HOW TO MAKE YOUR NEW ZEALAND TRAVEL MEMORIES LAST

You:

“How the fuck am I going to make my New Zealand travel memories last?”

Me: “Well, in theory, you’ll have a couple of ideas that interest you after reading this post.”

Alright, let’s get to it.

Whether you’re planning your trip, halfway through, or have left already, you can take action using this before.

1. Create a playlist
2. Get a memory box
3. Make an adventure book
4. Make photo art
5. Make a quirky video
6. Send yourself postcards
7. Write a reverse bucket list
8. Write a relaxing journal
9. Buy evergreen souvenirs

1. MAKE A UNIQUE PLAYLIST (MIX TAPE)

If you’re a music fan, you’ll love this one. It’s as simple as creating a playlist on YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, or whatever you use and fill it with songs that trigger memories of New Zealand. For example:

Was there a new song released that was played over and over again while you were n NZ?

Were you in a cafe and a song came that made the place memorable?

What about at a particular moment on a road trip? Did you have a road trip anthem?

Were you snogging someone at 1 am in a club and you can’t get the song that was playing out of your head?

Did you get into any NZ artists?

Did the campervan you bough have a couple of old CD’s in it you played over and over again?

You get the idea, get creative and have fun with it!

Here’s a playlist with some of my favourite kiwi tunes on it.

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2. GET A TRAVEL MEMORIES BOX (FOR KEEPSAKES)

I love these. I prefer them over the next item, as I’m not much of a designer.

Throughout your trip keep lots of little knick-knacks you would usually throw out. When you leave New Zealand and begin to sort through everything you can pop it all in your memories box for later.

Ideas on what you can keep:

• receipts
• brochures
• postcards
• tickets
• money
• rubbish wrappers

You get the idea. The best part is, the memory boxes usually have an awesome design, look good, and make for a great conversation topic at your home. Your friends might actually be interested in your travel stories as you go through it…maybe.

There are lots available on Etsy, but keep out when you’re in NZ. It’d be cool to buy one made from native wood.

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3. MAKE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE BOOK a.k.a. SCRAPBOOK

I came across The Adventure Book in early 2020, and it looks amazing! Unfortunately, this is more for travel that takes you around the world. There’s no New Zealand addition…yet (I’d love to explore the idea of creating one).

BUT you can go back to something most of us did as kids and make a scrapbook of your own. This is usually easier to do after your trip, but you could keep up while exploring NZ if you’re Marie Kondo like.

You can buy travel scrapbooks of all sorts of designs on Etsy. Or you can just go down to the shops and buy a big book and start creating.

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4. GET CREATIVE WITH PHOTOS

There are lots of ways you can create fun displays with photos from your trip. The first step will be to go and get a bunch of them developed, which is surprisingly easy in most places around the world.

Once you’ve got your photos in hand you could:

• hang them up artistically on string
• make a photo mural
• add them to your scrapbook
• make a calendar

There are a bunch more ideas here.

I’ve noticed polaroid cameras are making a comeback. Polaroid photos aren’t super cheap to use, but every time I’ve seen someone travelling with one they capture great moments.

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5. MAKE A VIDEO OR PHOTO MONTAGE

Thanks to the capabilities of phones today, we can all take half-decent video.

So why not aim to shoot some video clips on your adventure and at the end of the trip put them into a little video. You don’t need to take a tonne of video, and you don’t need to be a rocket scientist with a video editor on your phone to make a little something you’ll love (I use InShot on Android).

A fun app you can use to compile a unique video is 1 Second Everyday. You take a 1-second clip every day, and the app will create a video out of them all when you want. You can have lots of fun with this kind of app. If you need a reminder to use it, just set an alarm to go off at the same time every day and record footage of where you are right then. It’ll be fun and oh so random when you watch it back.

Another option is Polar Steps. This one takes a bit more effort to keep up to date properly, but if you love sharing your travels in real-time with family, this is a great app. And it’s better than Instagram in that your friends and family can use your Polar Steps to better plan their trip.

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6. SEND POSTCARDS TO YOURSELF

This one isn’t too time-consuming as the postal system is decent in New Zealand (unlike other countries…I’m looking at your Thailand).

Anyway, the idea is simple. You buy a postcard, and send it home addressed to yourself (or to someone who can look after it for you). On the card write whatever you will make you smile when you’re reunited with the card. In a perfect scenario you’ll forget what you’ve written on the cards!

To send one postcard from New Zealand to anywhere overseas costs $2.60. The NZ Post website has more details.

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7. CREATE A REVERSE BUCKET LIST

This is a great way to relive your travel memories after your trip.

We’ve all heard of bucket lists, you’ve probably got one with all your things to do in New Zealand.

The reverse bucket list is a way to look back and write down all of the things you’ve done. They can be as big or as small as you like. It’s like a gratitude journal of sorts. These are all the things that you can be proud of.

I know I get caught up comparing my experiences to others, thinking I don’t go out and ‘do enough stuff’. But once I write down the little things, I get stoked and the comparisons disappear.

If you want to learn more about reverse bucket lists, this piece references good material.

Here’s a few examples of what a reverse bucket list might include:

• Saw an amazing sunrise in Wellington
• Tasted lots of different New Zealand snacks
• Went bungy jumping
• Saw lots and lots of sheep
• Learned how to cook a hangi etc.

Go grab a pen and paper, find an app, a notebook, or whatever works for you. Start writing down that reverse bucket list.

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8. WRITE A JOURNAL

This is an old school one, and if you think you can keep up with daily updates, I highly recommend doing this. But I’ve seen most people give up on updating their journal. They’d planned to keep up to date, but after putting things off for a couple of days the catch-up game never wins.

If you go easy on yourself with your writing, it’s a great option. Maybe you commit to writing one sentence a day…that’s doable write? If you want to write more, cool! But just set a goal of one sentence and see what happens.

Another idea is no too worry about catching up for days you miss. Just let it go (easier said than done right).

Alternative idea: Make daily voice recordings recapping your day. I do this from time to time, but find it hard to get into a routine for whatever reason. They’re usually 1-3 minutes long but are fun to look back on.

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9. FIND UNIQUE EVERGREEN SOUVENIRS

Of course, there’s plenty of NZ souvenirs you can buy. But you might want to go for something that’s outside the box. Something that you can put in your house and every time you see it, your mind will flashback to New Zealand. Even a tacky tourist t-shirt can be effective haha.

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I hope these gave you some ideas on how to preserve your New Zealand trip memories online and offline!

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What do you think? Have I lost the plot? Maybe they’ll trigger some of your own travel memories that were heading to the back of your mind