet-proof.

What will you always have in your hand luggage?

My camera.

Complete this sentence: I can't travel without ...

... conducting prior research.

What's the best thing you've brought home?

Boxes of tiny little handpainted wooden figurines from Varanasi in India that depicted all the Hindu gods and goddesses.

Favourite airport at which to land?

Fa'a'a airport in Papeete, Tahiti. You fly in over that gob-smackingly blue ocean with miles of fringing barrier reef, and then when you step off the plane you're greeted by a warm tropical breeze, the scent of tiare and frangipani and the sound of ukuleles.

What's the next trip you've got planned?

The east coast of Africa in the new year.

Andi Crown plays Meredith Wilmott in 'The Brokenwood Mysteries', which is released on DVD on December 11. The soundtrack is available for download on iTunes.