FLYING SOLO
Always walk confidently. Dress intelligently, know the culture you are going into. Trust your gut instinct, and if you sense trouble, remove yourself from the situation as soon as possible.
If anyone knows insider tips for females flying solo on adventures around the world, it’s Canadian-born Apolla Echino, who has made it her life mission to explore the globe for an online docu-series fittingly called “A Women’s Guide to the World.”
Her latest film, shot on the south island of New Zealand with surfboard in tow, gave me a warm feeling – a bit of nostalgia as I thought of my own solo adventure to the lush land for my 30th birthday, an impromptu trip filled with adventures.
I’ve loved traveling alone since I was in my early 20s and caught the travel bug, first testing out my ability to spend time by myself on a road trip up the California coast to San Francisco, then on a much bigger backpacking trip to Australia.
Back in those days – and I’m totally dating myself here – the internet was new and bookings were still done over the phone. As a policy with most trips I have taken through the years, I only reserved the first night, leaving life unplanned.
That flexibility and ability to let life take you where it will is one of the reasons I loved traveling alone. No need to check with anyone or negotiate plans. You simply get to go wherever you want, whenever you want.
I rang a hostel in an area called “Kings Cross,” which I found out after booking was a part of town lined with strip clubs and other shady businesses. Oops. All turned out fine, and I ended up staying for a few days. Despite its roughness, it turned out to be a perfect central location to stay and explore nearby beaches, Sydney’s famed Opera House and other touristy highlights before I flew north to the Cairns region, where I got to explore my wild side by jumping out of a plane and rafting in raging rapids.
Empowering others
I found that there’s something empowering about traveling alone.
As a youngster, it forced me to fine-tune my social skills and make friends with strangers. Often when you are traveling with people you know, you rely on just hanging out with them.
And a person’s sense of independence is fueled – you’re put to the test to rely solely on yourself, and there’s strength gained in knowing you need no one else to survive.
After a few more lone trips through my 20s, I ended up in New Zealand’s north island for my 30th birthday, wanting to travel to a place filled with adventure.
With nothing planned but my first-night’s stay in Auckland, I ended up doing a laundry list of things I loved: Bungee jumping off the Auckland bridge, visiting nearby Waiheke Island via ferry for wine tasting, canyoning (jumping off and repelling down rocks into streams and small pools of water), surfing for a week on 90-mile beach and even
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