Trev here. Now I know that my life may seem all peachy rose-coloured glass-shaped, but the truth is, I gotta pull a lot of strings behind the scenes to make this puppy dance. Now booking over peak periods is a frustration we know all about, so I though I’d share some of my nifty tricks with you.

1.    When you call the kulula call centre, tell them that you are phoning from the future, and that an asteroid has hit planet earth and you are using the last of the airtime that exists. Explain that if you do not get a seat on your desired flight, you will miss your graduation at NASA, and will be unable to save the world from the asteroid since you will not have obtained your degree. This one almost always works.

2.    Type your name on the booking form as The President Of The World. You’d be surprised at how many people don’t question it, and will merely point out that ‘they did not know the world had a president – how fascinating!’

3.    Hum the theme song to Psycho. Really loudly. If the operator asks you to hum a little softer (because it’s ‘distracting’) be sure to mention where the song is from, a la “Oh you want me to stop humming the theme song to Psycho? Pity that’s my favourite movie. I just think Norman Bates is so misunderstood.” With this one, you need an operator under the age of 40 if they are to get the movie reference, so use it at your discretion.

I know what you’re thinking – some of these suggestions seem to obvious now that I mention them! But that, my bloggalicious backpacking companions, is the sign of a brilliant idea. You give these a spin for their money and you let me know how it runs out.