On this page, you’ll find a short summary of some of our macro-adventure experiences we have dreamt, designed and done.
Micro-experiences done are too many to list here.
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Tour Aotearoa 2024, North Island – 1,500 kms cycled
From Budapest to the Atlantic Ocean on the Euro Velo 6 – 2,918 kms cycled
Tour Aotearoa 2023, South Island – 1,500 kms cycled
Te Araroa Trail, North Island – 1,620 kms walked
Across the Maple Leaf on a Tandem – 7,500 kms cycled
Mt Everest Base Camp at 5,364 metres
Volunteering in Borneo
Kiwi Haka on Mount Kilimanjaru, Africa’s Roof Top
Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Walk in Spain – 1,600 kms cycled/walked
To Anzac Day Gallipoli By Foot – 360 kms walked
Cambodia Mutiny
From Bluff to Cape Reinga – 2,400 kms cycled
We Used To Play With Children
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Tour Aotearoa 2024, North Island – 1,500 kms cycled
Having cycled only half of the land of the long white cloud was never far from chit chat when on the saddles doing daily or weekend riding escapes.
Nor when we crossed the continent above the equator.
The need to bring it home and conclude the second one was strong. Or is that a want?!
Chit chat became a dream it, design it and then do it plan and eventually reality.
The same cuzzie, work colleague and I rolled off Cape Reinga on February 18, 2024, with a bunch of other like minded folk, bound for the capital of New Zealand located at the bottom of the North Island. BClaire waved us off in support again.
Did you know that that island is extremely lumpy topography-wise?!
But there was certainly enough opportunity to keep the heads lifted and take in the landscape beauty and wonder. As much as establish some amazing friendships through actual chit chat and banter from doing the ‘do it.’
Check out the blog posts that’ll hopefully give you a taste of what life from the Tour Aotearoa can offer.
From Budapest to the Atlantic Ocean on the Euro Velo 6 –
2,918 kms cycled
Across the European landscape are a number of cycle ways called the Euro Velo’s.
And in tune with our Dream it, Design it, and Do it philosophy on life, we landed in Buchurest to purchase some bikes and cycle westwards to the Atlantic Ocean.
However, the roads between Constanta (Romania) to Budapest (Hungary) were on either narrow minor or major roads sharing road traffic, including jaggernaults. Or large trucks.
Deciding safety over stupidity, we changed the plan, owned it and then got on with it, catching an overnight train to Budapest. We purchased our bikes to push off heading for the coast, following the Euro Velo 6 and ride 2,918 kms before we felt the sea spray on our faces.
The borders crossed and topography experienced from the bike seat were Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and finaly France.
An adventure that has introduced us to a whole network of more of the same “Bon journey” possibilities.
Tour Aotearoa, South Island – 1,500Kms cycled
The global pandemic chaos put adventure travel beyond our shore on-hold.
Purchasing a camper van during 2020 allowed us to look inwards and explore our own back yard doing micro-adventures.
Notwithstanding, a cycle ride the length of New Zealand (Tour Aotearoa 2023) became a dream wanting to realize and so the designing it was set in play, cycle from Cape Reinga to Bluff – 3,000Kms.
However, mother nature (Cyclone Gabrielle) and a family bereavement meant a pivot decision resulting in only the South Island being ridden.
1,500Kms from Picton to Bluff over 13 days absolutely tested one’s mind, body, and soul resiliency. As much as the under-carriage cheeks of one’s bum!
But looking up as the pedals rotated to absorb the vista of what half of the long white cloud had to offer, evaporated aches and pains to become “owwww’s” and “arrrr’s.” There is a slice of paradise to meet everyone’s taste for beauty.
To have the cuzzie and work colleague keep me company was magic. To observe them mould beyond their comfort zone was priceless. To have raised a dollar for every charity ridded for the Child Cancer Foundation was humbling. And BClaire supporting this time around was a reconnection.
Another “we” big-hairy audacious adventure now on the radar – to cycle from the Black Sea (Romania) to the Atlantic Ocean (France).
While our bodies still can, and we still have our bodies.
Te Araroa Trail, North Island – 1,620 kms walked
“Why don’t you walk your own country first?” was the question posed over a conversation with some fellow adventurers. And so we did! Half of it anyway. Straight after the tandem cycle ride across Canada!
The touching of the light house at the furthest northern tip of New Zealand signalled the start of taking the first steps towards the bottom. Within the first two kilometres, the personal locator beacon was nearly needing to be set off due to not wanting to be washed out into the Tasman Sea!
We humped it south one foot in front of the other (with the odd hitch hike and canoe paddle) to touch the monument that marked we had reached the bottom of the North Island. It took us 2.5 months to cover the 1,600 kms and it would be fair to add, we were absolutely buggered.
The awe of our beautiful country with its precious citizenships and cultural identity strengthened the ‘aroha’ for Aotearoa. Postponing the South Island was easy so as to rejuvenate. The minds are already walking the Mainland … all we have to do is get the bodies there.
With our personal locator beacon, of course!
Across the Maple Leaf on a Tandem – 7,500 kms cycled
In May 2016, we landed in Vancouver and purchased a Fatty 29 tandem cycle and together taking 4.5 months, we rode 7,500 kilometres from west to east across Canada to St Johns, Newfoundland.
Ending up in Accident and Emergency before taking the first pedal; staying upright on Fatty 29 the whole way; encountering Bears; Canadian hospitality; avoiding skunks and ticks; the prairies aren’t flat; we were not alone as idiots; trying not to get de-capitated in Brandon; a lightning bolt isn’t an option; kissing a cod; and spending a long time in the saddle as a married couple, is enough for anyone to grimace and grin.
