December 21, 2025 • 46 mins
A house build in Cape Town changed everything. Christopher had the degrees, the London job and the momentum. Yet one day volunteering added two dimensions to travel that a corner office never could, genuine connection with local people and the joy of making a lasting difference. We explore how that spark became Hands Up Holidays, a tailor-made way for families to blend adventure with meaningful service, and why parents say these journeys raise kinder, braver kids.
We dig into the early years, delaying the business launch to scout projects worldwide, learning to ask networks for help and discovering that families, not just time-poor professionals, were hungry for purpose-led travel. You’ll hear the stories that stay with you from children who played with classmates in rural Morocco who then chose to send their Christmas gifts to the school to a family so changed by the Sunderbans in India that they returned for a full year to volunteer. We talk practicalities too and how bespoke itineraries work with local guides, what to consider when planning around peak seasons and why accommodation often sets the timeline.
This episode is a little different showcasing standout projects with real impact. How recycled-bottle solar heaters in Argentina cut costs and waste, how eco-stoves in Belize reduce burns and asthma and how a long standing partnership with a forward looking Maasai community supporting girls’ education and safety. We also unpack intergenerational travel (grandparents, parents and kids) and how service abroad often inspires service at home.
If you want travel that forms character, strengthens family bonds and benefits the communities you visit, this conversation is your map. Christopher is creating a world of Everyday Warriors!
Explore Hand Up Holidays here
Connect with Christopher on Instagram here
Thanks for listening in!
Contact me directly at https://everydaywarriorspodcast.com.au or head to
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Music Credit: Cody Martin - Sunrise (first 26 episodes) then custom made for me.
Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and stories shared on this podcast are personal to the host and guests and are not intended to serve as professional advice or guidance. They reflect individual experiences and perspectives. While we strive to provide valuable insights and support, listeners are encouraged to seek professional advice for their specific situations. The host and production team are not responsible for any actions taken based on the content of this podcast.
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Episode Transcript
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Trudie (00:00):
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Just head to the link in theshow notes and let's take this
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It is mid-afternoon for therecording in my time and early
(03:46):
evening for his time.
And the way we connected wasactually via this gentleman's
personal assistant.
She emailed me after listeningto some of the episodes and said
she had the perfect guest forme.
So I would like to welcometoday Chris.
Christopher (04:03):
Thanks, Trudy.
It's great to be here.
Trudie (04:05):
It's so nice to have you.
And I mentioned to Kelly in heremail initially to me that you
weren't my usual guest, but youhad a fabulous story that I
wanted to be able to share.
So it really is an honour tohave you on the show today.
Christopher (04:21):
Amazing.
I'm so excited.
Trudie (04:23):
And I'd like to start your story probably about 20
years ago, before we hit record,is that you said your story
started some 20 odd years agothat's led you to today.
So tell me about that.
Christopher (04:37):
Yeah, sure.
My background that we quicklyraced through was that I did a
law degree and a business degreehere in New Zealand.
And then I ended up with myfirst job was in London working
in investment banking.
And I did that for six years.
And in that sixth year, I tooka trip down to South Africa.
(05:02):
I was invited down there by myfirst flatmate that I had in
London, who moved down to SouthAfrica and ended up becoming a
tour guide there.
And so he invited me down on atrip with him.
And we'd for a while had beendiscussing or really
brainstorming some ideas of waysthat I could get into the
(05:26):
travel industry because I hadtraveled quite extensively
leading up to that point.
And he knew it.
And I had thought that I wasgoing to get travel out of my
system and then settle down andbecome a lawyer.
But really, the more Itraveled, the more I realized I
(05:47):
wanted to travel.
And so as I say, we werediscussing some ideas.
And one idea that I liked thesound of was to combine a
holiday sightseeing withactually an element of giving
back and volunteering in thatdestination.
(06:07):
And he said, I've got a goodrelationship with a guy who runs
Habitat for Humanity in CapeTown.
And so do you want to see ifthey've got any openings for you
to get involved in a build withthem?
And I said, Yeah, sure, that'dbe great.
And so he got in touch with hisfriend.
And as it turns out, they didhave availability for the days
(06:28):
that we were going to be in CapeTown.
So we finished the trip, whichwas exploring the country, an
amazing country, and going onsafari and all that sort of
wonderful thing along the gardenroute as well.
And then got to Cape Town.
And as I say, he arranged forme to do this house build.
And it was there that thisexperience really added sort of
(06:52):
two extra dimensions to travelfor me.
