Queenstown Life

Leanne Melody got hit hard by Covid and the lockdown. She went to bed for a month and then pulled herself out of the covers and said "what can I do now?". Learning to pivot in the best way she knew how; making people laugh and allowing others to shamelessly pursue their dreams. 

Mele is passionate about Pacifica communities and education and we discussed the current situation in the Pacific, how our young people can teach us so much and what we can do to lift up the voices of those communities. 

Sarah and I chatted about the current situation here in New Zealand and her business. How it was so important for her to make sure everyone was ok before they opened up again and if you don't build a community you can't survive. 

Melissa went to uni at 15 and lied about her age so that people didn't know, she said she needed to be guided and looked after and that didn't always happen. We chat about her babies being far away, what New Zealand needs to do right now to change and spending time on ourselves. 

Minya is currently documenting the words and photographs of the people who live near her during this time. Recording the narrative of people's experience of Covid 19 and lockdown. 

Kristy talks about the importance of rural womens stories, the juggle of mum life and the roles we get given in times of crisis. Whether we want them or not. 

Kaila and I shared a conversation about watching our countries of birth from afar during this time, the power of vulnerability and how to lean into it and the Stockdale Paradox. 

Carmen had just moved back to Austria after living in New Zealand when lockdown happened and all her work stopped. What do you do when you're locked in a small new place with a boyfriend who can't get home to his country (and you've only just met. 

we chatted about quitting your job just before lockdown, how bikes have made a come back and why won't cars just fuck off. 

Luce is one of a trio involved in Shit You Should Care About bringing you all the news you absolutely should be reading about from all around the globe. The current shit show and the future after the shit show. 

Nicky and I chatted about the collapse of many magazine's post Covid and the resurgence of new projects such as Capsule , a co-founded online platform telling stories about the women of New Zealand. 

We chatted about what to do when you're used to travelling and how do you work through the stuff in your head, Siân's path to resilience and her ability to be vulnerable in the business world.  Warning: suicide and sexual assault discussed 

We chatted about roles and juggling during Lockdown and how if you try and work from 3am all day you will eventually die, feeling like a pinball in your head and now and only now starting to process what the hell just happened. 

we chat about "controlling your own narrative", Ihumātao, her project Nuku Women and telling the stories of Indigenous women across Aotearoa. 

Kirsty sparked my enthusiasm for her writing when I read her reports on women and family violence in New Zealand. She writes with grace and conviction and we chatted about what she's learnt in the field, how she relaxes when she writes about some huge topics and peppermint tea. Why would you drink that Kirsty? 

The Period Place was started to end period poverty in NZ, to get people talking about periods and empower others to do so. We chatted about working from home, how we're doing boys a disservice by not bringing them into these conversations and the  Give a Little campaign. 

Lisa Messenger has tried where many have failed, has listened to her gut many times when people said she shouldn't and so has become a world leader in self awareness and messaging. She is CEO and founder of Collective Hub a multi faceted platform which connects to issues that matter. We chatted about listening to yourself, people wanting direction now more than ever and how we can connect and slow...

What the hell? Why did no-one tell us? What does it all mean? We cover off all of those questions around babies and then settle into what now? And how do we do what we need to instead of what our brains tell us we 'should'? 

What happens when you let go of what you 'think' you should be doing and really delve deeply into what you feel like doing? Especially after your body yells "Stop". I caught up with Kelly Thompson to look at what she has done to get well and really listen to her gut instinct. 

What happens when racing stops? How do you recharge your mental outlet? We chatted about reframing the time during lockdown and what's next for Hollie after a huge Greenland mission. 

How do we work and challenge a sector that lives and breathes perfectionism? What happens when we tell our story? And what even is our story? I loved chatting to Georgia about the future and what next? 

I first read Minna's Article in the New York Times about " mama rage " and was completely overwhelmed with the feeling of "yes!". So many mamas messaged me about their experience of the same thing. We chatted about her experience of this time living near San Francisco and mama guilt and her mom lists . 

We chatted about how we often don't feel 'enough' around other mamas, how we haven't processed what has been happening to us yet and if this current situation has seeped into her writing. 

We chatted about still pushing the messages about inequity in New Zealand and how we do that sensitively, looking after ourselves during this time whilst advocating for others and giggling. Alot. 

We chatted about burnout and having a break from social media , weddings and the future of blogging.