Both my friend and I had eyed up the beautiful scenery, cozy thatched cottages and wild beaches of the Cornish coast often enough to each have a wishlist of places to explore, so on our Cornwall road trip, we tried to fit in as many places as we could over a long weekend. Result? The best road trip we could have hoped for, complete with excellent tunes, copious snacks and occasionally crazy weather conditions. Full of pirates and smugglers, intriguing history, rampant gardens, cream teas where we discussed the big questions (cream then jam, or jam then cream, obv) and weather condition ..read more

I honestly can’t even remember how I actually decided to move 18,764 km away from the only home I’d ever known, all on my own. (Probably not very a helpful fact in a ‘how to move to the other side of the world’ article, but it’s full of actually helpful tips, don’t worry.) I was the ripe old age of 19, and not really enjoying my architecture degree. My grades were pretty good, but I remember being frustrated at only learning from books and idealistically thinking ‘how on earth am I supposed to create these amazing spaces if I’ve never actually experienced them?’ (nb: perfecting the blogg ..read more

Have you ever visited the Bhaktivedanta Manor Hare Krishna Temple, Watford? Back in February 1973, a property known as Piggott’s Manor was donated to the Hare Krishna movement in by former Beatle George Harrison, after the Radha Krishna Temple in central London had become inadequate to house the growing number of devotees. A mock Tudor Hare Krishna temple was the last thing I’d expect to see in the Hertfordshire countryside – but then there is the stunning Neasden Temple, a Wimbledon Buddhist temple and several mosques across London, so why am I surprised? It won’t come as a shock to reg ..read more

Greenwich, London – the home of time possesses a myriad of historic royal ties and panoramic views of London. What more could you ask for in a borough? I narrowed my favourite spots down to just 9 places to explore in Greenwich. It feels like it’s out of the city proper, and has a very different feel to central central London – BUT it’s still super easy to get to! I’ve loved visiting Greenwich many times over the years – whenever I have friends and family visiting London, it’s somewhere we always end up exploring. 1/ Visit the original Prime Meridien The line in Greenwich represen ..read more

Having flown 3 return flights to New Zealand in the space of 12 months one year, you could say I’ve learnt more than a few long flight hacks & tips. For each of those trips I spent over 50 hours hurtling through the clouds, cruising through 4 hemispheres, over several continents and hours staring at a screen roughly 8 inches in diameter. But, it was totally worth it for the smiles at the end of each journey. These are my time-tested hacks that make a difference on every single flight. Booking Your Flights Trust me. Fly direct (it’s worth the extra money for the least hassle) an ..read more

2022 has unequivocally been a year of highs and lows. I started the year in New Zealand, having a lovely Christmas with my family (which I appreciated even more after the years of lockdowns) only to find out that my blog website provider had let my blog lapse and hadn’t kept any of the content. The helpful tech on the other end of the phone sounded as upset as I was, and taught me how to lasso SOME of the 10 years of of memories and travel stories – but it wasn’t an auspicious start to the year. I’ve managed to get many blog posts back, and I’ve been slowly re-adding them as time allowed ..read more

Dear Santa (and associated anthropomorphic helpers, elves, family members etc who help your international delivery of Christmas gifts.) This Christmas, I know your elves are going to be super busy, so I would love you to support some of the small, amazing businesses here in the UK. Yes, I will absolutely do well out of the deal thanks to their creativity when their creations turn up under my tree, and yes, I’ll be able to add to my existing collections. NZ Art UK Bronwyn hand makes nature and New Zealand inspired sculptures, pendants, wall hangings and tea lights. They are completely original ..read more

Christmas is becoming increasingly commercialised, but it’s also a time where people really do think of the kindnesses that they can pay forward. As such, I’ve been sharing a charity gift guide annually since 2014 (which have also helped me buy meaningful presents for those friends and family who are notoriously hard to buy for as well…) as well as supporting great small businesses who are making a difference in the world. Blogger gift guides are pretty well established now, but as ever I couldn’t just do a normal one – it needed a slightly Adventures of a London Kiwi twist (I even spotted a ..read more

When we tripped to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, what to wear in the Middle East was the aspect I probably researched the most. I’m no fashion plate, but as a female travelling into a conservative country that has quite strong views on what is acceptable to wear, I fretted about what was suitable to throw into my suitcase. ‘What do I wear to the Middle East’ is something I get asked a lot – and I’ve been meaning to write this post for an age. Normally I roll with smart, comfortable and lightweight layers with a couple of nice dresses stashed for the evenings – but I also packed for Dubai, A ..read more

Ok, I’ve learned 1 million+ things, minimum, over the half-decade that I’ve been running my business BUT no-one has time to read that. So I thought I’d share the most important 5 things I’ve learned in 5 years as a freelance social media business owner. Pick and set up your tools wisely Honestly, I spent six months prepping to launch my business before I dove in. Thinking about branding, what services I could offer, working on the side of my full-time job to save up a nest egg… and 1000% the most important thing I did was realise that: I was offering something unique and personal to clients ..read more