When the lockdown going got tough, Sam NeillтАЩs social media updates sprinkled funny sunny moments into our days.
Self-isolation proved to be fertile ground for SamтАЩs Instagram account @SamNeillTheProp and Twitter @TwoPaddocks where he entertained himself and people around the world with тАЬCinema QuarantinoтАЭ films with guest stars such as Hugo Weaving.┬а
After filming Jurassic World: Dominion in the UK last year, heтАЩs back home on his farm in New ZealandтАЩs Central Otago where he recently finished the harvest for his winery, Two Paddocks.
My first holiday memoryтАж
Is having our tent blown away in the Southern Alps on a family fishing expedition. It was 3am in the morning, we slept in the van and found it the next day up a tree. My dad could catch fish, but he was crap with tents.┬а
I got my first passportтАж┬а
In 1956 when we returned to New Zealand.┬а IтАЩm not sure whether it was British or New Zealand, but I was entitled to both.┬а
The most interesting person IтАЩve met on a plane wasтАж┬а
Jeffrey Archer. He was the only other person in business and I had been in an adaptation of one of his books (Kane and Abel). I was hoping he wouldnтАЩt recognise me and was ducking behind the seat.
But he did and plonked himself down beside me for what would be a three-hour journey. He turned out to be the most delightful company, full of gossip and some of the funniest stories IтАЩve ever heard.┬а
The thing about travel┬а I missed during Covid isтАж┬а
There are some obscure parts of the world I very much want to experience. Now IтАЩm wondering when and if.
The souvenir┬а I always buy isтАж┬а
A fridge magnet. The daggier the better.┬а I love them.┬а
Weirdest thing IтАЩve ever eatenтАж┬а
I was once working in China and a banquet was put on in my honour. My host made it clear the principal dish of about 30 was very special so it was apparent to me there would be loss of face if I didnтАЩt eat it. It was a stew of tortoise.
Actually, it didnтАЩt taste too bad but who on earth wants to eat a poor old tortoise? Certainly not me. I did, though. Manners.┬а
See also:┬аJesinta and Buddy Franklin reveal their holiday secrets
Sam Neill, Miro museum, Barcelona. Picture: Supplied
The worst thing thatтАЩs happened to me travellingтАж┬а
Was landing once in India. We nearly hit another plane that was crossing the runway and we had to roar back up into the sky. I spent the next 20 minutes before we landed comforting my family that this was perfectly routine. I lied. I think this is the closest any of us has come to death.┬а
My most memorable flight experienceтАж┬а
Prior to 9/11 I used to be routinely invited into the cockpit to talk to the pilots, often when landing. Once in a Qantas plane we were approaching Wellington airport on a freakishly calm day with reflections on Cook Strait. I said, тАЬWow, look at that тАУ I bet you hardly ever see that. Dead calm.тАЭ The captain replied, тАЬMate,┬а we like a bit of a head wind in Wellington.┬а Very f***ing short runway.тАЭ
How many countries have┬а I visited?тАж┬а
I lost count at 50 something. And those were just the ones IтАЩd worked in.┬а
The place that didnтАЩt live up to expectationsтАж┬а
Call me jaded, but there are lots. Tourism doesnтАЩt do any place much in the way of favours. My advice: try to find places tourists donтАЩt go to en masse.┬а
Sam Neill and Bryan Brown in Venice, Italy.
The advice IтАЩd give to young travellers isтАж┬а
Learn some of the language before you go. DonтАЩt be a boofhead, and try to avoid moving in herds.┬а
The best secret I stumbled across while travelling isтАж┬а
Certain islands in the Pacific. I might tell you, but only just before I die. TheyтАЩre my secret. Okay?┬а
The film that inspired me to visit a city isтАж┬а
La Dolce Vita, and the city is Rome. Great film. Even greater city. Stay out of the Trevi Fountain, though. They arrest you these days if you arenтАЩt Anita Ekberg. And sorry, sweetheart, you just ainтАЩt.
Trevi fountain in Rome.
The best meal I ever had while travellingтАж┬а
Was the All You Can Eat Caviar on Concorde.┬а It almost made up for the claustrophobically small cabin. You donтАЩt see caviar around much these days. Or Concordes, come to that.
The place I visit most isтАж┬а
Australia. I still call New Zealand home (sing it!) but I go to Australia time and again. I want to get up to the Torres Strait Islands. IтАЩd like to find someone to rent me a boat and get around some of these little islands. TheyтАЩre very remote and IтАЩd like to have a bit of a poke around there and see whatтАЩs what. ThatтАЩs an unfulfilled ambition.
Where should Aussies visit in New Zealand?
If theyтАЩre the sort of hyperactive ones who jump off bridges, then this is not something┬а IтАЩd recommend, but if youтАЩre slightly more mature, like me, Dunedin is so interesting and so beautiful.
The Otago Peninsula, which is one side of Dunedin Harbour, has so many little beaches and penguins and seals. The landscape is extraordinary and the town is rich in terms of its architectural heritage. ItтАЩs a delightful place and I canтАЩt recommend it more highly.┬а
See also:┬аBeau Ryan shares his favourite holiday memories
See also:┬аWhat Kerrie Hess never travels without
