For anyone wanting to know more about me, my travel experience, my travel industry career, what’s in my camera bag and so on, here’s some quickfire answers to all the questions I never thought anyone would give a shit about haha. If you have any other questions, flick me a message on Instagram and I’ll add it to this list.
If you’re looking for the FAQs about my big 52 countries in 52 weeks adventure, click here.
Where are you from?
I’m a Kiwi! Born and raised in Hamilton, a city 1.5 hours south of Auckland in the North Island, but I lived in Auckland for eight years before moving to London in 2017 and then travelling full-time in 2019. Since Covid hit I’ve been back in New Zealand but I hope to be able to get back out into the world early 2022.
How old are you?
I turn 30 on 28 January 1992 ????
When did you start travelling?
When I was young I did a few short-haul family trips (Australia twice and Fiji once) before visiting London and Paris with my parents and little brother for a few weeks when I was 15. I was too young to really appreciate it properly (in fact I was an absolute little shit, just annoyed that I was taken away from my friends for the holidays. Ugh, teenagers!) but it did sow a seed in my head that it was possible to move overseas when I was older, like my Dad did in his 20s.
My first solo trip was when I was 19, when I moved to San Diego, California for a six month university exchange. It seems crazy now because that seems so young to move to a country where I knew no one at all, and I had no travel experience whatsoever. Six months later I’d managed to travel up and down the California coast, visit Vegas a few times, tick off Coachella, spend an evening in Mexico, Spring Break in British Columbia, and explored the East Coast of the USA too.
When I returned to New Zealand I finished my marketing degree and scored a sweet internship at a travel agency where I kicked off my travel career.
How can you afford to travel so much?
This is what I get asked the most, no surprises there! First of all let’s veto some of the classic assumptions: I don’t have a rich boyfriend (or even a poor boyfriend haha), my parents don’t give me money, I don’t have a high-flying job and I haven’t always been able to travel for free. I wish, for all of the above!
I spent five and a half years working in the travel industry, which isn’t paid well at all but it did teach me how to make my money go further when booking an adventure, and sometimes let me travel for discounted rates. From my monthly salary, aside from rent and basic living expenses, literally all of my money went into my travel fund. I hardly shopped at all, planned my meals to a tight budget, kept entertainment spending to a minimum and tried to put away as much as possible each month for my next trip.
Once I have the money, the next step is to plan a trip where I get the absolute best bang-for-my-buck. I research cheap destinations to fly to, budget accommodation options, the best transport to take, cheap eats and so on. I never budget a trip in detail before I go, but I do gather info around general travel costs and what I can expect to spend while I’m there, to know how careful I need to be with my money.
One of my top tips for making your money go further is to find good value accommodation. I say good value rather than cheap because you might not be on a tight budget, but you still want to make every dollar worth the spend! I wouldn’t go as far to say that I’m an accommodation snob but I definitely enjoy the finer things in life in terms of where to stay: I LOVE a hotel with a bath tub, infinity pools are my dream, and I indulge in a bit of room service every now and then. And I afford hotels like this 10% of the time because I stay in hostels 90% of the time!
I like to split each trip between staying in a funky hostel (always highly-rated, preferably with a full kitchen, central location and curtains on the bed) for three or four nights and then using the money I saved over that time to splurge on a nice boutique hotel for a night or two. I call it Shithouse to Penthouse, but that’s not very fair on the epic hostels I’ve stayed in! To read more about how I afford to stay in nice hotels, check out the full blog I wrote here.
These days I’m fortunate enough to work with many travel companies around the globe so my travels are 90% work trips, but I managed to travel on a very tight budget for seven years before getting to this point!
And how do you find such cheap flights?
When I was living in London I absolutely fell in love with Skyscanner’s ‘Everywhere’ search, where you put in your origin, travel dates (or month) and let Skyscanner tell you where the cheapest flights could take you. In fact, I love this tool so much that I built an entire year-long round the world trip out of it! Read more about that here.
