Let’s start this off with a riddle: what country has a deep and intricate history, offers go kart racing in the streets, and is a wonderland for video game and fashion lovers? If you guessed Japan, you’d be right! And if any of the above is of interest to you, you’ve got something in common with Austin, Saxon, and Griffin.
Long time friends (and, bonus, Saxon and Griffin are brothers!) and endlessly passionate and curious travellers, this Aussie trio recently travelled to Japan together with Contiki, and it’s safe to say they had the time of their lives. Several things unite them, including the fact that all three sit happily on the autism spectrum, and they have a love for Nintendo.
Back home from their trip, but still buzzing from it, I caught up with Austin, Saxon, and Griffin to talk about their experience with Contiki, their thoughts on Japan, and why they love travel as a whole.
Hi guys! Can you tell me how often you’ve all travelled before? Is Japan the furthest from home you’ve been so far?
“We have travelled five or six times before,” says Saxon, speaking for himself and his brother Griffin. “The furthest we’ve been from home is London, and we travelled there with high school.” They’ve also been to the US, Singapore, and New Caledonia.
“I’ve travelled quite a lot,” says Austin. “I was in London too with Saxon and Griffin, but I’ve been to 15 countries. The furthest from home was Sweden, and my next trip is to Vietnam.”
What is travel like for you? Are there any apprehensions you might have?
“I love travelling so much, it’s all about life and experiences,” says Austin, which Saxon mirrors. “Travelling is fun and exciting and smooth. The only thing that I find makes me a little bit anxious sometimes is when the air pressure changes,” he explains, motioning to the hearing aids in his ears, “but as I travel more and get on more flights, it’s getting easier to deal with.”
Similarly, flying isn’t Griffin’s favourite part of the journey. “Sometimes I get travel sick from turbulence,” adds Griffin – which, I mean, don’t we all? “But it’s nothing flying first class can’t fix!” He adds as a joke – which is also definitely true.
“I love to travel because I want to visit so many different, interesting places around the world. I wanted to meet people. I want to experience culture. I want to try all sorts of different food. And I’m also curious about other religions, too,” adds Austin, encompassing all the reasons travel is that big beautiful and eye-opening thing we all love.
How did you guys first hear about Contiki? Had you ever been on a Contiki trip before this one?
The Contiki legacy is strong in Australia and New Zealand, so it’s no surprise that for Saxon and Griffin they heard about it online and through friends. Specifically Austin. But Austin had a more personal connection to Contiki.
“I heard about the trips from my mum. She travelled with Contiki when she was younger, around my age, and she thought that with the group aspect and all the experiences on offer, I would like Contiki trips too. I told Saxon and Griffin, and that’s how we all went.”
This was the first Contiki trip for all three friends!
What about Contiki, and group travel, specifically appealed to you? Did you have any worries about it beforehand?
Saxon speaks for all three: “We didn’t have any worries before travelling, and if there were any, the excitement of everything just overpowered it all and the anticipation enhanced the overall experience.”
“I was really looking forward to the group travel aspect because I love meeting people from other countries and getting to know them,” adds Austin, which Griffin agrees with. “Social travel is great for meeting new people and experiencing adventures with new and old friends,” Griffin says.
“Exploring Japan with Griffin and Austin was what I was most excited about, and Contiki was the perfect way to do that.”
What were your expectations of the trip and what were your expectations of Japan? Did they live up to your expectations?
“Yes, 100% yes,” says Griffin. “I got to see everything I wanted and more, like Osaka and Kyoto, all the cool retro shops, and the interesting culture – like seeing real kimonos. We got to visit Tokyo’s Disneyland, Universal, and Nintendo World as well, which was beyond awesome.”
“I didn’t have many expectations to be fair,” adds Saxon. “I was just really excited to be in Japan. I wanted to see all the major spots, which we did, but we also explored so much more than just that. For example, I love music, and there were so many cool record shops we got to visit and I could share my favourite vinyls with my friends.”
Austin has a similar opinion. “I loved everything about Japan. I expected to see so much and I even did things that I didn’t even know existed. Everything exceeded my expectations, it was all amazing and I had so much fun. I especially liked visiting Hiroshima because of the interesting historical and cultural side of it, where I got to expand my knowledge as well.”
An integral part of Contiki trips is having a Trip Manager. What was that like?
Austin, Griffin, and Saxon’s Trip Manager for the Japan Unrivalled trip was Danielle. And overall, the consensus is that Danielle was top notch!
“Danielle was outstanding,” says Saxon; a statement that Austin agrees with by echoing “She was awesome. She knew everything and told us so many fun facts along the trip, and made sure to help us and all the travellers every step of the way.”
“I think having a Trip Manager, especially one like Danielle, really enhanced the trip because of her knowledge. She was also just so happy and inspiring, which we really appreciated,” says Griffin.
What was it like getting to travel to Japan together with your closest friends?
“It was really great! Travelling with friends instead of my family was so much fun because I got to feel more independent. Travel is amazing and the world is such a big place, and I’m just happy to be able to see it with my friends” says Austin.
“Yeah, I liked the independence of it and being able to do stuff with my friends but also do some things alone, like Austin,” adds Griffin, and Saxon couldn’t agree more. “Having the opportunity to explore together is incredible.”
What are some common misconceptions about neurodivergence, namely autism, that you’d like to counter?
“That we need someone to watch over us all the time and to help us do things. We don’t. There are people with mental and physical disabilities that can do anything on their own – including travel,” say Saxon and Griffin.
“Just because we have autism doesn’t mean we can’t do things on our own. We can, and we want to be just like everyone else our age and have the freedom to travel and hang out with friends,” adds Austin.
Would you recommend social travel to other neurodivergent travellers?
Easy answer, it was unanimous amongst the boys. “Absolutely! And even if you’re not neurodivergent, you’ll have a blast.”
