Doctors told me I would never be able to fly again after skull surgery, so I spent £5,000 traveling from Britain to New Zealand on cruise ships and trains – it took almost two months, but it was worth it
A yoga teacher who was warned by doctors never to fly again refused to give up her dreams of traveling – so she spent £5,000 and two months on boats to get all the way to New Zealand.
Bethany Hearn, from Colchester, Essex, was determined to realize her dream of emigrating across the world, despite warnings from doctors about the risks of fleeing after skull surgery.
The 23-year-old underwent surgery in 2021 to remove an abnormal collection of skin cells deep in her ear – known as cholesteatoma.
The operation involved removing part of Bethany’s skull and reconstructing her eardrum with a cartilage graft.
However, a year after the operation, Bethany suffered excruciating pain during a flight to Greece after the pressure on the plane caused the graft to sink into her eardrum.
Bethany Hearn spent £5,000 on ships and trains to New Zealand after doctors told her she couldn’t fly
Medics then advised the yoga and pilates teacher to avoid all air travel from then on to avoid further complications.
But Bethany was still determined to fulfill her desire to emigrate to New Zealand, and began researching ways to reach her destination via ferries.
She said: ‘I was told I couldn’t fly anymore because it was too risky. The doctor said the pressure was not good for my head. He said: no more flying.
‘He said my graft would actually collapse even further and there was a risk of my eardrum bursting.
‘But I really wanted to go back to New Zealand. I sat down and thought, “I really don’t want this to stop me from traveling.”
“When I was told I couldn’t fly, I just didn’t want my diagnosis to define me. I just thought: “Why can’t I still travel?”
“I joked to one of my friends that I might get a boat and it went from there. I thought: why not? There has to be a way. Back in the day, before there were airplanes, people still went.”
Bethany’s first ferry ride on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 departed from Southampton to New York on September 15, 2022.
The journey from Southampton to Auckland took almost two months. In the photo: Bethany’s boat trip
She said being a solo female traveler on a cruise (pictured) came with its own complications, including a strict dress code
The 23-year-old underwent surgery to remove an abnormal collection of skin cells deep in her ear, known as cholesteatoma.
The operation involved removing part of Bethany’s skull and reconstructing her eardrum with a cartilage graft.
She boarded a three-day train from New York to LA and then embarked on a Princess Cruise from LA, stopping in Hawaii, Fiji and French Polynesia along the way, before finally arriving in New Zealand on October 27.
The trip took almost two months and cost Bethany around £5,000, but she plans to do it all over again in June this year for an epic trip back to Britain after spending the past 16 months in Auckland, New Zealand lived.
Bethany said she was the youngest person on board her first cruise by ’50 years’ – with passengers unaware of what the backpacker was doing on board the ship.
As a solo female traveler, she also faced a series of problems, including men calling her room on the cruise and others finding her social media profiles.
She continued, “The first part of the trip was actually quite lonely. I was the youngest passenger by about 50 years. The cruise was really cool though: I took a lot of gym classes and the entertainment was fun.
‘I got quite a bit of hostility. I think people were confused about what I was doing on the ship. I didn’t have any nice clothes, I only had my backpack. But I did meet two very nice solo travelers.’
After a three-day cross-country train journey and another Pacific cruise, Bethany arrived in New Zealand with $40 to her name.
There she worked in babysitting and catering jobs before becoming a yoga and pilates teacher.
Bethany’s total journey via America was over 19,000 miles via a combination of trains and ferries
Bethany currently works as a yoga and pilates teacher in Auckland
She was forced to forge a more unusual and expensive route to New Zealand as she was determined not to give up on her dream
Bethany’s first ferry ride on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 departed from Southampton to New York on September 15, 2022
Bethany said: ‘I saved £6,500 to come to New Zealand and ended up with $40 to my name. I came here and started working straight away.’
Bethany said her unconventional way of traveling the world helped her ‘define who she is’ – and plans to make the same mammoth journey home next month.
Bethany said: ‘I really underestimated myself. You realize that life is short, the world is huge. I look back and think, “Thank God I got on that ship.”
‘It was hard to do it alone, but it really shaped who I am.
‘It’s such a cool way to explore the world and so much fun. Cost is the only thing to consider, but it was much more reasonable than initially expected.”
A one-way flight from London to Auckland, New Zealand ranges from £400 to £800, and takes a minimum of 24 hours, including at least one stopover.