In 2015, Bouke Lolkema was trekking in the high mountains of Nepal when the ground started to shake. He was in a deep gorge, just a few kilometers from the epicenter. “At that moment I thought my life was over,” he said in an interview with EcoTraining. He was 49 years old. Then events unfolded that sent his whole life in another direction.
Four days in the mountains
Bouke is Dutch. He has lived most of his life in the Netherlands, a country not known for its towering mountains. He was a lifelong wildlife enthusiast who built a career in the military and information technology. He worked as a project manager. In the gorge, huge rocks and boulders fell from the slopes around him. He says it felt like the world was collapsing, and he accepted that he might not survive. Even so, it took him four difficult days to get to safety.
The life he chose next
Bouke didn’t go back to his previous job. He quit his job as a project manager and decided to become a tour guide who travels as much as he can. Today he leads and organizes hikes and wildlife photography tours in Europe, Nepal, India, and southern Africa. He took courses with EcoTraining, which trains safari guides. He completed the online Field Guide Theory course in December 2020 and the practical Trails Guide course in March 2021. At 54, he was by far the oldest student, and he enjoyed keeping up with the young. He admits that this kind of lifestyle is not always possible, but he strives to live it as much as possible.
Can a crisis lead to growth?
Psychologists use the term post-traumatic growth for positive change after a hard event. It doesn’t mean the pain disappears, and stress and growth can exist together.
{{/usCountry}}Psychologists use the term post-traumatic growth for positive change after a hard event. It doesn’t mean the pain disappears, and stress and growth can exist together.
{{/usCountry}}According to a 2017 European Journal of Social Psychology study by Orla Muldoon and colleagues, 399 people living in earthquake-affected areas of Nepal were surveyed about six months after the 2015 quakes. People who experienced more intense quakes reported more stress symptoms. The authors also found that the connection between quake experience and positive change operated through how strongly people felt part of a community and how much they believed their group could act together. This study looked at local residents, so it can’t explain why one foreign trekker made the choices he did. But it does show that hardship and growth can be next-door neighbors.
Why nature keeps pulling him back
Bouke has visited Nepal over 20 times and considers it his second home. He was lucky enough to spot a snow leopard in Ladakh, India, just before COVID hit. For him, seeing one in the wild is the holy grail of wildlife spotting. Moments like that hardly ever come easily. Finding rare wildlife takes patience and long hours outdoors, which fits the life he chose after the earthquake: guiding hikes and wildlife photography tours in some of the places he loves most. Nature is no longer something he visits between projects. It is the center of his working life.
What his story offers you
You don’t need to go through a crisis to rethink your path. Bouke says it “doesn’t matter what age you are, 18 or 78” if you want to follow your dreams. He admits that practical concerns such as finances or career might be valid, but he encourages people to follow their hearts. Start with a small step. Try spending a few hours outdoors this week and see what lights you up.