Find a travel mate
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TRAVEL MATE SUCCESS
I went from being gutted that I’d been let down by a mate to meeting someone to travel with and booking a flight!
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Travel mate success stories: Kirsty & Mel
 Names: Kirsty Ruggles and Melanie Kirkcaldy Ages: 22 and 23 Hometown: Hadleigh, Suffolk and Epsom, Surrey Why did you decide to look for a travel mate on gapyear.com? Kirsty: I found gapyear.com whist searching on the Internet and it was full of helpful hints and advice, and then when I saw it had a Find a travel mate section, I decided to give it a go. None of my friends were at a stage in their life where they could go travelling, and I really wanted somebody to go with, so I thought ‘why not?!’ Mel: I’d always wanted to go travelling but didn’t want to go on my own - all my friends were still at university or in full time jobs, so I wanted to find someone who was in a similar situation to me. What criteria were you looking for in a travel mate? Mel: A like-minded person who was open to travel ideas and someone that I could easily get on with. Kirsty: Mainly I wanted somebody who wanted to go around the world, definitely to California, and somebody who was like me really; easy-going, liked to have a good time, fun and who generally wanted to make the most of our trip.  How did you find each other? Mel: Kirsty posted an advert looking for a travel mate and I replied! It was the first post I’d replied to, and is not something I normally do, but we ended up getting on so well. It was one of the best decisions I’d ever made! Kirsty: I posted my message on gapyear.com saying I wanted to travel round the world, with a definite stop in California and Mel replied! What was it about the other person that made you think you’d get on well together? Kirsty: We both had the same ideas as to where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do and see, but at the same time we were very open-minded about the whole trip, so we could really go wherever we wanted, without feeling like the other person might not want to. We’re quite similar in personalities too. Mel: We had similar interests (drinking, sunbathing etc!) and we both really wanted to go to California (as we’re both big OC fans!) Were your proposed itineraries pretty similar or did you have to change plans to suit one another? Mel: Neither of us had any set plans, we both wanted to travel for about 6-8 months and wanted our travels to include California. We were both pretty open to ideas. We found that we both had similar ideas of where we wanted to go so it worked out really well... What did your parents/friends think about you finding a travel mate online?! Mel: They thought I was a bit crazy! My friends found it hilarious that I had met someone over the Internet that I was going to spend eight months with. They were all really supportive. Kirsty: Also whenever we told people abroad that we met each other online we got a laugh! Although everyone also said that it was a really good idea - a lot of people are in the position where they want to travel but do not know of any friends who are and so they decide not to go or to go alone but don’t feel very happy about it.  When was the first time you met in person? How did it go? Mel: We went to a gap year show in London where we got loads of ideas about travelling. It was a bit strange at first but as we talked more we got on so well and decided there that we would go travelling together. Kirsty: I think we were both a little nervous, but we soon felt a lot better when we started to learn about the places we could go and the experiences we could have! Any last minute wobbles before jetting off together? Kirsty: None that I can think of! We got together to buy the things that we needed, also I won a holiday with Radio 1 to Ibiza so Mel came with me - it was a good test run for our trip! We had a fab time, even with a lack of sleep, and didn’t fall out once, so it was all good! Mel: We spent too much time getting excited and counting down the days to worry! What was your RTW itinerary and how long was the trip? Did you spend the entire time together? Mel: We spent 8 months travelling and went to Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the USA. The only time we were apart was for two weeks when Kirsty went to visit family in Perth and I stayed in Darwin. What were your top five highlights of the trip? Mel: 1.Working with cheetahs and other animals in Africa - fantastic experience which we both loved. 2.Fraser Island - getting to drive a 4WD down the beach! 3.Skydiving in Cairns - scary but amazing! 4.Queenstown, New Zealand - very cold but a great place. 5.Trek America tour from LA to NYC - going to places such as Yosemite, San Francisco, Mount Rushmore and Chicago and making some great friends. Kirsty: 1. Volunteering in Africa - hands on experience with cheetahs, baby baboons, lion cubs plus many other animals - a real once in a lifetime opportunity! 2. Jeep Safari on Fraser Island - we had a fantastic group and it was the funniest part of Australia without a doubt! Lake McKenzie on Fraser Island is a must for any visit! 3. The whole of New Zealand - we got to see the All Blacks play, went whale watching, skiing, hiked a glacier and white-water rafted! New Zealand is an amazing place! 4. Meeting the locals in Fiji, doing a 12km hike through the jungle, then tubing down a river, sandboarding, rafting on traditional rafts and sunbathing and partying on some of the worlds most beautiful islands - Beachcomber in particular! 5. Visiting Six Flags California where I (Mel actually!) cured my fear of rollercoasters! Any major bust ups on the road? Mel: Only a couple of minor drunken ones, which were quickly resolved! Kirsty: No, the only time we would get a bit grumpy with each other was when we’d just flown in because we would both be really tired!  What was the best thing about travelling with another person? Mel: Having someone to share all the amazing memories and experiences with, and not having to bore your friends and family with the 8000 odd photos you took! Kirsty: There was always somebody there to talk to, always somebody to share the experiences with, have a laugh with, and moan with! Oh and somebody to help you justify spending your money! Any downsides to travelling with a travel mate? Mel: We never encountered any major problems, sometimes it can be hard not being able to do your own thing and spending a lot of time together can get a bit too much, but we always sorted out any problems and knew when the other one needed a bit of space. Kirsty: For us we didn’t really have any downsides...but I can see how it might be difficult to incorporate somebody else’s plans if you already have you mind made up about where you want to go. Did you find it easier to talk to other travellers on the road as you had a travel mate or did already being in a pair make things difficult? Kirsty: I think for me personally it made it easier because Mel was always there as a back up, in case somebody else didn’t want to talk to me! It gave us both a safety net, in case we found it difficult talking to others. But we didn’t, we made loads of new friends! Mel: We never had a problem meeting new people, but especially when we were both in a new place, having Kirsty there really helped. Would you recommend others to use the gapyear.com find a travel mate service? Mel: Definitely - I’ve made a great friend and have shared some of my best experiences with her. We had a fantastic eight months together! Kirsty: Yes definitely! But with all Internet sites make sure you take somebody with you when meeting a new person and tell others where you are going, or arrange to meet in a very public place. It’s a superb site for meeting like-minded young travellers who are also looking for a travel mate!  What tips would you give others looking to find a travel mate on gapyear.com? Mel: If there is somewhere you really want to go make sure you say it, but also be open to new ideas as you could end up going somewhere really great you never thought of. And if someone has similar plans and interests to you - get in touch with them! You could end up making a great friend like I did! Kirsty: Make sure you make it clear in your message where you want to go and what you want to do, that way anyone who replies will be clear. Don’t feel like you have to reply to somebody - it’s your trip as well and if you’re spending lots of hard-earned money, you want it to be what you want. Also be open-minded about what others are suggesting - you never know, you might go somewhere you never dreamed of going, and fall in love with the place! Thanks girls... great to hear that the gapyear.com find a travel mate service was a success for you!  Click here >> for gapyear.com advice on finding a travel mate Click here >> to search for travel mates now Click here >> for around the world travel info |
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