A few months before Covid-19 hit two of my best friends were lucky enough to begin two years of travelling. Starting in Sri Lanka then to India they enjoyed all the sites the countries had to offer. When the pandemic struck they moved their plans around and went to New Zealand where they are now. This is their story of what New Zealand is like and the second of the life story posts. Enjoy.
Q1) What are your full names?
Alexandra Kathrine Carr and Jared Jon Swart
Q2) How old are you both?
Alex is 23 and Jared is 25
Q3) Where are you from and where are you now?
Alex is from Leicester, UK and Jared is from Pietermaritzburg, South Africa but we met in Chester, UK where Jared lives and Alex went to university. However, we are both currently living and working in Auckland, New Zealand.
Q4) What do you do for work?
By trade, Jared is an accountant back in the UK and Alex is a trained studio photographer. However, in Auckland, Jared is a duty manager in a cafe and Alex works as a fundraiser for Unicef.
Q5) What is your average day?
Alex: My average day is waking up about 7am, having breakfast then working 10-7.
Jared: My average day is waking up about 5.30am and working 6.30am-3.30pm. During the evenings, we usually cook together or if Alex is home later Jared makes the dinner. We then usually read or watch a tv show before heading to bed.
Q6) What is your favourite thing about New Zealand you have discovered?
Alex: My favourite thing about New Zealand is the beauty of the country – everywhere you go, it’s like a painting! Also, NZ is so diverse, the food is amazing!
Jared: My favourite thing about New Zealand is that you’ve got incredible mountains (some of the most beautiful in the world) in the South Island and the mixture of beautiful beaches and volcanoes of the North Island which makes you think that you’re in a place like Hawaii.
Q7) What is your a hidden gem you have found in New Zealand?
There’s hidden gems everywhere throughout New Zealand, from the back street hole in the wall cafes to the best pie shops ever! Fairly Bakes in Fairly are the best pies! Auckland has some of the best street food around so there’s bound to be so many more we are yet to discover. Jared: I recommend Red Rabbit Coffee Roasters in Parnell.
Q8) Where is the best a good place to get some food?
We love trying new food places! Some of our favourites are:
Mamak Malaysian Restaurant, Auckland – it has the best seafood Laksa! It is cheap street food that’s extremely tasty and you get portions that will last you a couple of days! Sunflower – this our favourite vegan Thai restaurant/ takeaway! We may or may not be working our way through the menu!Cotto – this is an amazing Italian restaurant with almost a fine dining feel. It’s the kind of place you order quite a few dishes and share – like tapas!
Q9) What inspired the you to travel to New Zealand?
At the beginning of 2020, we both quit our jobs and decided to go travelling for a couple of years. We started off by backpacking Sri Lanka for a month and then India for 3 weeks. We were supposed to travel to a couple of other places but then Covid struck so we had to change our plans. We always had the intention of coming to New Zealand to work (we previously applied for working holiday visas) so we just arrived a little earlier than planned. We always loved the idea of New Zealand, for the beauty, peace and just being an amazing new experience for us!
Q10) Why should people visit New Zealand?
The culture is like no other! It is such a mix of people from all around the world and learning about the Maori and Pacific Island cultures especially!
Q11) What do you do for fun?
We love to explore even when there’s a pandemic! We’ve climbed the volcano Rangitoto, explored the town of Rotorua and visited the seaside town of Devonport! We’ve visited Queenstown too which was unreal! Alex: I loved seeing the Kiwi birds!
One of our passions is finding the best places to eat throughout the city!
Q12) What makes New Zealand unique?
It is one of the best countries to road trip in the world (in our opinion) because it takes around 24 hours to drive from the top to the bottom of New Zealand which would take you from the tropical feels of the Bay of Islands, through to central North Island where you can explore the volcanic activity then head to the capital of Wellington. On to the South Island where you can discover mountain ranges like no other and do every extreme sport under the sun! Also, for Alex… there’s no deadly creatures here like snakes or poisonous spiders!
Q13) Where would you most like to travel to?
Alex: I would love to travel to Pakistan to see where her grandfather came from.
Jared: I would love to travel to South America or do a road trip around southern Africa.
Q14) What is your top tip when travelling?
Be spontaneous – if something comes up that could be a once in a lifetime experience, you definitely don’t want to miss it! Our biggest regret when travelling was missing out on a chance of being in a Mollywood (the name for Keralan cinema) as a result of already planning our next stop! Be flexible!
If you have enjoyed their story why not keep up with them on their Instagram pages, @alswonderfulworld and all things food on @travelfoodology and of course for more pictures and updates on stories follow @195wanderer on Instagram and Facebook.
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