Today’s Friday Travel Photo takes you Loch Ness in Scotland’s Highlands. Loch Ness is 23 miles long and 755 feet deep at its deepest point – so deep, that all the water in England and Wales would still not be enough to fill it.
If you’re visiting Edinburgh, consider getting out of the city on a day tour to Loch Ness.
If you’d like your travel photo featured on Backpackingmatt, send it to me at matt [at] backpackingmatt [dot] com
Today’s Guest Post was written by Melanie Colby – a first time traveler come backpacker from Plymouth, England. During Melanie’s working holiday she traveled a lot, worked a little, and even gave Wwoofing (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) a go. Melanie has guest posted for Backpackingmatt previously and was recently featured on the front page of Backpackers News – a backpacking publication found throughout New Zealand.
After six months in Kiwi land I had convinced myself that I was ready to return home. As much as I loved New Zealand, I loved home just that little bit more – or so I thought! How wrong I was. I felt a longing pang for New Zealand the very moment our Royal Brunei flight took off from Auckland airport – destination Heathrow. Staring out over the Land of the Long White Cloud, I knew instinctively that something fundamental had changed. From now on I was also going to suffer from itchy feet. Lamisil was unlikely to solve this itch.
The flight was painless enough. It was reasonably comfortable for 26 hours of air time. The problem was that there were just too many stops! First Brunei and then Dubai, every airport that we landed at either for a refuel or stopover; I wanted to make a desperate run for the exit doors. I wanted to explore and experience everything that was new, unique, and cultural. Lucky for the custom’s officials, I had a very tried boyfriend in toe who kept me in check. There was no possibility of escaping the fast approaching reality of home.
As the plane descended over the south of England, the cloud cover closed in sparking a rather gloomy and ominous feeling that gnarled in the pit of my stomach – we were home!
The grey tarmac and concrete buildings of Heathrow airport did very little in making the prospect of my homecoming any brighter. Coming through arrivals, my family gathered outside waving frantically as we walked through the arrival doors. There faces beamed with excitement and anticipation, my face however was not beaming or bright. I still can’t decide whether my pallid complexion was due to a reaction to the UK or the fact I hadn’t washed for 26 hours.
A few days have passed now and slowly I am beginning to feel a little more settled. I am still pining for New Zealand, although I am inclined to believe that at this point any form of travel would suffice. Having spoken to friends and relatives, I beginning to understand that what I am suffering from is a very bad case of the ‘holiday blues.’
It is not uncommon for people who have travelled, to feel dejected after their experience.
1) Money Either you don’t have any or you’re very lucky. In my case I don’t have any; this can be difficult to deal with when returning home. You need money to pay for your basic needs – food and accommodation. A lack of funds can cause a feeling of lost independence. This is not an easy change to except especially as travel can give you a huge sense of freedom.
2) Employment – or lack of. In order to gain an income you are usually required to have a job. This is not an easy task to achieve, particularly in this economic climate.
3) Debt Many travellers can accumulative debt whilst backpacking, sometimes through no fault of there own. In my case this was particularly true. I had to borrow money in order to pay of food and accommodation when our flight was cancelled due to the Icelandic volcano. Our insurers are unlikely to cover.
4) Loss of Independence Relying on other people’s kindness is always a difficult thing to do. However many travellers are required to rely on their friends and family. I am very lucky that my mum and her partner have taken me in; they are currently providing me with food, clothes, travel, plenty of wine, and much entertainment. As much as I am eternally grateful for their hospitability I feel I have experienced a loss of independence.
These are the some of the obstacles travellers experience when returning home. However it is not all doom and gloom, there some things you can do to help during this time of transition.
When it comes to employment, a pre-emptive strike can help. Start looking a month or so before returning home. Why not send out speculative emails to companies you would like to work for? I did exactly this – although I have not secured a full time job as of yet. I have drummed up interested from employers and received some great feed back. Give it a go you have nothing to lose.
It may sound silly but exercise is a good remedy for the ‘travel blues.’ Exercise is said to help people who suffer from depression by allowing the body to release endorphins ‘the feel good chemical.’ A brisk walk a day can help improve your mood and keep you motivated.
