Brave City Leavers: Meike Moved from Deventer to South Africa and Fell in Love with a Ranger
- Sophie Wassink
- Mar 7, 2018
- 4 min read
March 7, 2018 - Deventer Newspaper, The Netherlands
By Sophie Wassink
Of course, we believe Deventer is the most beautiful place to live, but the world is bigger than our Hanseatic city. Some Deventer residents pack up their belongings and move elsewhere. Meike Lovemore is one of them. In 2001, she left for an internship in South Africa to study elephants. But besides studying elephants, she also took an interest in Ranger Lloyd. She fell in love, briefly returned to Deventer, but now lives her dream on a farm in South Africa—with her ranger and their three kids!
Love at First Sight
Seventeen years ago, at the age of 22, Meike travelled to South Africa as part of her studies at Larenstein. Although she was supposed to focus entirely on elephants, her attention was drawn to ranger Lloyd Lovemore, a rugged South African who thought the student from Deventer would be a fun short-term romance. After all, he figured, she would be leaving soon. However, things turned out quite differently between them.
"When I had to return to Deventer to finish my studies, I thought: what now?"
All You Need Is Love
“We clicked immediately and had an amazing time together,” says the adventurous city leaver when we speak with her over the phone. “When I had to return to Deventer, I wondered what to do next. Lloyd lived in a caravan, and had no email or phone—staying in touch was really difficult. We wrote tons of letters to each other. I missed him terribly and felt incredibly homesick.
Then, just before Christmas, my friends secretly signed me up for the Christmas special of All You Need Is Love. Out of more than 10,000 submissions, our story was chosen. Lloyd’s last name probably sealed the deal—after all, if your man’s name is Lovemore, you belong on All You Need Is Love, right? Haha! So, we were reunited in Finland in the winter of 2001. It was magical. He was allowed to stay with me in Deventer for three weeks, but then he had to go back.”
Moving in Together in Deventer
For a while, they lived apart—Meike in Deventer, Lloyd in South Africa. But their love was too strong. Lloyd packed all his belongings into a single suitcase, left everything behind, and flew to the Netherlands where they got maried in Deventer. The happy couple lived together in a small house on Tabakstraat until June 2012.
“I still miss the friendly neighbours! In the summer, we would have South African-style barbecues in our garden—not on gas or coal, but on real firewood. Some less-friendly neighbours would always complain about the smoke! We even got notes in our mailbox asking us to stop barbecuing. It all started feeling too cramped in Deventer, and we thought: we have to get out of here! We didn’t want to live with a “what if?”, so we just went for it!”
Off to Adventure in South Africa
In June 2012, Meike, Lloyd, and their 15-month-old son moved to South Africa to follow their dream of starting their own farm. Using their savings, they started a large chicken farm. Meike had no experience with chickens at all, but luckily, Lloyd did. They learned how to process meat and sold ground chicken and chicken products like sausages and crispy chicken wings at a local market. The hardworking couple had two more children. “In between breastfeeding, I was cleaning out the chicken coops,” Meike recalls.
Financial Collapse
“The chickens got sick. After months of research and high testing costs, we discovered that the municipal water was making them ill. It caused massive damage. On top of that, our own employees were stealing chickens, and feed prices kept rising. We worked insanely hard just to make ends meet. The money ran out—we could barely afford groceries. By then, we had three young children. At some point, we asked ourselves: what are we doing? What are we trying to prove?”
A Village That Feels Like Home
Meike and Lloyd had to give up their farm. But thanks to the support of their local community, they got back on their feet.
“At our lowest point, we had two flat tires in the same week. We couldn’t afford new ones. We needed the car to sell chicken at the market. When Lloyd got stranded on the side of the highway, half the village showed up to help, so we could still make it to the market and earn money. It was incredible how everyone just looks out for each other here. If someone is in trouble, you help—no questions asked. We kept our spirits up and learned to put things in perspective. We have each other, we’re all healthy, and we have a supportive community around us. We have nothing to complain about.”
1300 Hectares of Freedom!
“By now, dreams have come true, some have been shattered, and new dreams have been born. We now live on a farm near Addo Park, with 1,300 hectares of land surrounding us—near the place where we first met 17 years ago. Our children are growing up just as we envisioned: free, surrounded by nature, and with plenty of space to explore. We spend all our time outdoors, and life is much less rushed. The backyard we had in Deventer was the size of our veranda now,” Meike laughs.
Guesthouse Adventure
“Lloyd now works as a farm manager, providing financial stability. I started a guesthouse, B&B Buysvlei, because I want to share the beauty of the outdoors with others and save up extra money. Because of the financial struggles we faced over the past six years, we haven’t been able to visit the Netherlands. I miss our friends and family, but also the charming city centre, the terraces at De Brink, and strolling through the market. So now, our new dream is to visit the Netherlands again someday!”
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