The Everywhere tool also works if you put in your destination and then choose your month of travel, and it shows you all the cheapest dates to fly. To find cheap flights, flexibility is key. If you’re flexible on where to go, or when to go, or both, you’re guaranteed to get a better deal. Also flying on Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually cheaper!
How did you get a job in the travel industry?
After my San Diego university exchange was up, I came home to finish my marketing and psychology degrees, determined to get into a job that was somehow connected to travel. When I was 22, my first graduate internship was at a huge youth travel agency, in their New Zealand head office as a marketing assistant. The role was just on a job site and I had applied with a cover letter about what I had learnt in my time studying abroad.
This role turned permanent and I moved up in the team over three and a half years, managing a lot of their digital marketing campaigns, social media, blog and website, before transferring to the global Head Office in London when I was 25. I was there for two years, first working in the Global Marketing & Partnerships team and then a stint as UK Marketing Manager before my visa expired in June 2019.
One thing to remember about the travel industry is that the pay is notoriously low, and the benefits usually don’t make up for it. My internship was the lowest salary of all of my friends, to the point where I didn’t get paid enough to actually benefit from flight and tour discounts because I couldn’t even afford the discounted price! The one exception to this rule would probably be flight attendants, who manage to travel loads without needing to spend any of their own money.
If you’re sales-minded and have decent travel experience then working as a travel agent can be very lucrative, but it takes a long time and a lot of stress to reach a point where you’re making decent money. If you have any business degree of knowledge (like HR, finance, marketing, design etc.) as well as travel experience then travel agencies, tour companies, tourism boards etc. always like hiring people for their head office who have the skills as well as being a traveller themselves.
Note: This FAQ was originally written pre-Covid. Obviously the travel industry is in a very different position now than it was a couple of years ago, with much less stability and probably much more stress. I’m not saying it’s not worth it, I’m just saying you need to be aware of the potential risks of joining the industry.
What do you do for work now?
I’m a full-time content creator!
What on earth is a content creator?
A content creator is someone who creates bespoke content like photography, video, blog or interactive content, maybe for their own channels, maybe for a brand, maybe for both. The term “content creator” has come about because the term “influencer” started getting such negative connotations, often referring to social media personalities without any actual content skills or experience.
In my case, being a full-time content creator means I work with travel, tech and lifestyle brands all around the world to promote their destinations, experiences and products to my audience on my blog and social media channels, as well as providing the brands with photo, video and blog content for their own marketing channels.
A “normal” week here at Finding Alexx includes travel planning, pitching to potential partners, scouting for photo locations, writing, shooting, editing, monetising through affiliate marketing, managing my social media accounts and more. Phew!
I know this sounds like a fun job (and it is, mostly!) but it is a lot of hard work, early mornings, long days, and absolutely zero pay for much of the work I put in. Throw in a casual global pandemic right as my creator career was starting to take off and it’s not exactly what I’d hoped for in my first few years of self-employment ????
I also have a non-travel side hustle doing marketing, brand strategy and social media consulting for small businesses, which has been a lifesaver during the pandemic. Hopefully as 2022 picks up I’ll be able to rely less on the non-travel stuff!
Where have you been so far?
Quite a few places! I’m not too fussed on country-counting personally just because I never want to feel bad about returning to somewhere I’ve already been, but I have been to 57 countries so far, in five continents.
And where are you going next?
Ahhh, the big question!
I’m typing this in December 2021 as the world is being hit with the omicron variant so I’m not sure how accurate my predictions will be, but I’m hoping to spend a couple of months in Australia next year before heading over to North America and then Europe.
I managed to complete nine months (or 39 weeks to be exact) of my 52 countries in 52 weeks project, and one day I’d love to finish the final three months, but realistically it won’t be another couple of years before things are stable enough to country-hop that quickly. Fingers crossed that day comes sooner rather than later.
Why did you move to London?
I actually planned the big move after a break up, which is always a great time to take a leap outside of your comfort zone haha. London is somewhat of a rite of passage for Kiwis because we have an excellent youth mobility visa that’s reasonably easy to attain.
