Lydia Heenan
Owner & Travel Specialist
A little about myself – as a Travel Agent, and a Traveller…
Do you ever reminisce about your high school days and your dreams for the future? I had no idea what I wanted to do for work, all I knew is that I wanted to travel.
My parents always encouraged my siblings and I to travel. It all began with a school trip to the Gold Coast, followed by a life-changing French exchange program to Tahiti when I was 17. A few years later, a friend “twisted my arm” into going to Ottawa, Canada with her, to her home town, where I was lucky enough to have my first white Xmas! I guess you could say this is what gave me the travel bug!
My next big adventure wasn’t until my mid 20s – where I decided to make the bold move to London on my own, with a pit stop in South Korea to visit my big sis, on a working holiday visa. It turned out to be the best travel decision of my life! While living there, I had some amazing adventures in Venice and Ibiza, followed by an epic Contiki Tour with my middle sister, which took us to 10 countries in 21 days.
By then, my career path was clear - I was destined to work in the travel industry! Back in New Zealand, I began my journey as a Travel Agent, and I've never looked back! Starting at the Karori Branch of Flight Centre in Wellington, I spent eight fantastic years there, most of them as the store's Team Leader.
During that time, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go on incredible work trips - Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Fiji, Hawaii, and my ultimate favourite, a safari in Zambia and Zimbabwe with Adventure World, where of course I had to bungee jump over the Victoria Falls!
Some of my other all-time favourite personal holidays include:
Cage diving with Great Whites in Port Lincoln
- An Intrepid Tour through Croatia and Slovenia
- Bali - twice so far, because once is never enough
- Thailand with my best friend
- Three trips to stunning Rarotonga
- The Maldives on a 1-week small ship cruise with G-Adventures
Just to name a few…
I then had the opportunity to live in Toronto, Canada, where I thought I’d try a different part of the Flight Centre business becoming the country’s top novice in their Corporate department. Of course, I didn’t fly straight to Toronto; a few days in Hong Kong, a week’s small ship cruising in the Maldives, 3 weeks in Sri Lanka and a few nights in Dubai were needed before settling in Canada for 2 years.
While in Canada, I maximised my northern hemisphere location, travelling around Canada (Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Lake Louise) and the USA (San Francisco & Napa Valley, Los Angeles, New York City), as well as Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
Upon returning home mid-pandemic, I took a wee break then jumped at the first chance to get back into the travel industry as soon as it revived, working for Flight Centre’s FCM Travel (handling larger corporate accounts), where I quickly rose to Team Leader.
This past year has been a precious time spent with my little Tillie, and with maternity leave over, I've realised how much I miss connecting people with their dream holidays, hence the move to being a travel broker!
