By Floris Loeff, guest writer Story Terrace
Longing for the unknown
Dutch actress and founder of getitdone.org Hanna Verboom (31) was born in Belgium, raised in Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Sudan) and studied in the United States. She has settled down in Amsterdam, but still leaves no opportunity to travel the world. 
Kenya
Hanna’s first true holiday memory is a minor car accident with 
her parents in the Masaï Mara national park, Kenya. ‘We were watching two proud lionesses when we hit an old tree trunk. A wild boar escaped from under the trunk and was grabbed by the two cats. I must have been four years old and the wild boar was screaming very loudly. I remember a lot of other animals like zebras en giraffe coming to watch the cruel scene unfold. From that moment I have played a lot of ‘lion and boar’ games, where my father always was the boar.’
‘Africa and especially Kenya and Namibia are very precious places for me’, tells Hanna with sparkling eyes. ‘Its people, the rhythm, the soil, it all means a lot to me. As a kid I travelled through the whole of Kenya. Being woken up in the middle of the night by a Masaï guarding our tent to see elephants and lions walking by has ignited my never ending taste for adventure.’
‘We often took the old night train from Nairobi to coastal town Mombasa. When I folded open my cracking bed, the voyage had started. I developed a huge love for travelling, broadening my horizon.’
Music
Hanna’s favourite music stems from her holidays in Africa. ‘My dad only had some cassettes of Bob Dylan and Dire Straits and he played them over and over again. I still listen to this music quite often. And to Graceland by Paul Simon of course, which was recorded in South Africa. But we didn’t listened to music a lot. We camped outside and lived in nature. When it got dark we just went to bed.’
Travelling alone
When Hanna was 15 years old – by then the family Verboom has moved to the Netherlands- she went on a holiday to Tunisia with a friend from school. ‘His grandmother lived there, my friend was from Tunisian origin, and I remember it was very exciting to be in a completely different culture again. That’s where I really got the hang of travelling.’
In the next years Hanna made travels to Argentina and Costa Rica by herself, culminating in a one year around-the-world trip after finishing her high school.
‘I can really enjoy sitting in a bus, looking out of the window and seeing a whole country pass by. Meeting new people and hearing their stories, negotiating the price of transport, the different scents, it’s one big adventure and that makes me feel alive.’
Another precious memory is that of the stunning view from the top of a volcano in Lombok, Indonesia. ‘Looking down at 6 in the morning seeing the sun rise and the shadow of the volcano in the sea, makes one feel quite humble and in awe of the glory of nature.’
‘Of course there is also a downside to travelling alone’, tells Hanna with a serious face. ‘Sometimes you are fragile. I was in a bar somewhere in Guatemala ready to celebrate New Year’s Eve when I heard gunfire and people screaming. A shoot out started in the club opposite the road. All of a sudden you realise how far you are from home.’
‘On that around-the-world trip, I learned, besides playing cards really well, that you always take yourself on a trip. Wherever you go, you can’t hide from yourself. But whatever happens, you have to move on and that’s what I like about travelling. Just keep moving. Something new and beautiful is around the corner.’
The unknown
‘There is so much to see on this planet’, says Hanna. ‘I am intrigued 
by nature and different cultures. Once I board that plane, shut off my phone, that feeling of wonderment comes up. That’s indescribable. I would love to see more of Asia; Russia, Mongolia, China and Japan. I haven’t travelled that part of the world yet. The Galapagos Islands and Congo are also on my list.’
‘I am working hard on a new social business in Amsterdam and I need my holidays to be unexpected and free. I once took a holiday to Cuba with a friend. We had booked an all-inclusive hotel. I literally ran away after one day: it was all too organized. But not after we splurged ourselves on the dinner buffet,’ adds Hanna laughing. ‘I long for the big unknown.’
Soon she will visit Singapore and Malaysia. ‘And maybe I can add Papua New Guinea to that journey,’ Hanna chuckles. ‘And I will go to Namibia again, I am trying to set up a lodge there. That’s is a lifelong dream that might become true sooner than I thought.’
About the author: Floris Loeff is a freelance writer and producer. Curious and open-minded he explores life. He is currently working on a surf documentary about Sierra Leone.
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This month we celebrate holiday memories. Also see our article Radiant Riviera: love, holiday and inspiration for the famous and other articles. What’s your most treasured holiday memory?
