Travel with Zita

My name is Zita. I’ve always had an interest in travel. I spend hour watching various travel shows on TV, wishing I could visit all the fantastic places they show. Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise to my family and friends when I told them that I had decided to quit my job and travel as much of the world as I could in one year. I left Ireland-my home-to begin my adventure in Hong Kong, which was completely different from any city I’d known before. It was so noisy, lively and busy! Next stop was Indonesia, with its rice fields, sandy beaches, volcanoes, and temples. New Zealand came after that, and what surprised me the most about this country was how similar it is to Ireland. This was where I went skydiving, one of the many things on my “to do” list.

I spent eight months of my trip in Australia. In Cairns, I had one of the best experiences of the whole journey – I learned how to scuba dive. It was amazing to swim with hundreds of different types of fish and see sharks just half a meter from me.

Finally, I visited South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In fact, of all the places I visited on my trip, Africa was easily my favourite. Seeing lions hunting a giraffe and then eating it was just one of the many unforgettable experiences I had. Victoria Falls was where I decided to test my fear of heights and try one of the highest bungee jumps in the world. White-water rafting on the Zambezi River was another task marked off my “to do” list. Seeing crocodiles in the water made this one of the most frightening experiences, too.

Then I came home. I have returned to work as a hotel receptionist, and I am back into my normal life again. My journey has made me more positive about life and much more open-minded. I made many friends, and a very special one-my boyfriend from New Zealand. I am already planning my next trip away, which will hopefully last longer than a year, to-yes, you guessed it - New Zealand!