ABOUT US
If you are too busy to enjoy quality time with your family, then you need to re-evaluate your priorities
– Dave Willis
We are the Apperley’s. We consider ourselves to be a typical young South African family from Cape Town.
In January 2008 we met and by October 2010 we were married. After almost four years of marriage, we were blessed with our beautiful son, Aiden.
Adapting to the rigours and stresses of raising a young son whilst trying to build successful careers in our chosen fields has proven to be somewhat of a challenge over the last two and a bit years.
This is a challenge that we are sure most can relate to, but we have probably chosen to face the challenge in a different way to most. In early 2016 we made the somewhat crazy decision to quit our jobs, leave the corporate world, focus on raising our son, reconnecting with each other and strengthening our marriage, all while following our dream of travelling the world.
Although we made the bold decision in early 2016, we have taken most of the year conceptualising this massive adventure and planning to make the dream a reality. As 2016 draws to a close, we have finally been able to step away from corporate life and start adapting to our new found freedom.
From a travel perspective, this trip is a trip we have dreamed of, and we know that we will be able to tick off most of what is on our travel bucket list, however this trip also holds much deeper more meaningful goals for us, which we hope to achieve as well;
- Strengthen our family relationships, as a couple and as parents
- Develop a greater understanding and appreciation for all people and cultures of our world
- Learn to live with less and be fulfilled by experiences
- Create life long memories
Every family has a story to tell, welcome to ours
Peter
I am the dad, and the crazy one that initiated this plan. Some days I wake up thinking we must be mad to uproot ourselves and go travelling around the world. But in my heart I know its the right thing for us and that we will forever look back on this adventure with fondness, and the only question we will ask ourselves is why didn’t we do it sooner.
I am a chartered accountant by profession and have spent the last 10 years working in various audit, accounting and financial roles. But it is now time to pack away the calculator, and take out the travel map.
On this trip I have been tasked with the responsibility of handling the logistics, making sure we have the right visas at the right time and generally ensuring we get from point A to B as smoothly as possible. I do not doubt that there will be more than one missed train or plane along the way, however it will be those experiences we remember the longest.
Along the way I hope to learn a few new languages, get to grips with my interest in photography and to invest quality time in my family and myself. As part of this reinvestment, I look forward to once again having the time to focus on fitness and healthy living.
Lauren
Hi I’m Lauren and I am the mom…… I grew up and lived in Cape Town until I was 19 and then lived in Durban for a short time before moving back to the city I love most and which I call home. I met Peter back in 2008 and I wouldn’t of called it “love at first sight” but he hooked me in the end, we were married in 2010, and now we can call each other soul mates (if you believe in that sort of thing).
We have a 2 ¾ year old son named Aiden, who we dote on continuously (which means he gets away with murder). I have just recently finished my degree which has afforded me the time and opportunity to listen to Peter more, and his ludicrous business and travel suggestions. I thought he was joking back in January of this year when he suggested we pack it all in and travel the world. He suggested it a few times more before I finally considered it seriously for a moment and agreed it was a good idea and that the timing of it all would be perfect.
Our friends and family would generally view me as the risk and adventure taker so when we broke the news to them all a few months ago about our plans, they were shocked to hear that Peter had actually come up with the idea of travelling across the globe in just 12 months. I can count on one hand the amount of times I have been overseas. I have always loved travel (minus the 11 hour plane rides) but like most families we have always had to save for rainy days and times when that darn geyser blows. This has made it hard to travel to the places we have dreamed about.
With our savings in one hand and our dreams in the other we take on this journey which lies ahead with much excitement and trepidation…….. Follow us on our massive family adventure to see where it takes us…..
Aiden
My name is Aiden Apperley and I am 2 ¾ years old. I love dinosaurs, the colour blue and waking my parents up at 5’ o clock in the morning to play (not sure if they enjoy this as much as me but I do it anyway). I also love watching the movie “UP” on repeat because there are lots of balloons and fun in it. I love going to school and playing with my friends but mainly because there are lots of bikes that I can ride really fast on. I can already count to 10 and sing loads of nursery rhymes. I love The Minions, Mickey & Minnie Mouse and the Ninja turtles. My parents say that on our massive family adventure I am going to meet Mickey and Minnie mouse. I am soooo excited about this and am counting down the days until we leave……………..