The move itself is by no means easy (it’s a damn long way from home, very expensive, hard to set yourself up when you get there) but probably on the easier end of the spectrum as far as countries to move to go. Obviously there’s no language barrier, the culture is really similar and chances are you know someone over there or someone has already done the move.
Living in London is by far the greatest thing I’ve ever done, and it opened up an entire continent that I couldn’t access living back in NZ. I’ve been to a crazy amount of places, some which I had never heard of before I got to the UK, and I fell in love with the weekend warrior fast-paced London lifestyle of making every second count.
What’s in your camera bag?
My main camera is a Lumix G9, and I have a second camera too which is a Lumix G100. My favourite lenses are the Leica 8-18mm f2.8-4 and the Leica 12-60mm f2.8-4, and I also carry a 25mm f1.7 and a 42.5mm f1.7.
Most of the photos and videos you see on my Instagram stories are just with a phone, and I have two of those too! Yes, I have a tech addiction. My main photo phone is an iPhone 13 Pro Max which has an incredible wide angle lens and super smooth video, and my backup and admin phone is a Google Pixel 4a 5G which has a next level astrophotography mode.
For underwater photos I use a LifeProof FRE waterproof case for my iPhone, and I’m currently waiting for my GoPro Hero 10 to be delivered (yay!).
My drone is a DJI Mavic 2 Pro but I’m considering downgrading to the DJI Air 2S which has similar specs for what I use it for but is significantly lighter and easier to travel with.
And the last little bits in my camera bag are the DJI Osmo Pocket (a pocket-sized 4K video camera on a gimbal for super lightweight stabilised footage) and an Insta 360 One X for those trippy 360 degree photos and videos.
How do you edit your photos?
I use Adobe Lightroom Classic to edit my photos on my laptop.
What are your favourite destinations?
To be honest it depends on how I feel on the day, and it also depends on how hungry I am as so many of my best travel memories are food-related!
Some of my all-time favourite countries that I am forever recommending to friends are Vietnam, Turkey, Switzerland and Croatia.
Who takes all your photos?
It depends on who I’m travelling with!
I travel solo probably 80% of the time, so when I’m by myself I shoot with my trusty tripod and use the self-timer or intermittent timer. Using a tripod takes a while to get used to and you can’t really whip out a full-sized one in the middle of the day at a busy spot, so I always do tripod shoots early in the morning.
My full-size tripod is this Manfrotto travel tripod (who needs a man when you have a Manfrotto, am I right?), then I’ve got a phone tripod adapter to clip in my phone.
I don’t give my camera to strangers, but if I want someone to take a photo for me then I’ll find other young female travellers or a family, offer to take a photo for them first, then ask them to take one for me. Other tourists, especially ones with prams, are unlikely to steal your phone… I think!
When I’m travelling on a group tour I’ll generally explain my line of work and there’s always a couple of tourmates who are keen to help me capture some epic content, and when I’m with friends or family I’ll usually set up a shot with how I want it framed and all the correct camera settings, and will just ask them to press the button.
What are the best bits about solo travel?
Where do I even start?!
Solo travel means you don’t need to rely on anyone else, you have no responsibility to stick to plans, you can spend however much or little money you want on food, accommodation and activities, and generally have more freedom on the road.
Because my travels involves a lot of planning and work, it would be unfair for me to have anyone travelling with me because I have to spend so many hours glued to my laptop and my phone in between adventures.
I genuinely feel alive when I am in a foreign country where I know no one, it’s like the ultimate liberation for me.
If you’re considering going on your first solo trip, my top tip would be to just do it. You will learn to trust your instincts, you’ll hone your problem solving skills and you’ll probably meet wayyy more people than if you were with a partner or a friend. I guarantee it will change your life for the better.
And what are the worst bits?
While I do think travelling solo is something everyone should try at least once in their life, long-term solo travel is definitely not for everyone.
