#8

 

​September 4th, 2024

Wānaka, New Zealand

Chevaun

 

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​​I met Chevaun on a sunny Wednesday afternoon, just as the golden light was starting to fade. Her home, tucked away on a calm road, immediately felt welcoming. Once inside, I noticed the soft colors and vibrant greens of her beautifully decorated house, with a spacious kitchen bathed in the warm light of the setting sun. Chevaun greeted me with a candid, no-nonsense attitude: “I’ve got my shit sorted out; I’m forty now!”. Chevaun is known for her straightforward honesty, expressing the truth without embellishment - my favorite kind of people. Her striking green eyes and tattoos revealed a strong, independent spirit with a tender heart. Her fridge was decorated with photos of a young woman. “That’s my daughter, Bella. We’re best friends,” she shared, her love for Bella totally written all over her face. As we settled around her kitchen table, our conversation began.

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Chevaun’s journey is truly inspiring. Originally from the Gold Coast in Australia, she is deeply connected to the ocean, having lived by the beach and been an avid swimmer. She first arrived in Wānaka in 2003 and was immediately captivated by its breathtaking beauty. “Stunning, gobsmacking,” she described her initial impression. What started as a holiday turned into a life-changing experience when she met a local, became pregnant, and settled in Wānaka. They spent the first seven years of their relationship in central Wānaka, where she loved every moment of it. Unfortunately, the relationship eventually ended, leaving Chevaun to navigate single motherhood in Wānaka.

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Adjusting to life in this small town from the bustling Gold Coast involved some challenges. Chevaun amusingly recalls her frustration at not being able to find her favorite brand of moisturizer and the cultural shift required: she had to temper her typically outspoken Aussie style to fit in with the more reserved Kiwi style.

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Chevaun loves the people of Wānaka and appreciates how diverse the town is, with individuals from all sorts of backgrounds.  “By getting pregnant young, I might have missed out on the world, but the world came to me”, she says. She has a way of coming up with beautiful quotes and I quickly pen this one down on my paper. Chevaun also really likes how tight-knit the Wānaka community is, where casual chats often turn into lasting friendships: “You meet someone at Kai, and a week later, you meet them again and the conversation picks up effortlessly,” she explains.

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For fifteen years, she worked at the café Relishes, eventually becoming the general manager while balancing single motherhood. Her supportive colleagues allowed her to bring her toddler to work and have since become her closest friends. She then transitioned to organizing events and music scenes before returning to university to pursue a career as a social worker, and she’s now nearly a registered social worker. She began volunteering at the youth center, which eventually led to her current job that she really enjoys. “In Wānaka, It’s not what you know, but who you know”, she says. 

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The natural beauty of Wānaka provides her a sense of peace, lifting her anxieties and leaving her in awe since day one. Every single day, I find myself thinking:  ‘F*ck, this place is beautiful”, she says with a chuckle. To unwind from her social work, she hikes up Mount Iron three times a week: “Mount Iron is my safe space,” she says, reflecting her deep connection with nature.   

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As we concluded the photoshoot, Chevaun thanked me with a genuine smile: “Thank you, Bianca. I surprisingly enjoyed this very much.”

 

I left with a deep sense of gratitude, having had the opportunity to photograph and learn from another remarkable individual with a truly inspiring story.

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