WHAT TO PACK – HANNAH – ONLINE JOURNALISM INTERN

What’s your best traveling experience?

My favourite trip of all time has to be to Sweden. In the summer of our second year at uni my course friends and I went on a field trip to the Arctic Circle, stopping off in Stockholm on the way. Stockholm is an awesome city spread across several different islands. Our favorite island had to be Djurgården which was bizarrely hosting a festival celebrating the wedding of two cartoon clowns from a Swedish ice-cream advert but also had a zoo, nature park, theme park and biology museum amongst other things.

On one of the days we decided it would be a cracking idea to rent out a pedalo but we didn’t want to just potter down the river; no, like true intrepid pedalo explorers, we set our maritime sights high: intending to cross the open water between islands so that we could glide on past the royal palace in pedalotastic style. However our plans were soon scuppered when we found ourselves out in the open water with a fleet of commercial tankers and cruise liners heading our way and had to swiftly abandon our mission and pedal like Chris Hoy on heat to get to safety.
 
A couple of days later we headed off on an 18 hour train journey to Abisko in the Arctic Circle. Squeezing 13 of us into our tiny bunk cabin, we kicked back with our complementary cartons of Swedish water and wiled away the hours with Leon, Taken and a Die Hard marathon.
 
Abisko was a quiet place, at least until we arrived: there are about 5 houses, a train station, a garage-cum-shop, the research center and a hostel. The landscape there is truly magnificent; we were right amongst the mighty mountain tops and Great Plains of the Swedish Laplands and with the 24 hour sunlight we could go exploring all the time. From the top of Mount Nullja the views over Lake Tornetrask were stunning with the spectacular Lap Gate sitting on the horizon and under the midnight sun we trekked to a ravine where locals used to sacrifice reindeer. The food however was a little patchy and we basically lived on reindeer, a series of peculiar and not altogether appetising fish soups (which I avoided) and out-of-date Smarties chocolate bars from the shop. During the days we carried out experiments, researching the impact of global warming on the arctic ecosystem, but with all our data collected we spent our last night jumping into the partially frozen lake and relaxing with copious amounts of Swedish cider around the bonfire.
 
What did you take?

I’m absolutely awful at packing. I always leave it to the very last minute, try to get someone else to do it for me, fail, have to do it myself and inevitably forget something vital. But luckily in this instance (Who knows how?), I managed to pack at least the essentials: the good old head torch, the trusty walking boots, the highly unflattering waterproof coat and trouser combo, the horrific smelling mosquito repellent and not forgetting the field researcher’s most trusty friend, a notebook and pencil. Surprisingly, for once I wasn’t the worst at packing: One guy turned up, to our lecturer’s horror, with only trainers, jeans and t-shirts - very ill advised for trekking around the Arctic terrain – punishment for his foolishness…a very hefty bill at the only shop in Abisko.
 
What did you wish you’d taken?

A heck of a lot more mosquito repellent! Doing 11 hours of solid data collection next to the turbulent waters of the Abiskojåkan River in prime mosquito territory left me looking like I had the chicken pox. My friends, who’d instead all sensibly chosen to do their experiments in the safety of the birch woodland found it hilarious, tallying my bites at a painfully itchy total of 152. But hey, science requires a little sacrifice right?
 
Which Frontier project would you like to visit?

I’m spoilt for choice. All the projects are so amazing. If I could, I’d do them all but if I had to narrow it down I would go for either Madagascar or Cambodia Wildlife Conservation and Adventure Project or Fiji Beach Conservation or Costa Rica Big Cats, Primates & Turtle Conservation Project – I do love a bit of conservation.  
 
What would you take there?

A pack of cards. A great camera to capture my adventures and the amazing wildlife and landscapes with the added bonus of putting them on Facebook and making my friends insanely jealous that I’m off exploring, surfing and relaxing on the white sandy shores of a tropical paradise whilst they’re back home in the UK. Also, an underwater camera case would come in handy. Oh and the ability to pack lightly.

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