It was in tune with our life philosophy of ‘Dream it – Design it – Do it’ as much as it was our passion to continue to adventure before dementia.
Mt Everest Base Camp at 5,364 metres
Annapurna mountain range trekking developed the stamina to follow in Sir Edmund Hillary’s boot treads and climb the Himilayan Range some more, up to Mount Everest Base Camp at 5364 metres.
With 2013 being the 60th anniversary year since Everest was conquered, Sir Eds’ quote of “it is not a mountain that we conquer but ourselves” became a very poignant mental effigy as he dealt with altitude, weather and body weariness.
Where earth meets sky, the mana of the Sherpa is re-known for Ghurka respect and Yak trains are the kings of all mountains – the echo of “Wow” will be heard long after the ascent back to sea level.
Volunteering in Borneo
A travel goal established to hug an Orangutan in Borneo after the Rwandan Gorilla experience resulted in a volunteering stint at a Wildlife Centre for Orangutans and other animals.
Working to improve their lives because they have the right to co-exist on the same planet as we fellow beings, involvement focused on aiding the centre in terms of husbandry, enrichment and infrastructure so that the centre could focus on rehabilitation and release.
Hopefully, the small percentage of contribution made a large percentage difference to the Orangutans.
Kiwi Haka on Mount Kilimanjaru, Africa’s Roof Top
Mount Kilimanjaru peaks at 5895metres above sea level and was a throw in additional adventure that we decided to treat themselves to on the way to trek with the Rwandan Gorilla’s.
Little did we understand that what reads well on paper was to be so different in reality – this was one of the toughest adventures that we have ticked off that had us learning lessons about attitude, perseverance and accomplishment.
To do a Kiwi ‘haka’ (Maori War Dance) at minus 10º C on Africa’s roof top whilst exhausted, was the pinnacle.
Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Walk in Spain
– 1,600 kms cycled/walked
Cycling it from East to West first (the correct direction) was amazing; to reverse walk it from West to East (in the opposite direction to the norm) was even far crazier.
But we did, a total of 1600kms distance covered in both directions … and that isn’t counting the 1km ran with the bull running in Pamplona!
To Anzac Day Gallipoli By Foot – 360 kms walked
Brent’s Grandfather was a World War 1 Māori ANZAC soldier who survived the Gallipoli campaign.
Walking the 360kms from Istanbul to the Gallipoli Peninsula to attend the 2011 Anzac Day service and participate in the remembrance of all the soldiers who fought there was a brazen experience.
The route taken took us into raw Turkish countryside and villages culminating in welcomed respect held between two historical warring foes.
Lest we forget is now always to be remembered.
As was the excitement of finding accommodation that was a brothel and only discovering such after the lights went out!
Cambodia Mutiny
Our experience with long distance cycling was the length of New Zealand, from Bluff to Cape Reinga, a whopping 2,400 kms.
So, we were under every illusion that signing up with an Intrepid Journeys Adventure package tour to cycle 300+ kms ride across Cambodia was going to be a doddle.
Until we fronted up and discovered that the Intrepid Journeys chaperone had never led a cycling tour prior, nor even cycled the distance to be pedaled, let alone wanted us to cover 150 kms of the section in one day! Furthermore, most of our tour bunch were novice cyclists meaning none had ever cycled more than a couple of kms at any one time.
With temperatures into the mid-30° Celsius every day and 100° humidity, we led a mutiny and split the longest distance with bums on bike seats traversing the gravel dirt road distance, into two days. And unfortunately for the tour leader who was way out of his depth, it was also a case of rescuing him from physical exhaustion.
To experience a sunrise over the Ankor Wat Heritage site evaporated the emotion felt visiting the Cambodian Killing Fields.
And our disillusionment mutiny of Intrepid Journeys.
The tour leader has become a global mate too.
From Bluff to Cape Reinga – 2,400 kms cycled
In 2007, with the family, we cycled the length of New Zealand fundraising $10,000 for the Child Cancer charity. Over six weeks, we covered 2,400kms by bike, weathering the conditions our back yard had to offer. Both in topography undulation and mother nature.
Longest and toughest day was by far the rotation of the pedals between Napier and Rotorua. It exposed us to moments of solitude where a balance of mental toughness and physical demands went hand in hand. So too the importance of sticking at it as a unit to get each other to the final kilometre ridden, which was under the cover of darkness.
Forgetting to inform daughter Claire not to ride over road-kill when it was raining resulted in her tyre flicking up a chunk of hedge hog that landed fair smack into Brent’s mouth. Caused a few wobbles while trying to spit out the moist covered solid!
An adventure always reflected upon, as family.
We Used To Play With Children
During 2001, we took the plunge to follow our hearts and started a business from scratch, providing a home based primary aged childcare business.
Called Outaskool, we provided both before/ after school, and school holiday programme care. One child became three to become eleven to become twenty five to then over the next seven years, a whopping 750+ kids whom experienced our philosophy – allowing kidz to be kidz, and parent to do adult stuff.
We pioneered a new way of taking care of kidz to become recognized experts in the OSCAR (Out of School Care & Recreation) industry.
Mind you, when we expanded to our second location, we had to endure an encounter with a neighbour who took us through a long resource management consent process that nearly bankrupted us.
The outcome, a multi-coloured fence constructed after we gained consent and faced the neighbour and, still stands as an iconic neighbourhood feature.