I think the hardest thing about solo travel is not being able to share the experiences with people, but I do get a small bit of this by sharing the things I get up to on Instagram, as lame as that sounds. If you ever watch my Stories and love something I’ve posted, please message me and tell me! It means a lot to hear that other travellers are enjoying my adventures (and misadventures of course).
Travelling as a solo female also comes with its own set of difficulties and safety concerns, which I’ve talked about loads more here.
Do you get lonely or homesick?
I’ve always considered myself an extrovert but solo travel has definitely brought out my introverted tendencies, and now I thrive when I’m alone which is quite surprising! This was a real blessing when we went into a recent three month lockdown and I lived in my studio apartment by myself.
In saying that though I do talk to my mum and friends most days when I’m on the road, I constantly reply to Instagram messages, I meet people in hostels and on tours, and I often have friends come out at least once a month to meet me somewhere for a few days so I do still have some social connections. If I wake up feeling particularly lonely or with FOMO then I’ll Google the nearest dog park and head there hoping to be able to pat some puppies. Fact: It is impossible to feel lonely while playing with puppies.
In terms of homesickness, I’m never really homesick for a particular place because I’ve moved around so much in the past ten years (five houses in Auckland, San Diego, London etc.) but I do miss home comforts, like my favourite burger back home (Bacon Backfire from Burgerfuel, obviously) or my Friday treat of Tesco chocolate brownie milk in London.
Food is one of the things that make me miss NZ the most for sure, because there’s nothing like walking through a supermarket and not recognising any of the brands to make you feel thousands of kms away from home! I’ve managed to spin this into a positive by heading to the supermarket straight away when I visit a new place to check out all the brands and foods I haven’t seen before.
How do you stay healthy on the road?
This one is something I’m still working on. It’s really tough because there’s so many factors at play – time zones, different cuisine, different weather, hostel dorm rooms, computer use for my work and so on. After nine months of full-time travel followed by two years of being stuck in one place, I always focus on three key routines: diet, sleeping, and exercise.
I have some weird dietary restrictions after having my gallbladder removed when I was younger, which means there are some things I can’t eat, but unfortunately it’s kind of random stuff and not an easy intolerance to explain (like gluten-free or lactose-intolerant). One thing that can make me ill is pre-made meals (I think it’s the preservatives/emulsifiers in them maybe that affect me?) so I have to avoid those at all costs, which is tough!
This means that I have to be super careful when eating abroad, and try and use fresh ingredients as much as possible. I try and stay at hostels with kitchens when I can and then do a supermarket shop at the start of the week to get stuff for basic meals, like wraps or pesto pasta or something.
I also travel with Huel, which is a nutritionally-complete powder which you add water to to make a shake, and it’s a full meal. Looks and sounds like a protein shake haha but it tastes better (in my opinion!) and gives you everything you need for one whole meal, the perfect make up of carbs/proteins/vitamins/minerals etc. I have this for breakfast most days (unless there’s a free hostel breakfast) and sometimes lunch too, and it brings a bit of routine to my diet which my body thanks me for!
I’m no nutritionist so you can see all the details here (and get £10 off your order!) and I can honestly say it has made SUCH a difference to my diet and overall wellbeing. It’s also ridiculously cheap (evens out to less than £0.90 per meal for me), vegan, sustainably-sourced and there’s a gluten-free option too. This is something I travel with everywhere I go, and it’s worth the extra weight in my suitcase for sure.
For sleep, I try and stay in private rooms when I can afford it, or if I’m somewhere expensive then I’ll only ever stay at hostels with curtains on the beds which makes all the difference. If I’m in a dorm room then I use silicon earplugs which are a thousand times better than foam ones, and have a cheap Amazon eye mask that sits off the eyes which is super comfortable.
For exercise, I walk a lot and lug a suitcase around at least once a week which is a decent work out! Aside from that I tend to zip in and out of different exercise types, from Les Mills On Demand classes to Fit On classes to treadmill running to using exercise bands in the park.
Did you seriously read all that?
Well done if so, that was a major brain dump! If I’ve missed anything you think would be worth adding to this page then pop over to @findingalexx on Instagram and flick me a message.