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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.

60
ish countries
7
continents
10
odd years
Find me on or or I'll email you!

My recent adventures

Australia’s pink lakes are straight out of a fairytale

But seriously, how is this for real?

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Meet the chunky, tipsy kererū: New Zealand’s native wood pigeon

The kererū has been known to drunkenly fall out of trees after eating fermented berries

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Walter Peak is Queenstown’s best day trip

From epic food to smart sheepdogs to powerful conservation, the farm has it all

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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
Roads through Iceland
Iceland
New Zealand Road Trip Part 1
New Zealand Road Trip Part 2
Australia
Spain
Canada
Finland

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Mother of plants @node.nz and author of “Houseplants & Design” 🪴 Friend of kākāpō, the girl with the whales 🐳 travel to Antarctica with me ⬇️

Liz Carlson☀️Young Adventuress
Tarapuruhi Bushy Park Homestead and Wildlife Sanct Tarapuruhi Bushy Park Homestead and Wildlife Sanctuary is a 100-hectare native forest sanctuary in Whanganui. A predator-free space, it’s consideres to be one of the best success stories of regeneration. Stumbling on this hidden gem while up north was such an amazing surprise! And it’s free to visit too! . There are heaps of trails throughout the forest and wetlands area and a huge variety of bird life and species of trees. While there I saw so many bellbirds/kōmako, kererū, tīeke/saddlebacks, hihi/stitchbirds, and kingfishers/kotare, tūī, and of course, all the curious little robins. . Don’t miss Ratanui, the biggest northern rata tree clocking in at 43 meters tall and 11 meters wide, believed to be between 500 and 1000 years old. It is reputed to be the largest Rata tree in the world. . The walking tracks take you through virgin lowland forest of tree species including mahoe, mamaku, pukatea, rata and rimu along with colonies of fern and mosses. Definitely give yourself some time to hang out here while in @discoverwhanganuinz
Not long now before our mountain of gold turns int Not long now before our mountain of gold turns into a mountain of snow 😎 @cardronanz
What are they talking about? Boys? Krill? The weat What are they talking about? Boys? Krill? The weather? 🐧 what goes through the mind of a gentoo penguin? I’m so curious 🤣
Somewhat rare and in decline, the kererū is our n Somewhat rare and in decline, the kererū is our native wood pigeon. A large bird with iridescent green feathers, a white body, red eyes and feet, with some bronze and purple thrown in, kererū are a well-known and beloved bird here. . They can get really fat, combined with their tiny heads and beautiful coloring making them pretty cute, much cuter than your standard city pigeons or, from where I grew up, rats of the skies. Kererū are very meme-able. In fact, they're so heavy you often hear them easily in the forest. Kinda clumsy, when they take off, their wings beat very noisily, making a distinctive whoosh-whoosh sound. I often hear them before I see them. . But what it's most famous for? Kererū are known to get drunk on fermented berries and fall out of trees. Ah, a bird after my own heart. Bird of the Year champions in 2018, kiwis really identified with these guys voting them to the top. . Kererū occupy a unique space in New Zealand ecology. They're not so rare that you'll never see them. But you won't see them enough to think they're common - unless you live in an extra special place. For example, I've never seen one in Wanaka, but I have seen them on the fringes of nearby Mt. Aspiring National Park. I’m no expert, but if I had to guess, that's because of the massive development here with virtually no native bush around the town combined with the fact that there are way too many cats here. . Kererū are important seed dispersers as they’re one of only two birds here that are big enough to swallow large fruit, dispersing the seeds over long distances. The disappearance of these birds could be a disaster for the regeneration of our native forests @zedencider #birdnerd
Transport emissions are the fastest growing source Transport emissions are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand and account for 20% of all the emissions we produce. Nearly 70% of all transport CO2 emissions are from cars, SUVs, utes, vans and light trucks. That’s a lot. . As the years tick by I can’t help but become more and more invested in focusing on stories of changemakers, people and businesses doing good. Homegrown on high country farms, @ubcobikes was founded in New Zealand on the premise of a rugged all-wheel-drive electric utility bike. No fuel, no noise, no clutch, no gears and no emissions. And it gets 120km per charge. I mean come on, how great is that? . I can remember seeing posties delivering the mail on an unusual looking bike. When I came across UBCO online I made the connection. I sold my little red scooter before moving back to Hawea, and while I’m not quite ready to have an electric car, a hardy adventure bike is actually perfect for me, especially out of town from Wanaka. Nearly every afternoon this summer I took her on a spin down to the lake for my daily swim and read in the sunshine sesh. Now I’m venturing further afield and playing with her off-road too. You guys know how much I miss my old 4WD. . Now I’m planning on how I can use my bike to get out deeper in the wild here. Where should I take her next?
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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

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