Style: November 04, 2022

22 Style | Feature
Putting down roots
Living in the South Island for nearly a decade has given US-born social
media influencer and passionate nature lover Liz Carlson – founder of one of the biggest
and most widely read independent travel blogs in the world – a fresh perspective,
a sense of belonging… and an obsession with houseplants.
Interview Josie Steenhart Photos Liz Carlson
How did you find your way to New
Zealand, and what has kept you here?
After university, I lived in Spain teaching
English for a few years, and that’s
when I started my travel blog Young
Adventuress. I couldn’t keep getting visas
to stay and I’d always wanted to come
to New Zealand. It was right around
the time when I was ready to quit my
last “real” job and blog full-time; once
I got to New Zealand, I was the first
sort of professional travel influencer, and
I was able to craft a really cool career
for myself.
Almost as soon as I landed, I knew
this was where I belonged. I’m originally
from a small town in the Blue Ridge
Mountains in rural Virginia, on the east
coast of the States. I grew up hanging
out at shopping malls, nature wasn’t as
accessible as it is here.
I always felt like such a black sheep
there that I never fit in or belonged. My
peers were having kids while I was still
in high school while I ripped out pages
of National Geographic and taped them
to my bedroom walls, dreaming of
seeing the world.
Here in New Zealand, I feel seen; I’m
surrounded by people just like me, that
there is space for creative thinking and
that you work to live the lifestyle you
want instead of living to work, which
is what it’s like where I’m from. I stuck
around for many obvious reasons, the
lifestyle, the nature, and wildlife, and the
amazing community here.
But there are other things too. It
feels really good to live in a place where
I don’t have to ask my co-workers to
walk me to my car at night or worry
about gun violence or gangs. I was born
in the murder capital of America. If I
get injured, I don’t have to panic about
whether or not I can afford to go to the
hospital. The safety net we have here is
really incredible when you compare it to
places like the US.
You’ve lived in both Wānaka and
Lyttelton, what’s special about those
places?
Wānaka is the kind of place that
gets under your skin and stays for a
while. First off, it couldn’t be more
picturesque, with the clear blue lake
surrounded by big mountains. But what
I find really special about Wānaka is
that it’s a bit of a magnet for interesting
people. Lots of pretty incredible people
call Wānaka home, and many others
often pass through. And we’re all
connected by a love of nature.
I ended up in Lyttelton because I was
living with my partner at the time, but
it’s another pretty special place. The
original port of the South Island, you
access Lyttelton through the tunnel
under the Port Hills.
Because of this tunnel, people in
Christchurch seem to think Lyttelton is
really far away, but in reality, it’s only 15
minutes from the CBD. Because of this,
it feels like you’re going away on holiday,
and when you pop out of the tunnel on
the other side in Lyttelton, you’re in a
completely different place.
Surrounded by low mountains, the
hills are decorated with historic homes
overlooking the blue waters of the
port. Lyttelton is so beautiful and super
quirky, way more quirky than Wānaka.
How did your obsession with
houseplants come about?
My obsession with houseplants started
by total accident. Pre-Covid I had a very
hectic work life, travelling on over 100
flights per year around the world as
part of my job as a travel influencer.
Though I didn’t realise it at the time,
when I was home in New Zealand,
I needed a hobby that was totally offline
– no phones, no screens, and no pings.
I used to buy myself fresh flowers to
decorate my little flat, and then one day,
I picked up a blooming orchid. Then a
peace lily. And then a monstera. And it
was all downhill from there.
During the lockdowns, I was living
in Lyttelton, and I lost almost all of
my travel work indefinitely. Instead
of panicking, I took advantage of the
opportunity to try something different.
I had been growing and selling houseplant
cuttings for a few months when I
realised that we were totally getting
the short end of the stick on the South
Island when it came to houseplants.
All of the new and best and biggest
stuff went to plant shops all over the
North Island, and we would get the
leftovers, though, since we’ve had some
pretty epic nurseries grow right here in
Christchurch. Also, there weren’t any
design-focused houseplant shops. Just
big garden centres that lacked intimacy
and character.
When I had the chance to bring some
new plants down from the North Island