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Emma: professional traveller

Emma is a young New Zealander who's done the Big OE, and she spared some time to share some stories - good and bad - from her three years of travel with us.

Have you always wanted to travel?
Yep - whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to do I'd say 'be a professional traveller' because then you never have to do the same thing twice.
Where did you go to first?
Japan. I'd just turned 19 and managed to land a job working on a NZ farm park which was run as a tourist attraction. There were quite a few of them throughout Japan and our job was to look after sheep, horses, dogs and rabbits. There were 20 of us altogether (I was one of three girls!) hired from NZ and placed all over Japan - I ended up in Shikoku which is the island below Honshu.
Emma in JapanWhat was it like?
Not good. It was a terrible journey - 2 planes, 3 different trains - and me with just a spattering of Japanese and 35kg of luggage. I think I had my whole life in my backpack. But apart from all that - the park was terrible. The accommodation was filthy and it was nothing at all like we'd been told. Then I saw the animals - they were in an awful condition. The horses were starved and so badly treated and the rabbits had been left to breed indiscriminately and were covered in cysts and sores, some had no eyes and they were so hungry they were eating each other. I was really appalled that the New Zealand Liaison Officer, who visited regularly, had allowed this to happen.
What kept you there?
I wanted to make things better somehow but wasn't sure how to, apart from looking after the horses as well as I could on a daily basis - sneaking them more food, making sure they had water, letting them rest, giving them some love. Also, a local couple befriended me and they basically acted as my mother and father for the next eight months. Without their help and support I couldn't have stayed.
Did you manage to help change things at all?
Yes. Another worker, a friend, came to visit me at the park and we managed to take some highly illicit photos of what the animals looked like and get them back to New Zealand. Copies of these were sent to the International League for the Protection of Horses, who really got things moving! It's a brilliant organisation and they got the NZ Government got involved and a whole load of caring people. It took some time and tons of letters to the proper people but things have now been changed and most of the Parks have experts monitoring the health and welfare of the animals.
Your lasting impression of Japan was?
The incredible people I met. They're the only reason I'd ever go back.
Hardest thing to contend with?
Apart from the cruelty to the animals? The culture thing, I guess. Women have no rights over there and everything's done backwards so far as rules and regulations go - they even speak backwards! Oh, and armchairs and sofas - no-one has them.
And after Japan?
I came back to NZ for a very short while and then took off to Australia for a year. First off I travelled up the East Coast and ended up in Airlie Beach just before Christmas - along with every other backpacker in Oz! It was really tough finding a job and you have to prepare to rough it - eating 2-minute noodles for every meal and sharing a dorm with 16 other people … and one toilet. I finally landed a job in a nightclub but soon quit that and ended up over on Magnetic Island on Bluey's Horse Ranch where I worked in return for free board and keep. I travelled around a fair bit and saw most of Oz over 12 months and did various jobs.
Best job in Oz was?
Mustering in the middle of the Northern Territories. It was an incredible experience - even if it was like being chucked back into the 1950's with all these rough n ready, male-chauvinistic, rude, Ozzie outback cowboys who simply didn't know what to do with a couple of women in their work environment - actually, their social skills and pick-up lines weren't too polite either.
In the outbackBut the work was amazing. It was really hard - 12 hours a day mustering. We were mostly in the saddle for all that time but there were also a couple of trucks and helicopters helping out. We used to get picked up in the helicopters and flown back to the farmhouse for lunch! When we weren't mustering we were fixing fences, fire burning (injecting Ping-Pong balls with nitro-glycerine and chucking them off the back of the Ute) … or being chased by clean skin bulls which is REAL scary. Clean skins are crazy cows who've been missed in previous musters and are really wild and probably have never seen human before.
We also did a lot of fire fighting - basically this meant we were driven into a roaring fire armed with nothin' but a garden hose. But there was something different happening every day. One of the funniest things I've ever seen is a whole load of Oz cowboys standing around blushing and not knowing where to look when the vet had to collect sperm from a couple of the bulls in front of us.
And after Oz?
A bit of a stint dairy farming in NZ to pay off some debts and save up for a ticket over to Europe. I managed to land a job looking after a very rich old lady right in the middle of London. It paid incredibly well … but was incredibly boring plus she had short-term memory loss so every time I took her in a meal I had to introduce myself over … and over … and over again! I'm lucky enough to have an English passport so I didn't need to worry about visas or money or anything.
Your first impression of England?
Cold. Incredibly cold. And grey.
How long did you stay there?
About 8 months and then the grand plan was to do WWOOF'ing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) all round Europe but after several weeks in Spain taking out horse treks in the Pyrenees I knew something wasn't right.
What do you mean?
It was a real strong feeling of deja vous. I was having a really good time so it took me a while to figure it out but basically I realised I was doing exactly the same thing over and over - just in different countries. And my whole philosophy about travelling had been about NOT having to do the same thing twice! Then I realised I was fed up working for nothing and of living out of a backpack and more than anything - I wanted to sleep in a real bed! It was time to go home.
Best thing you did whilst travelling?
Whenever an opportunity came along - I'd grab it
Biggest realisation?
That's easy - that people count much more than places. It's the wonderful friends I've made that I remember more than anything else.
Greatest difference between UK and NZ?
The people because there's about a gazillion more over there! No, seriously, it's because they're a lot more formal than us. It must be true about that stiff upper lip thing and all that jazz because they're really reserved and don't come across as all that happy. Spain was totally different - everyone's so relaxed and all they want to do is be with family and have fun.
What got you through the bad times?
Good people. Determination. Trust - you simply have to trust your instincts coz sometimes you've got nothin' else!!! And the realisation that without the bad times you wouldn't really appreciate the good. You simply have to make it happen, that's all.
Would you have done anything differently?
Yeah. Punched one of the cruellest, rudest men I've ever met - but apart from that - nope, not really. I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do 3 years ago but now I do, so it's all-good.
How did you handle homesickness?
Never call home when you're feeling like that, even though you really want to, because it only makes it worse! Instead, ring up the friend nearest to you and drag them out to sample the local entertainment - it doesn't matter what because most of the time it's so different to what you're used to you forget your homesickness
Watch out for snakesAny advice to those about to take off on their O.E.?
Leave at least one third of your luggage behind!!!! Take a portable washing line and a swiss army knife and a sheet because this can also double as a towel and a sarong. If you've just arrived in a strange place and haven't a clue what to do and are feeling way scared, buy a drink, sit down … and just watch what everyone else is doing and how they're doing it. It'll help give you some idea of what to do next.
Try not to get too stressed because a lot of small things can turn into major problems when you're travelling. Things like trying to open a bank account in England - it's incredibly difficult … as to getting a tax number, urgh … It was a total nightmare and if you don't get a tax code you end up on emergency tax which takes 40% of your wages - but at least you get to save because you can claim most of it back when you leave the country. And things like not being able to buy a plug adaptor ANYWHERE in Spain for my cellphone - it was really time consuming and being out of touch with family and friends was not good.
And for the future?
Out of all the jobs I've done, I've always gravitated towards ones with animals. I'm hoping to study Veterinary Science in 2006 - and then I'll be able to travel plus do the job I love and get paid for it this time!
How do you feel about NZ now?
I used to think it was kind of small, boring and quiet … but now I appreciate that it's small, boring and quiet!!!!

December 2004