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A normal girl living her biggest, messiest dreams.

Get to know me

As seen on

These are my unfiltered adventures, musings and stories.
I talk about birds, coffee and overcoming personal fears too much.

100
ish countries
7
continents
14
odd years
Find me on or or I'll email you!

My recent adventures

A big life update: join me in the Arctic

Let me help your travel dreams come true by connecting you with an Arctic adventure

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Takaka: a golden getaway to Golden Bay

This remote corner of New Zealand packs a punch

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How the Heaphy Track become my new favorite Great Walk

Predatory snails, prehistoric-looking rare birds, and a flat track? Count me in!

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More adventures from the blog

My favorite stories

All the mean, nasty and godawful hateful things people say to me online

Guys, why do people troll on the internet? Why are blogger hate comments ...
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Solo and single in the most romantic place in the world

How glossy and polished is the travel industry today? Well, I suppose it's ...
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A broken robot: the face of a burnout

My whole life I’ve always been told that my face reads like an ...
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More inspirational stories

Where I screwed up big time

That one time I crashed a scooter in Bali

A week ago I found myself upside down in a ditch full of ...
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Getting Naked in Istanbul

**Warning this post borders on the TMI, but I thought it was too ...
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This might be my funniest story of all time

Guys, the funniest thing happened to me the other day. Now, I know I ...
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More confessions
World Map
Iceland
New Zealand Road Trip Part 1
New Zealand Road Trip Part 2
Australia
Spain
Canada
Finland

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Join me on Instagram @YoungAdventuress

youngadventuress

Solo female travel ✈️ Lonely Planet author & correspondent 🌎 Polar expedition guide ❄️ “one of the most powerful women in travel” Condé Nast Traveler

Liz Carlson☀️Young Adventuress
I first met @samneilltheprop a decade ago filming I first met @samneilltheprop a decade ago filming a NBC special in New Zealand. Just down from the road from me is his winery, @twopaddocks, one of my favorite places with some of the greatest people. It took me a bit but wanted to pay homage to Sam and his incredible legacy, because honestly? It just sucks so much to lose him; he was the most amazing human. Two Paddocks is a magical vineyard (with magical Pinot Noir) built up over a long time in the most beautiful part of Central Otago, a place I always felt welcomed even just to park up under a fruit tree or go for walks. Sam’s work in conservation is what always stood out to me the most. We used to yarn about saving birds and protecting the natural world. Even now he was fighting to prevent mining in our local region. Ugh this hurts. Sam, we miss you!
Winter in the Southern Alps is stunning, especiall Winter in the Southern Alps is stunning, especially on a bluebird day ☀️
There’s nothing quite so breathtaking as visitin There’s nothing quite so breathtaking as visiting the cliffs of Alkefjellet in Svalbard, home to 60,000 pairs of Brünnich’s guillemots in summertime. Just make sure not to look up with your mouth open 🤭
Just two tiny puffins having a very important meet Just two tiny puffins having a very important meeting 🥹
I just hit my moved-to-New-Zealand anniversary and I just hit my moved-to-New-Zealand anniversary and here is a little love letter to some of the landscapes I never get tired of 💚

After more than a decade of calling this place home, I’m still finding corners that completely stop me in my tracks. Some old favorites, some a little further off the beaten track, all places I’d go back to again and again.

Which one’s your favorite?
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Who is Young Adventuress?

Hi, I'm Liz, and I got my first taste for traveling when I was 16 years old. On my own, 12 years and 50 something countries later, my wanderlust has only grown and the list of countries I want to visit longer. After living in Spain for the past few years and returning home for a stint, I then quit my job and moved to New Zealand and I've been here ever since. Follow my misadventures as I wander, eat, and photograph my way around the world

Get Inspired

  • A big life update: join me in the Arctic
  • Solo female travel in your thirties? It’s so much better than you think
  • All eyes on New Zealand’s most spectacular aurora in decades
  • A year of learning to let go

Featured Stories

  • My big issue with fear and travel
  • The best hate I got in 2015
  • The Story of the Kākāpō + Giveaway
  • Why Experience Still Matters

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