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Solo female traveler ✈️ Author of “Houseplants & Design” 🪴 Polar expedition guide ❄️ “one of the most powerful women in travel” - Condé Nast Traveler

12 years ago, I arrived in Wānaka in a little red

12 years ago, I arrived in Wānaka in a little red car with my whole life packed inside it. Back then, Wānaka was still a sleepy little mountain town where Instagram wasn’t really a thing, and no one cared about a tree in the lake. I cannot believe I’ve passed over a decade of living in Wanaka. When you start to remember in decades, you feel old.

Way back whent, I was blogging full-time and could live anywhere. After my lease ended in Wellington, I headed south. Preferring the chiller Wānaka to Queenstown, I ended up settling here. It was an easy place to fall in love with. It still is.

Like so many expats who settle here, I came for a little while and just never left. Well, I did move to Lyttelton (Christchurch) for a couple of years during COVID, you know, for love, but I’m trying to forget that. As soon as things went tits up, I ran straight back into the arms of all my friends in Wānaka. Home.

As I reflect back on these long years, my heart fills with emotion. While I’m unsure I’ll be here forever, Wānaka definitely buried under my skin and has become a big part of me. Here are ten of the many reasons I fell in love with Wānaka.

Excited to be back in the Mackenzie Country next w

Excited to be back in the Mackenzie Country next week on a few fun projects. Sheep dogs, merinos, big skies under big mountains and @holliewoodhouse 💙 what more could I ask for?

Non si male nunc et olim sic erit || If things are

Non si male nunc et olim sic erit || If things are bad now, they won’t always be - Horace

Adélie penguins are one of my faves. Bright eyed

Adélie penguins are one of my faves. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, they have so much charisma 🐧

It’s been a while since my last seaside writing

It’s been a while since my last seaside writing retreat on the West Coast 😎🌊 big waves, rainforest scents, and outdoor loo and some sandflies. Heaven for me!

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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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