It can be very easy to feel overloaded with the realities of being home, so make a plan. Writing a simple list of objectives can help organise your thoughts, when they are in black and white, in plain sight you can start to prioritize your goals. Whether it is to plan your next adventure or simply get a grip on your finances, a list is a really useful aid.
Surround yourself with friends and family. They are there to help! No doubt they’ve missed you like crazy whilst you’ve been away. You have probably stockpiled a few good hours of air time, recounting your tales of adventure before they get bored.
Last but not least, communication. There are thousands of people who travel, have travelled, or are about to travel. I am very sure I am not the only person who is experiencing a difficult period of readjustment after backpacking. The online travel community is vast, so why not share your experiences; there is a lot of support to be had at just a click of a button.
If you’re interested in guest posting on Backpackingmatt, send an email with your idea to matt [at] backpackingmatt [dot] com
As a backpacker or budget traveler in New Zealand, you’ll have a couple different options when planning your trip from the North to the South Island (I recommend this direction of travel).
While you have the option of flying – or even the option of skydiving (yes, skydiving) – I recommend you cross the Cook Strait with one of the two ferry operators that make the crossing each day – Interislander or Bluebridge. It’s an absolutely stunning journey on a clear day, and while flying between the two islands may save you time, it will also result in you missing one epic ferry trip.
Since arriving in New Zealand six months ago, I’ve crossed the Cook Strait more than a couple times. I recently reviewed my experience with Bluebridge. I wasn’t terribly impressed with the service they offered. I expected less amenities for a budget traveler with fares that represented this service. I got one, but not the other – read about my experience here.
Recently, I again needed to cross the strait which separates the two islands of New Zealand – two islands which while only separated by a 92 kilometer ferry journey might as well be separated by the full length of an ocean. They’re entirely different places, and both have so much to offer – but that’s a post for a different day.
Interislander runs three ferries between the North and South Islands up to 11 times each day. Each offer top notch facilities, and I recently made the journey on the Aratere. The ferry was fitted with a budget friendly cafeteria, a not quite so budget friendly bar, and plenty of room to stretch out and relax. If you’re not keen on taking in the views during the approximately three hour trip, you have the option of purchasing a ticket to a featured film in the on board cinema.
If you do want to take in the views, and you should, there are a number of different places on board to sit back, relax, and take in the experience. Leaving Wellington behind as you head south, you’ll get some excellent views of the city of Wellington and its surrounding suburbs. Soon after leaving port, you’ll enter the unprotected waters of the Cook Strait. On a clear day you’ll get beautiful views of the North Island behind you and the South Island in the distance. While the ferries in the Interislander fleet are all big vessels capable of carrying both passengers and vehicles, this is the main area where you run the risk of a rough crossing. My crossing was smooth as and altogether a very enjoyable trip.
Before you know it, you’ll again enter the protected waters of the sounds of the South Island. The Marlborough Sounds and the Queen Charlotte Sounds are a beautiful area of rolling hills, thick bush, sandy beaches, and mussel farms. There were a number of viewing spots on the Aratere – whether you wanted to be outside in the cool breezes at the bow of the boat or inside in the comfort of one of the lounges.
I chose to get some work done during most of the journey and instead camped out in one of the onboard work areas – complete with power points for your charging needs. I would have loved free WiFi, but unfortunately that’s essentially unheard of in New Zealand.
Realistically, as a budget traveler, you want the cheapest way to get between the islands. The scenery certainly doesn’t change with one operator or the other. If you were planning a trip to New Zealand now (May 22nd), and wanted to cross from Wellington to Picton on the 30th of June, a trip with Bluebridge would cost a solo traveler with no vehicle $50. A trip with Interislander? $48. If you were a last minute planner, and only decided today you wanted to cross the ferry tomorrow, a trip from Wellington to Picton on Interislander would cost you $53, while the fare on Bluebridge would remain at $50.
At $3 more a trip, I’d still recommend crossing with Interislander. Their ships are in excellent condition, they offer a comfortable ride, and their customer service is superb.
If you’re interested in crossing the Cook Strait with Interislander, check out here website and online booking service here.
Disclaimer: Interislander offered a complimentary crossing for Max (my late campervan) and myself in return for a review on Backpackingmatt.
There are plenty of blogs out there encouraging people to travel. I consider Backpackingmatt to be one of them.
