How to pack lightly for a long trip

Of the 40 places I visited in New Zealand, Raglan was by far my favourite. After thoroughly exhausting myself with my hike in Paihia, I needed somewhere to recuperate and this was the perfect place to do so. Raglan is a chilled-out surf town on the west coast of the North Island and is one of those places where, within seconds of arriving, I felt the most relaxed I have in weeks — and promptly began talking about living here for a few months. Unfortunately, we had only planned to spend one night in Raglan. One of the downsides to planning out an epic two month road trip across New Zealand was, well, exactly that. Planning. Before arriving, we had no idea which places we’d love, where we’d hate, if the weather would co-operate… we managed to get it right most of the time, but I sorely wish we’d had longer in Raglan. Wanting to make the most of our time here, Dave and I decided this would be best done at the beach. Raglan’s beaches surprised me....

Tasmania is probably my new favourite place in the world. I fell for it harder than I have anywhere else. More than I did Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines or Slovenia. It is just so ridiculously gorgeous.  Before I write about my time in Tasmania in detail, I’d first like to share a few of my favourite photos from my week spent on the island. Hopefully they’ll convince you to visit one day, it truly is a wonderful part of the world. We began in Hobart, state capital of Tasmania and all-round wonderful city that provided a welcome relief from the major cities in Australia. I hadn’t warmed to either Sydney or Melbourne but fell in love with Hobart in seconds. There were no towering glass skyscrapers here. Instead the streets were lined with old Georgian buildings; former warehouses and port buildings converted into small restaurants, cafes and craft shops. The weather was fantastic, which, as I was told repeatedly, is a bit of a rarity for the city. While the temp...

Below is a list of some of the most interesting facts about Mount Yasur. 1. Mount Yasur is an active volcano on Tanna Island, Vanuatu with a height of 361 meters (1,184 feet) above sea level. 2. Mount Yasur is one of the most easily accessible live volcano in the world. Anyone can walk right up and peer down into its fiery belly. Standing close to the edge of the crater can be a frightening experience however. Huge explosions from deep inside the crater frequently shake the ground and are followed by debris that shoots high into the air.

Quokkas and Coffee: A long weekend in Perth, Fremantle and Rottnest Island OCEANIA | AUSTRALIA PUBLISHED: NOVEMBER 2018 | DISCLOSURE: PARTNER CONTENT WITH EXPEDIA Ever since I first saw a photo of a Quokka (and more on these cute guys later), I knew I had to get over to Perth and Rottnest Island when I was living in Australia. As with all grand plans, it never happened, but when I found myself back in the continent a year later I made a beeline to the capital of Western Australia, and it was well worth the wait. Western Australia is one of the lesser explored parts of the country, but that certainly doesn’t make it any less worthy of a visit than the more traversed east coast. While I only had a long weekend to enjoy my city break in Perth, the whole of this vast state packs plenty of excellent places and hidden gems to explore. As my go-to flight and hotel booking site when I lived in Australia, I’ve partnered up with Expedia.com.au to share the highlights of my long weekend...