I was born in Paraparaumu, New Zealand and by the age of 3, was living in the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula township of Whitianga.

I grew up riding horses, spending weekends competing in all things equestrian, swimming, and camping with my family.  My favourite childhood memory is saddling up and riding along the beach and over the hills with my Mum to find button mushrooms to pick.  As a kid I never liked mushrooms, but these rides I will forever cherish.

At 17 I moved to Hamilton, New Zealand and began my working career in the administrative field.  After mastering these skills, I moved to Queensland, Australia in my mid 20’s where I spent the next decade until my Dads passing in 2015.  This is when I relocated back to the Waikato, New Zealand to be with my family and friends.

I decided I would compete nationally in bodybuilding and for 3 years I weighed out each gram of food, measured my water intake and had an incredible time getting on stage and showcasing the dedication I had given to the sport.

Late 2019, Gavin and I decided we would venture back out into the wide world and travel, seeking international humanitarian work.  By mid-January 2020 we had sold everything we owned, packed our bags and bought our tickets to Malaysia and then onto Ireland to visit Gav’s kids.

By March, we had landed in Koh Phangan, Thailand when the world shut its borders and the work we had lined up became inaccessible along with any flights back to New Zealand.  Never to let life get in the way of a great adventure, we changed our focus and used this time to develop “Our Happiness Journal”, a social experiment about finding happiness during what many found a very stressful time.

After 9 months living in tropical paradise, we managed to score a seat on a Thai repatriation flight and returned to Wellington, New Zealand.  This is where we both continued with our careers into the public sector and went from strength to strength.....and got hitched along the way!

Fast forward to early 2023 and we went and did it again.  With everything we owned fitting into a 20kg suitcase each we started buying plane tickets to more wonderful corners of the globe.  Gav is completing his masters in Technological Futures and me working remotely as a virtual administrative assistant.

What the next adventure is I’m unsure, but I’m excited to find out!