He Tangata: Kelly McLeod

Elisabeth Easther talks to Tourism West Coast’s marketing manager

I’m from Hokitika, born and bred, and that’s a big part of who I am. Lots of Coasters like to say how many generations back they go, but I lose track around four. At a certain age, I thought I wanted to be somewhere bigger, but going away and coming back helps you appreciate where you’re from. When I was 16, I signed myself up for Spirit of Adventure, so I had to travel to Auckland. I’d never been on a plane before and I had no idea how fast a plane went when it took off. I remember having this huge smile on my face, and seeing the world from above, I realised just how small my town was but that what surrounded it was stunning. The Spirit of Adventure was fantastic, stepping out of everyday life and taking a good look at where you’re headed and what you want. I went straight from high school to Otago and did three years studying marketing management and design studies. Graduating before my 21st birthday, I returned to Hokitika and worked at the newspaper. I had a fascination with Argentina’s flag and I hung it in my office next to a quote about being 22 and having to travel, even if you had to sleep on floors to do it. So I started saving. Flying into Buenos Aires, I travelled solo around Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Chile. One highlight was La Paz in Bolivia. I hated my first week there, and if I’d flown straight there, my culture shock would’ve been so much I’d have come straight home. Llama foetuses hanging in doorways at the Witches’ Market, instead of taxis there’d be a man leaning out of a van with a megaphone, squeezing people in till the vehicle looks like it’s going to pop. It was chaotic and loud with non-stop protests and gun shooting. Firing shots is always part of protests there. But after going to La Pampa, an area in