Last week, I shared part 1 of my Melbourne trip. That trip was my first proper time in Australia, first overseas trip with my partner and my first overseas travel since moving to NZ nearly 10 years ago.

We went to Queenstown last year but that was just a domestic flight that did not require going through customs and needing a passport. Our Melbourne trip required that and I wanted to be prepared.

The things above are what I had in my bag on the plane and what I consider flight essentials. Check all the details down below.

Let’s start off with the bag I used.

I bought two backpacks in preparation for my trip and on the day, I decided to go for this brown leather backpack I got in an opshop for $3.50. This also appeared in my Backpacks and Sneakers haul. This backpack has heaps of pockets which was great and is roomy inside. I also found it more fashionable than the floral one and would go with outfits I brought over with me.

The most essential item in my travel bag was my passport. Having an electronic NZ passport was amazing because it made it so easy to go through the airport. No need for a visa going to Australia too. I also can’t travel without my phone. Who can nowadays? I brought my iPod too although I barely use it. It’s my alarm clock and I also used it for music so I don’t use up my phone’s battery.

I also can’t live without my prescription sunglasses or contact lenses. I am short-sighted and therefore need these to be able to see clearly. I wear my eyeglasses most of the time especially during the week at work but I’m all for contact lenses during the weekend as I hate wearing glasses. I wore mostly contacts during my trip so and wore my favourite Karen Walker sunglasses. This has travelled with me almost everywhere since I bought it.

 To keep me entertained during the flight and our whole trip, I thought I’d bring a book to read, my Mindfulness colouring book and my floral notebook to write anything. I’ve written down shops and places I wanted to check out, our travel info, train info and things I’ve researched before going to Melbourne.

I actually used all three. After I watched Gone Girl, I busted out my colouring book before we landed to relax for a little bit. I brought two types of colouring pens because I wanted all the colour selection! I really like the size of the Mindfulness colouring book. It’s small and fits most handbags.

The beauty items in my travel bag were just my essentials. I put all my makeup in our check-in luggage. These are the ones I had to have with me and were within the allowed items. If you didn’t know, you can’t take liquids or gels over 100ml in your carry-on and I put them all in a ziplock bag.

The items above are:

• This Works Deep Sleep Stress Less – this is a rescue remedy that’s meant to help you breathe and relax. I have this by my bedside table and it helps me calm down if I really need to.
• Therapy Range hand cream – My sister got me a pack of three Therapy Range hand creams on my birthday. I really like them and I’ve almost ran out of the wild rose & vetiver one.
• Clinique Moisture Surge face spray – I got this when Clinique had their usual Clinique Bonus and it is a thirsty skin relief. Since flying can be drying on the skin, I needed this for instant hydration and to feel fresh.
• Hurraw! lip balm – I actually brought my Vaseline lip therapy too but this Hurraw! lip balm is another one I like to use because it’s easier to apply.
• Hardy’s hand sanitiser spray – I got this from the Winter Wellness Pack and it has come so handy because of its size. I like to have this in my bag because you never know what germs you’re carrying with you.
• Elizabeth and James Nirvana White perfume rollerball – This is my favourite perfume because it smells absolutely amazing.

I also had my wallet which I forgot to show in the photos but that was a really important item. I decided to carry cash instead of relying on my card so I had an exact spending limit. I know it may not have been the best idea since you can easily lose cash but I’m always careful with my stuff and I didn’t have a problem. I also managed to stick within my spending limit which was great and I didn’t have to use my card at all. I think it’s so easy to spend while on holiday and if I wasn’t careful, I would have bought a lot of stuff and came back to NZ broke. Melbourne is great for shopping!

Another essential that wasn’t in my travel was my laptop. I made my partner have all the electronics in his backpack such as my Macbook Pro and Canon slr camera. He got the heavy essential stuff.

This is what I wore to the airport when we left NZ:

https://instagram.com/p/5VzxqeABS4/?taken-by=astylecollector

I had on Topshop Leigh Jeans, thrifted Country Road wool sweater and Warehouse heeled boots. I wore the boots because they have zips so they’re easy to take off and put back on. I take my shoes off on the plane because I can’t sit there for hours with my shoes and I didn’t want lace-ups or anything fussy. These boots are comfy even if they’re not flat.

Overall, we actually breezed through airport security and we had no issues on both flights. Thankfully we had a painless travel experience. I was nervous flying internationally after so long but going to Australia is a short trip anyway. I’m glad my partner and I survived our first overseas trip together and that everything went smoothly. I wish to travel overseas again and I hope it happens soon.

If you have any travel essentials or hacks that you’d like to share with me, please do. I’d love to know!

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