My Holidays: Writer Melanie Bracewell

Comedian and writer Melanie Bracewell.

Melanie Bracewell is a writer on Wellington Paranormal, on TV2, Wednesdays, 8.30pm.

What was your greatest holiday?

My greatest holiday was in 2016, when I visited my sister in England. I hadn't seen her for a year or so and we had this amazing trip. The best part was driving down the coast of Croatia to Dubrovnik. It's where they filmed a bunch of Game of Thrones. I was nerding out hard in King's Landing. There was other good stuff there too, but I was distracted thinking about Jon Snow. He's so beautiful.

And the worst?Probably when I was younger. I used to get extremely carsick as a kid. I don't remember much of the holiday, mainly just the smell of the car for the entire rest of the trip. It definitely took a lot of air fresheners to get that car back to neutral.

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

Probably getting sunburnt. I make sure I lather up every time I go outside on holiday but unfortunately I'm paler than SPF 50+ can protect. Otherwise, I'm probably just relaxing with a couple of wines.

If we could teleport you to one place in New Zealand for a week-long holiday, where would it be?

It's very cliche, but definitely Queenstown. I hadn't visited there until about a year ago and I was like, 'Oh wow this is what everyone is talking about.' It doesn't even feel like you're in New Zealand. Which seems like a neg to New Zealand but it's just so different to anywhere else. I'm sorry to anyone who lives not-in-Queenstown, I still love wherever you live.

How about for a dream holiday internationally?

I've always wanted to visit Japan. My friends always seem to go there. I'm checking my Instagram story and someone's in Japan. One day, my Instagram story will be me in Japan and I will finally fit in. It just looks so trendy and I love Japanese food.

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

Well, I didn't realise it was dumb at the time but recently I was in Disneyland and sat in an empty spot to watch the fireworks. At least, I thought it was empty until some lady loudly said to her daughter, "What's that honey? It's common courtesy to ask?" I was like, "Oh sorry, did I take your seat?" and she started yelling at me furiously. She kept yelling until she said, "Well, no wonder you're by yourself and I have a family." Truly the happiest place on Earth. I was very tempted to be like, "Yeah, I wish my family was here but they died in a fire" or something.

Aisle seat or window seat?

Window seat all the way. I'm a very long human being so if I stretch at all in the aisle seat, my legs are sticking into the aisle and getting run over. Plus it's easier to get a nice Instagram shot out the window and rub it in to all your followers that you're on a plane. I keep talking about Instagram. I'm slightly obsessed.

What's the best travel tip you've ever been given?

Hydrate! It's very easy to forget to drink water when you're travelling and trying to follow a map to get around. Drink heaps of water and, yes, you'll have to take twice as many bathroom breaks, but you also won't faint at the airport. Yes, that has happened to me.

What was the most memorable meal you've had while travelling?

I was in Bari, Italy, with my dad. There's not that much to do there, it's basically just a port to travel from. We had some time to kill so we went to this restaurant and Dad ordered this dish. I can't even remember what it was, some sort of seafood crispy rice clay-bowl thing. Anyway, I tried some and it was amazing. My dad ate it all in about 5 minutes, and then immediately ordered another one. They'd run out!

What's the best thing you've brought back from a trip?

I always overpack and really need to make use of my bag real estate. That being said, when I went to Universal Studios I bought so much Simpsons merchandise I had to throw out some of my clothes. No regrets.