My Holidays: Phil Ormsby co-producer of Flaxworks

Phil Ormsby, co-producer of Flaxworks.

Phil Ormsby is co-producer of Flaxworks, and a writer and performer for Conversations with Dead Relatives, premiering April 3-7 at The Basement theatre in Auckland.

What was your greatest holiday?
I have had lots of fantastic holidays but I did really love our most recent trip around the UK last year. I suppose it has been rolling around in my mind a lot as we have been writing our upcoming show called Conversations with Dead Relatives, which is all about ancestors and family stories. My partner and I both knew we had ancient connections all around the UK, so it was really exciting to go and find all these places. But I was unexpectedly moved finding the gravestones of some of these people, who have been dead for over a hundred years, and seem so removed from our lives today on the other side of the world. A highlight was standing in the churchyard where one of my partner's ancestors preached, just a few miles from a brewery bearing my family name.

And the worst? We drove for two hours to what a website called a "romantic stay in a genuine castle", which turned out to be 19th century folly recently bought by Russian mafioso, and with a "luxury en-suite" that consisted of a 1.2sq m pink plastic caravan loo and shower combo.

If we bump into you on holiday, what are you most likely to be doing? Exploring the streets, walking, walking, walking; looking for that hidden gem of an eatery or shop packed with the craft of some local artisan.

If we could teleport you to one place in New Zealand for a week-long holiday, where would it be? Milford Track. It's the only part of the country I've never been, and I feel a bit unpatriotic every time some visitor asks me about it.

How about for a dream holiday internationally?
I would go back to New York in a heartbeat — food, shows and vegetarian heaven.

What's the dumbest thing you've ever done when travelling? Ignoring obvious signs that I was being ripped off by a taxi driver who took me to a tourist site in the middle of nowhere and disappeared. Undeterred, I climbed the 300 steps up to a local temple and realised my brand new camera was sitting on a chair in the hotel lobby. Happy postscript; it was still there when I got back, hours later.

Aisle seat or window seat? Window.

Complete this sentence: I can't travel without ... My partner, Alex. She is the perfect travel companion; adventurous, spontaneous and tireless. Plus, I have no sense of direction and she is equipped with in-built radar that is homing pigeon-esque.

What's the best travel tip you've ever been given? A. See and do everything — when are you going to go back? B. Make sure all your bags have wheels.

What was the most memorable meal you've had while travelling? Ottolenghi in Soho, 10 months ago. Everything about that restaurant was delicious. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner there.

What's the best thing you've brought back from a trip? A little bird carved out of soapstone from Nelson, Canada. It's a chickadee and it's tiny and tactile and someone is always picking it up and stroking it.

Favourite airport to land at? It's hard to find affection for airports generally but I'm always happy to come home, so — Auckland!

What's the next trip you've got planned? Crete and Greece with my extended family, retracing my dad's path during WWII.

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