What was your greatest holiday?
When I met the love of my life in Bali. I went away to be alone and happy, I took freediving lessons, I climbed Mount Rinjani on Lombok, spent two weeks sitting on a beach reading and swimming, and as I was bracing myself to go back to the real world I started attending lots of yoga classes. I thought, if I can keep this serenity in my soul I will live a happy life. The next thing I knew I was in an acro-yoga workshop with my feet in the air and the most beautiful Swede I'd ever met balancing on them. Three years later and we are married with a 1-year-old son, still practising yoga, still travelling the world, still as in love as we have always been.
And the worst? A year later we returned to Bali for a romantic two weeks between tours. We decided it would be fun to do a detox and cleanse together. We spent three days feeling weak and unable to feel joy, taking turns to leave the apartment we'd rented while the other gave themselves an enema twice a day on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor. We crumbled on day three and gorged ourselves on every delicious plant-based meal we could get our hands on, probably the equivalent of three days of meals we didn't eat. Now I think about it, it was an excellent holiday.
If we bump into you on holiday, what are you most likely to be doing?
I'll probably be doing yoga most mornings somewhere or other. But if you want a sleep in and are trying to bump into me later in the day it will be strolling happily and aimlessly near nature; rivers, forests and beaches. I'm not really a markets, shopping, nightlife kinda tourist. I'm lazy and I like trees.
If we could teleport you to one place in New Zealand for a week-long holiday, where would it be? Home. Take me back to the Hawke's Bay in the summertime. Take me for walks around Te Mata peak. Strolls and chips on the Napier boardwalk. Trips to the gannets, and splashing around in the Tukituki river. Coffees under art deco awnings. Throwing popcorn in the cinema in Hastings. And, most importantly, collecting oranges and avoiding prickles in my mums backyard.
How about for a dream holiday internationally?
Nepal! I would love to spend a month in the mountains.
What's the dumbest thing you've ever done when travelling? I got "ripped off" while in Bali. I think I spent the equivalent of $5 on a bag of mangosteen. I had a moment of feeling hard done by, then I realised two things; 1, I'm incredibly well off compared to the fruit vendor, and 2, That's probably what I'd be charged in a supermarket back home anyway. I chilled out after that and bought a handwoven sari.