It’s a big place, and I for one want to see of much of it as I can.
Many of these blogs very often make backpacking out to be a very glamorous affair. In some respects it is. I love the freedom of being relatively nomadic. I get to see new places, meet new people, and don’t have many of the day-to-day responsibilities that my peers back home do.
Last week, I went on a boat tour of beautiful Milford Sound. The week before that I went whale watching. The week before that? An overnight cruise in the Bay of Islands.
The life of a backpacker isn’t easy, and here’s why:
It’s one thing to budget your finances, but it’s an entirely different thing to budget your finances as a backpacker. Along with the joys of traveling comes the day-to-day reality of living every day of the week on a budget. Yes, you have occasional splurges while backpacking – but for the most part, you’re limiting yourself on food, activities, drinking, and transportation.
I returned a car recently to the airport. Most people would pay the bus fare back to town. Me? I hitchhiked. That $10 fare paid for my dinner.
If you’re spending extended periods of time on the road, you don’t have the luxury of staying in hotels – or for that mater, motels. When you think of the nightly cost of accommodation, it adds up. The obvious answer for a backpacker is a hostel. These are excellent venues to meet other travelers and very often, they’re pretty sweet places – but at the end of the day (literally), you go to sleep in a three, four, eight, or twenty bed dorm room.
That guy (girl) above you very often snores. And that bed? Well let’s just say it’s not a Serta Perfect Sleeper.
I’d love for you to quit that job and ditch that cubicle. I think there’s more out there than an 8 -5. Yet if you travel like I do, on working holidays, it’s definitely not an extended vacation. While I’ve traveled to quite a few countries, I’ve worked some pretty unflattering jobs to get me there. In Ireland, I stood on cold, windy, and wet streets in small villages trying to get locals to sign up for monthly donations to charities. In Edinburgh, I spent two weeks scrubbing pots and pans in an office canteen. In Franz Josef on New Zealand’s West Coast, I cleaned rooms in a small hotel.
The goal is always for that perfect, backpacker oriented job – but, the realities of backpacking are that you’ll sooner or later end up working a job you certainly didn’t get that degree for.
I’m unfortunately one of those unalingual Americans. I naively didn’t see the incentive in learning and becoming fluent in a foreign language when I was in high school or college. So when I travel to a country where English isn’t the language of choice, it can be a bit challenging.
I believe in the importance of learning the basics of the language of the country your visiting – it’s courteous and the least you can do as a traveler. However, this doesn’t make you fluent. You can get by, but the biggest challenge you deal with is sitting in that local bar or cafe and not knowing what anyone around you is saying. Nevermind the problem of getting directions to the bus station, finding your hostel, or booking your train ticket out of town.
I’m lucky enough to have traveled with a good mate during my first stint overseas, and with my girlfriend now, but it’s still difficult to be separated from those close friendships you developed over the years at home. It’s wonderful to meet fellow travelers – yet very often, you meet great people only to say goodbye far too soon.
There are plenty of efficient and budget friendly ways to stay connected with your mates back home – be it Skype, Facebook, or international calling plans. The reality of the situation is you’re busy, they’re busy, and a long backpacking trip results in you loosing contact with old friends.
I travel light. When I was clearing customs in Auckland, the agent asked me where all my luggage was. She saw my year long visa and my lone backpack and didn’t understand where everything else was at. There was nothing else.
When you’re often on the move, you don’t want to have heaps of luggage. The downside? I hate about every piece of clothing I have in my backpack.
A chest of drawers has quite a lot on my Gregory Baltoro 65L.
This seems like a vague challenge for a backpacker to deal with. Yes, everyone has to deal with the unexpected – be you a doctor, a grad student, or a backpacker. However, the difference for a backpacker is that you’re very often dealing with the unexpected in an area you’re unfamiliar with. You don’t have the grounding you would if you were permanently based someplace.
It’s one thing to catch the flu when you’re home in Chicago. You know where to go, who to see, and what to do. Try getting seriously ill in Istanbul. When you’re out of your usual comfort zone, the unexpected challenge can be a lot harder to deal with.
It’s important to be realistic about the trip you’re planning.
What are some of the challenges you face as a backpacker? Add them to the comments section below.
Backpacking Matt 
