About Tamar
Addicted to adventures
A former michelin-star chef and investigative psychologist with the Dutch National Police, Tamar (1986) traded her succefull, home-based life for one of uncertainty and adventure. She retired at 28, built a bicycle and left Holland. Two years she cycled around the world, sleeping in her tent and living off the land. She got addicted to adventures as they became more extreme and never-ending. Amongst many, she travelled Mongolia with her own horse, camel and dog (1600 km), Jordan with her donkey (650 km), lived of hunting and gathering under the glaciers of New-Zealand (3 months), hiked Japan, learned from the Maasai in Kenya and native tribes in Canada and spent two long winters amazing herself over the Northern Lights from her tent in Swedish Lapland. She loves the unconventional life of a modern nomad, especially when there is remote wilderness, extreme adventure, animals and ancient cultures involved. They all teach her valuable life lessons that she is more than happy to share. Articles have been written, documentaries shot, lectures given and tours organized. While continuing to explore the world, she published books and runs a foundation in Mongolia.
Dutch-born Tamar Valkenier gave up a promising career in 2015. Graduating cum laude in both criminology and psychology, she worked as an investigative psychologist with the Dutch National Police. Although she loved her dream job, she felt drawn to a life beyond the familiar horizon.
She built her own bicycle and set off toward Istanbul. What began as a single journey unfolded into years of continuous adventure: living with jungle tribes, hitchhiking through Panama, rock climbing in Laos, living off the land in Australia and spending extended time with the eagle hunters of Mongolia.
She bought a horse, a camel and got a dog and walked the remote Altai Mountains for 4 months, learning the ancient art of eagle hunting.
“I live well below the poverty line, but I feel incredibly rich. Rich in friends, experiences, memories, dreams and love.”
After cycling 12,000 kilometres around the world and riding horses for 1600 kilometer through Mongolia, Tamar set off in December 2018 with Miriam Lancewood (author of Woman in the Wilderness) on an Epic Female Expedition in New Zealand.
For almost three months, the two travelled through remote backcountry with heavy backpacks and rifles, surviving on hunting and gathering edible plants. They crossed eight mountain passes, far from trails and tracks, and immersed themselves in the heart of the wilderness.
A Canadian film crew, as well as Dutch presenter Floortje Dessing, documented their final week. See Media page.
Tamar continued to move from one adventure to the next. In 2019 alone she travelled through New Zealand, crossed Jordan, cycled 1,000 km through Europe on a tandem bike, spent two additional months riding horses across Mongolia, hiked the Tokai Nature Trail in Japan, went rock climbing in Vietnam, trekked in the Himalayas, began writing her book, and trained Jiu Jitsu in Australia. She ended the year on a bush expedition with the Maasai in Kenya, where she celebrated her 33rd birthday with an unsupported ascent of Mount Kenya.
Since then, life has continued in much the same way. For over a decade, she has been travelling and exploring fulltime, including ice-skating thousands of kilometres across remote lakes, rivers, and sea ice; skiing for months through Lapland; and hiking over 1,000 km across Iceland, where she expanded her skills in ice climbing and glacier travel.
Future plans? Those tend to change by the day.
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