30 December 2018

My Year in Travel 2018


Where do I begin? It has been another amazing year of travel and I'm so incredibly thankful. I got to explore more of my own country, New Zealand, and travel to twelve different countries in four continents.

Below, I'm going to share a favourite photo from each country I visited, as well as a little summary and more reflections at the end of the post. Let's wind back!

1. USA
View of the Plaza Hotel from Central Park

I visited the USA for the first time in March and I absolutely loved it! I went to Disneyland in LA, partied in Las Vegas, saw the Grand Canyon, spent St. Patrick's Day in Chicago, had an amaaazing week in New York and went to Universal Studios in Florida.


2. Canada
View of Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, Quebec City

On my month-long North America adventure, I spent a week in Canada visiting friends who live in Ottawa. Mmm poutine. We also visited where they are originally from - Quebec City, where we got to stay at the Citadel!


3. Australia
The Melbourne skyline across the Yarra River

Two nights after I returned home from that trip, I was off to Melbourne for a week with my man who was working there. We got to have a fancy dinner at the MCG which was a pretty cool experience.


4. New Zealand
Bungy jumping at Kawarau Bridge, Queenstown

Even though I'm back living in New Zealand again, I travelled quite a bit of it in 2018.
I did two epic trips to the South Island and visited quite a few places in the north.
I saw whales in Kaikoura, heli-hiked a glacier, bungy jumped, went to Hobbiton, cruised Milford Sound, visited Stewart Island, road-tripped with a campervan for the first time and spent a bit of time skiing and snowboarding.


5. Indonesia
Enjoying my first private-pool villa in Ubud

Half-way through the year my man and I returned to one of our favourite holiday destinations - Bali! We stayed at Ubud for the first time and also visited Nusa Penida where we swam with manta rays and got to see Kelingking Beach.

6. China
The ancient Yu Gardens in Shanghai

I did a 48-hour layover in Shanghai and I absolutely loved my time there. Being the largest city in the world, I was imaging it to be similar to Bangkok or Jakarta but it completely surprised me in a good way.

7. Germany
East Side Gallery, Berlin

I was so excited to return to Germany in November after three and a half years.
I loved spending more time in Berlin, one of my favourite cities, and exploring Frankfurt and Hamburg for the first time.


8. Portugal
Pena Palace, Sintra

Portugal really blew me away and quickly became one of my new favourite countries.
I had the best week exploring Lisbon, Setubal, Cascais and Sintra. I can't wait to return!


9. France
La Tour Eiffel
I met up with Gareth (who is working overseas for 7 months) and his family in Paris and we had a great four nights celebrating a special occasion. I most certainly stuffed my face with croissants and macarons.


10. Belgium
Bruges

Visiting Belgium for the first time was such a joy. Gareth and I travelled by train to Ypres, Bruges and Antwerp. We did a battlefield tour, went to our first European Christmas Markets and saw our favourite band live (A Perfect Circle). Very highly enjoyed the beer, chocolate, waffles, frites and moules.


11. Netherlands
Amsterdam

We spent our final three nights together in Amsterdam, where we did a canal tour, wandered the pretty streets, visited the Anne Frank House and did the Heineken Factory tour.


12. Slovenia
Lake Bled

I was off solo for my final 8 nights and loved exploring Slovenia. Ljubljana is such a cool city and staying at Lake Bled in the snow was a dream come true!


13. Croatia
View of Zagreb Cathedral

I spent a couple of fun nights in Zagreb, visiting their famous Christmas Markets and learning the interesting history of the capital city.


2018 Reflections

Total countries visited: 12

New countries visited: 8

Continents visited: 4

Top 3 favourite countries visited: Canada, Portugal, Slovenia

Top 3 favourite cities/places visited: New York City, Lake Bled, Lisbon

Favourite photo: The header photo walking the Hooker Valley Track at Mount Cook

Favourite hotel/place stayed at: Goya Boutique Resort, Ubud

Runner-Up: Main Street Hotel, Ypres

Best flight: AirNZ - Auckland to Los Angeles

Most expensive places visited: Paris, Amsterdam

Least expensive places visited: Bali, Slovenia, Zagreb




Top 10 Favourite Days/Memories: 

1. Seeing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway in New York

2. Heli-hiking a glacier in Franz Josef

3. Being at Lake Bled in the snow

4. Swimming with manta rays and seeing Kelingking Beach, Nusa Penida

5. Pena Palace and Sintra day trip from Lisbon

6. Exploring Belgium & Amsterdam with Gareth (can't pick one day!)

7. Road tripping the South Island with my best friend

8. Exploring Quebec City Old Town with friends

9.  Skiing with my family on a bluebird day at the top of Whakapapa

10. Day trip to the Grand Canyon


More Fave Photos & Memories

It was super hard to choose just one favourite photo from each place. If you're still with me, here are a few more runner-ups from this year!

Hobbiton on my birthday!
Beverly Hills, LA
One World Observatory, NYC
Milford Sound, NZ
Ubud, Bali
Kelingking Beach, Nusa Penida
Whakapapa Ski Field, NZ
Cape Egmont Lighthouse, Taranaki
Mount Cook, NZ
Alexanderplatz, Berlin
Hamburg
Tram 28, Lisbon
Pink Street, Lisbon
Eiffel Tower, Paris
Old Town, Bruges
Christmas Markets in Bruges
Amsterdam
Ljubljana
Frankfurt Christmas Markets

Stay tuned in the new year for heeeaps of Europe posts coming your way ASAP!
If you want to see a bit more, check out my 2018 Travel Highlights video I made for YouTube:


A big thank you to everyone who follows my blog and social media, your support means everything! I wish you all a safe and happy New Year with many more adventures in 2019.

Feel free to share one of your favourite travel memories from 2018 in the comments, I'd love to read them!

Happy Travels,
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1 comment

  1. What a fab year! My favorite memory is traveling to Miami with friends, so much fun. Love all your photos babe x

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