One was that I actually got toengage with the local people and
hear their stories and share myown story with them and gain
insights into their lives.
And then secondly, it just feltgreat to actually make a
(07:12):
difference and help this familythat we were helping build
alongside.
And so I got thinking, yeah,I've learned some good business
skills.
Why don't I put these skillsinto something that I would find
a bit more meaningful andfulfilling and make it easier
for others to have similarexperiences to what I've just
had?
And so that was really the thebirthing of what three years
(07:35):
later became Hands Up Holidays,which is the first travel brand
that I launched.
Trudie (07:41):
That's incredible that one simple trip for you
literally changed the course ofyour life.
And I want to take you back tothat and ask, like you said,
that you had this thing, youwere trained at university to
become a lawyer and you wereworking in that industry, but
you had this travel bug.
(08:01):
How long did you stay a lawyerfor after this trip?
And do you feel like it wassomething that potentially that
you were driven towards byexternal factors?
And then once you actually gotto taste this idea of travel and
what you could do, that youthen started truly living into
your passion?
Christopher (08:23):
One thing to clarify actually, I never
practiced law.
I I actually ended up, as Imentioned, I studied law and
accepted a job with a law firm.
And they got them to agreebefore I start that I could
travel with them for sorry, notwith them, but travel for nine
months before starting workingfor them.
And in the course of my finalyear of university, because this
(08:47):
all happened going into myfinal year, in that final year,
I won a scholarship from aninvestment bank.
And it was through thatrelationship that they that I
ended up getting a job in Londonin investment banking and
thinking, well, if I don't takeit, I'll probably always regret
it.
And so saying to the law firm,actually, no, I'm actually not
(09:08):
able to start with you.
So there was that.
And then the second part ofyour question, yeah, I felt like
whilst technically I was goodat the job and was making head
in the right directionexternally, it wasn't speaking
to my soul.
And so it was really, it wasthis experience in South Africa
(09:32):
that did speak to my passion andmy soul.
And to the extent that I feltlike, yeah, this was a
no-brainer for me to pursue.
Yeah.
Trudie (09:43):
Wow.
And I love that you say thatyou it spoke to your soul that
you were doing something, andeven though you were good at it,
being good at it wasn't enoughfor you to stick it a career.
It was no, I have to go andfollow my passion, I have to go
and follow what speaks to mysoul and ultimately what makes a
difference.
Because I think, as you said,coming out of that trip, the two
(10:05):
things that that stood out foryou were engaging with locals
and being able to make adifference.
So you launched your newbusiness, Hands Up Holidays.
Tell me what happened fromthere.
Christopher (10:19):
At that at the time that we launched, which was in
2006, there was actually justback a couple of years, I had
intended to launch with justSouth Africa.
So like launch one destinationbeing South Africa, and really
carbon copy of what I'd doneback in 2002.
However, I got some advice froma family friend who was working
(10:43):
in the travel industry who saidthat in order to come across as
more credible and appeal to awider variety of customers, he
thought it would be best if wedelayed that launch and actually
built up a portfolio ofmultiple destinations.
(11:04):
And so I took that advice andactually ended up delaying the
launch by two years and traveledthe world during that time.
And so we ended up launchingwith about 20 destinations, and
that was in 2006.
And at that point, I had reallyyoung professionals in mind as
our main target audience 25 to35 year olds, cash rich, time
(11:28):
poor, who wanted to have a greatholiday, but at the same time
wanted to make a difference.
And we we did get some bookingsfrom them, but really what blew
me away was right from theoutset, we were getting bookings
from families.
And at that point, familiesweren't on my radar at all.
(11:49):
I didn't have children of myown at that time, and just it
didn't even occur to me thatfamilies would want to be
booking with us.
So I'd ask them, Why are youbooking with us?
And they'd say things like ourkids come from pretty privileged
backgrounds, and we really wantthem to appreciate just how
fortunate they are.
Or they'd say, We're lookingfor a great family bonding
(12:09):
experience, and this nails itfor us.
Or it it would like to inspireour kids to become the next
generation of world changers.
And this really resonated withme, and I can't remember how
long it took, but not that long.
We it started to focus ourmarketing messaging pretty much
(12:31):
exclusively, not exclusively,but certainly primarily on the
family audience.
And that's been uh anincredible ride to be able to
facilitate these trips forfamilies and even more so now
that I have children of my own.
Trudie (12:46):
Wow, that's yeah.
