Travel bought us together…

Gaby trained as a pharmacy technician and has traveled extensively throughout Europe and to Asia, using travel to learn many of the languages that she speaks today. Andrew was a regular force soldier in the New Zealand Army before resigning to travel and pursue his love of mountaineering and adventure travel.

We were married in the local church of Gaby’s home town Münchwilen, Switzerland in 1991 and immigrated to New Zealand in 1993. As our family grew we decided that our children would be part of our travels and we wanted to show them this great world that we explore. Memories of camping trips around the Mediterranean, the spice aromas of the street hawkers in Singapore, the sights and sounds of London waking up have all installed in us a realisation that travel gives is freedom and imagination.

We both enjoy cycling and planned for sometime a cycle trip around the world. In 2013 Gaby was diagnosed with acute  osteoarthritis of the right hip and following an MRI both hips will need total hip replacement surgery.

Rather than sit back and worry, Gaby has decided to be an inspiration to all arthritis sufferers by proceeding with the trip and managing her arthritis. At this stage surgery has been deferred as specialists think she is currently too young and would require an additional replacement in later life that could be problematic.

As parents, our responsibilities to our children Grace and Mark are to ensure they make the most of opportunities and achieve the full potential they have, using their independence to start to follow their own dreams and passions. As they start their own journeys, we hear the departure call and want to get on with life rather than worry about medical problems, call it ‘itchy feet’, but we need to make the most of time, unscheduled time, time to go.