I FIND it’s hard to plan a holiday. I’m told, “You’ve got next weekend off”, and I have to book something very last- minute. I’ve just been to Italy with two of my girlfriends, and we knew only half a week before that we could go. The first night, we went to Capri, then we wanted something different, so we decided to go to Ischia. I like to be flexible because usually my life is so planned out for me.

The only break I have that’s regular is at Christmas, when I go to New Zealand for three weeks to a month. Normally we’ll stay with family, then I’ll rent a house somewhere else for New Year. Every time you go round a curve in the road, you think, this is heaven, and you want to stay there. Then you go round another curve and you see something completely different, another kind of heaven.

My family lives on the North Island, in Lynfield, Auckland. On my last visit, I went up north to Cape Reinga, where the waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet. It’s quite dramatic. There’s a beach called Ninety Mile Beach, which, funnily enough, is almost 90 miles long. We hired quad bikes and put the throttle down over the sand dunes, driving for three hours nonstop. It was the most amazing experience.

You don’t really want to go to the gym in NZ — you can do so many things outside, such as wakeboarding or surfing. I had my first surfing lesson this year. It’s so interesting how things work in New Zealand — my grandad was talking to his neighbour, who’s a policeman but likes to surf in the morning. My grandad said: “He’ll take you out tomorrow at 5am.” I was like, “Erm, okay.” It was freezing. I thought I would be knocked over by the waves, but I did manage to stand up.

I went to Rio de Janeiro to film the American video for my single These Words. After the shoot, I took some time off and went to Sitio do Lobo with three friends. It’s about two hours from Rio, with incredibly blue water. Apparently, Gisele Bundchen loves to go there. We found a tiny place, about 20 shacks, but they served this incredible drink, sweet milk and lime whipped together. We found a straw roof, took our cushions out there and watched DVDs at night. We ended up falling asleep to the sound of the waves.

When I travel on my own, I realise how much is done for me. On tour, people help you carry your bags and your keys — I forget my room number because I stay in a different hotel every night. I have to get used to travelling on my own again. You’re walking in the airport and suddenly you have to check the signs and make sure you don’t get on the wrong plane. I’ve done that — I was going to Sweden and realised everybody on the plane was speaking French. The plane was going to Belgium. Everyone was watching as I walked off. It was hilarious.

I spend so much time at airports, they’re like my living room. But they can be annoying. It’s like going to a hospital — you just sit and wait.

I remember being asked by some guy on a plane if I’d joined the mile-high club. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I realised it was probably something to do with sex, but I thought it was a whole aircraft where everyone was just . . . at it. Like a strip club on an aircraft.

I was quite sad when I found out what it is.

My idea was much better. And, no, I’m not a member.

My earliest holiday memory is a round trip to New Zealand when we stopped off in Hawaii. We went snorkelling and saw the most amazing-coloured fish. I was about 10. Later, I watched Finding Nemo and thought, it’s exactly like that.

When I’m travelling I like to learn a new skill. When I was in Brazil, it was the samba season — just before their carnival. We went to a huge stadium packed with people playing drums and dancing. It started to rain and we were just there dancing, getting wet. Those are the moments that keep you going when work’s a bit of a slog. I’m not sure how good my samba is, though. I’d probably had a bit to drink!

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