I'm just trying to fathom thatwhole process from going you
doing one trip for humanity inSouth Africa, that the advice of
somebody had you then go on atwo-year journey traveling
yourself and obviouslyexperiencing some of these other
things in different locationsaround the world so you could
(13:09):
launch your business withmultiple destinations, setting
up to have professionals do thistype of adventure, to then the
whole trajectory of it changingbecause families were coming to
you wanting to make adifference.
Like that, there is just somuch to explore inside of that.
(13:30):
So I want to take you back tothat two years where you were
traveling yourself to explorepossible other destinations and
obviously doing the humanitarianwork yourself.
What did you come across orlearn during that period?
Christopher (13:47):
Huh.
I think one key thing that Ilearned was that just by putting
yourself out there, you canattract uh like-minded people or
opportunities that you wouldn'tnecessarily certainly on your
on your own strength comeacross, but by being very vocal
(14:11):
and doing using your network,just amazing connections can
happen.
And it's been an incredibleexperience of building those
connections where they weren'teven necessarily expected.
For example, one was with a awoman who had was working for
(14:32):
Vodafone, and at the time therewas the Vodafone Foundation,
which essentially sponsoredemployees to take a year out and
volunteer at a project for thattime.
And and so a friend of minesaid, Oh, you should talk with
(14:52):
Annette.
She's just come back fromvolunteering in Bali for a year.
And and so I did got in touchwith her, and she was very
generous with her time and spokeabout how she was working at a
charity that primarily makesprosthetic limbs for people that
are missing limbs in Bali.
(15:13):
And she added, though, thatanother kind of sideline that
they do is building disabledaccessible bathrooms for
paraplegics.
And this really pricked my earsup.
And so I had to get up to Baliand experience firsthand what
they were doing there, and wasreally moved by the impact that
(15:35):
is made on really just oneindividual, but in an area
that's so personal, i.e., goingto the bathroom, being actually
able to bring about a measure ofdignity and independence in
this area, as I say, was reallymoving.
And so that's just one exampleof many that just through using
(15:56):
the network may become aware ofall these incredible
opportunities and projects thatwe can facilitate.
So yeah, that was one keylearning for sure.
Trudie (16:06):
And such an amazing key learning to have in that we take
for granted quite often in theWestern world that we live in,
of what facilities we have.
And people in other countriesand other areas don't have the
same luxuries that we do on aday-to-day basis.
Like you said, in somesomething as simple as going to
(16:29):
the bathroom, that you helpingout and having this amazing
adventure in Bali, but alsogiving back to the community in
such a profound way that has aripple effect beyond whatever we
would ever know.
Christopher (16:45):
Yeah, that's right, Trudy.
Yeah.
And connected with that wouldbe another key learning was for
me around contentment andgetting to engage with lots of
communities who materially havevery little, but spiritually and
emotionally are incredibly richand happy.
And that's, as I say, alearning for me that I've
(17:07):
embraced.
Not I've still got ways to go,but it's helped a lot with my
own.
Connected with that is a senseof gratitude and having actually
a daily practice of gratitudeas well.
Trudie (17:18):
Something so important that I think we all too often
forget is just being gratefulfor what we do have in our
day-to-day lives.
Because I think so often thereare so many people out there
searching for the next bestthing, or wishing for something
that they don't have, or wishingtime forward, like people who
are wanting, can't wait for thenext holiday, or can't wait for
(17:41):
the next occasion to come upbecause they're so dissatisfied
with their everyday world thatif we can all just have more
gratitude in our daily lives,that we become more accepting
and tolerant and have a morefulfilling life.
Like you said, they'reemotionally and spiritually more
(18:02):
connected to themselves thanpretty much what the rest of us
are for the most case, becausewe all become so materialistic.
Christopher (18:11):
Exactly.
Trudie (18:12):
So you obviously launched with approximately 20
destinations, and then obviouslythese families started coming
on board and taking advantage ofall these trips.
Are there particular ones thatstand out where families have
come back from those particularareas and have said, wow, or
(18:32):
wanted to do it again, or wantedto do something similar again?
Christopher (18:37):
Yeah, that there are.
There's a good number of one ofthe beauties I think of working
with families is repeat clientsand word of mouth for referrals
is really powerful.
And a couple of things, acouple of sort of stories that
spring to mind along thoselines, not necessarily repeat
customers, but one in a sensewas, and that one was they
(18:59):
traveled with us to India, andthey were helping in a remote
part of India called the SunderBarnes, which is not too far
from Bangladesh.
