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Liz

Hi, I'm Liz, and I got my first taste for traveling when I was 16 years old. On my own, 10 years and 50 something countries later, my wanderlust has only grown and the list of countries I want to visit longer.

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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

Love those clean Antarctic lines 💙

Love those clean Antarctic lines 💙

After nearly 100 years, kiwi pukupuku (the little

After nearly 100 years, kiwi pukupuku (the little spotted kiwi 🥝🐦) are making a comeback in Nelson/Whakatū! Around 40 of these cuties are moving into @brooksanctuary from their Kāpiti Island digs—making history as the first of their kind to return to the South Island mainland. This moment? 20 years in the making. Fueled by thousands of hours from legends (aka volunteers + staff) who dreamed of kiwi footsteps in the forest once again 💚 I feel so honored to be part of their return!

Autumn in Central Otago 🍂🍁 there’s nothing

Autumn in Central Otago 🍂🍁 there’s nothing better. I took this shot from a scenic helicopter flight around Cromwell years ago. My recent Cromwell helicopter flight couldn’t have been more different. It’s been almost two weeks since I was emergency medivaced to Dunedin hospital at 1am from Cromwell - no photos from that trip lol. I was recovering from a third nose surgery when I hemorrhaged badly a week afterwards at home, nearly 4 hours from the closest hospital (downside of living in rural paradise eh?) An experience that will haunt me for a while, I’m so grateful for my friends and the people who looked after me, especially @otagosouthlandrescuehelicopter and @stjohnnz. This care was free. These organizations are only partly funded by the government and rely on generous donations to care for us, especially folks like me who live rurally and far from hospitals. Thank you to all the rescue teams, EMTs, nurses and doctors who put in the hard yards. I will remember and I know where my next donations will be going. Tēnā koutou ❤️

I first wrote this as a blog post over 12 years ag

I first wrote this as a blog post over 12 years ago, and it went massively viral. In fact, I still get a ton of traffic from it. When I first started traveling solo in 2007, it was still a bit unusual. I got a lot of grief for it for years, with people constantly telling me what to feel from being afraid to the fact that I must be crazy. Well, they were wrong. Solo female travel has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my life. I wouldn’t change a thing.
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I’m so so happy to see it become more common these days. These are the rules I’ve lived and traveled by. This is the solo female traveler’s manifesto ❤️

Albatross family vibes on the Falkland Islands/Mal

Albatross family vibes on the Falkland Islands/Malvinas 💙 black-browed albatross are one of the most common albatross we see on our Antarctic voyages at sea. But it’s really special to visit their colonies on the islands and see the chicks up close and personal. So floofy, so fat, so cute! Forever shrieking “feed 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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