And they were in a villagecontext there and was
transformed by the experiencethat they actually moved to
India for a year and spent afull year volunteering in that
(19:23):
village.
And so yeah, they became arepeat customer in that sense.
And then another story I'd loveto share was a trip to Morocco
from a family, and they werebuilding a library in a school
about 45 minutes outside ofMarrakesh.
And their kids were quiteyoung.
(19:44):
They did get involved with thebuilding, but the kids more
focused on playing with the kidsat the school and getting that
interaction, and that which isgreat.
And so the trip happened, and Ididn't think too much more of
it other than that, until thefamily wrote to me and said that
they Christmas around Christmastime came and they said
(20:06):
actually our kids declined tohave their Christmas presents
and they wanted their Christmaspresents to be sent to the
children in Morocco.
Trudie (20:13):
Wow.
How do you even put a price onthat experience?
That what was started out as afamily holiday and a bonding
experience, and the childrenjust get to play with children
from a completely differentbackground, completely different
culture, and then of their ownfree will turn around and say,
(20:35):
No, we want to give back.
Like we've had such a profoundexperience without even
understanding probably what theywere asking or requesting, that
they are now giving it forwardin a way that what is the rest
of their lives going to be likeif they're already doing that as
kids?
Christopher (20:53):
Yeah, yeah, you nailed it.
Trudie (20:55):
Yeah, beautiful.
Like I I love that.
And obviously, this is allhappening in the early stages,
like you said, when you startedthe business and you had these
families come to you, you didn'thave children.
You've gone on now to have afamily.
How have your own boys startedto experience the business
(21:17):
through their eyes?
Christopher (21:19):
Yeah, I've been really fortunate to be able to
take them on on a good number oftrips now.
Actually, that Bali one that Imentioned, we took them on
recently, and that was certainlyone of the highlights because
it was coming full circle toactually be able to do it with
my children.
They got involved withcapturing water from the well
and then carrying that waterover to where the cement was
(21:43):
being mixed, and then actuallygot involved with mixing the
cement and then getting thespade and loading that cement
into the wheelbarrow and thenwheeling it over to where the
experts were doing the trickyparts, and at the same time got
to engage with the local kids,play soccer with them and
various other games.
And yeah, it was really specialthat we've also done some
(22:06):
turtle conservation work inMexico with them recently.
And one of the earlier ones wasbuilding an eco-friendly stove
in Belize.
And these stoves are reallywonderful in that one, they can
be completed from start tofinish in just a few days, but
also they have some wonderfulbenefits, such as they replace
(22:30):
the open flames that you get intraditional huts.
And particularly with youngkids running around, there's
risk of getting burnt.
And so by having an enclosedstove, you eliminate those
burns.
And by having a chimney, youcan expel the smoke, and thus
respiratory problems such asasthma are dramatically reduced.
(22:52):
And from an environmentalperspective, they're a win as
well, because they're much moreenergy efficient than the open
flames.
And yeah, that was anothergreat one to do with the kids.
And then most recently, we wereinvolved in Tahiti with a coral
reef restoration project.
So they've had a goodcross-section of activities.
Trudie (23:15):
Yeah, and it's not just about them being able to see
different parts of the worldfrom a tourist perspective, but
they're actually engaging.
Like you said, one of the veryfirst things you learned was
about engaging with the localsand seeing how how other people
live really, because you'regetting involved in their
day-to-day lives and them beingable to make a difference as
(23:37):
well, because it's not justabout I think making a
difference to the communitiesthat they're working in, but
surely as young men growing up,they are now learning skills
about life and about communityand about connection and who
they get to be in the world,which when you consider that
most kids are often glued to ascreen, gaming, doing all those
(24:03):
sorts of things, like your boysare really embracing the world
that you've had them grow up in.
Christopher (24:10):
Yeah, they are, and this wonderful sort of soft
skills developed around empathyand compassion and gratitude.
I mentioned, and as well, justI think a cultural awareness and
appreciation of culturalrichness really helps with a lot
of overcoming a lot of theothering that I think can happen
(24:33):
these days.
All around the world, we seeimmigration is a big issue, and
I think in that people'shumanity gets lost, and it's
just it it can be, as I say,other and not even humanizing
that other.
But I and so for me, havinginteraction with a diverse range
(24:55):
of cultures is really powerfulat a minimum for preserving
people's humanity.
Trudie (25:01):
I totally agree, and I think that you're spot on with
what you said about the factthat there is this other that
we're all human beings, we maylook different, but at the end
of the day, we all bleed red,and we are all having this human
experience while we're alive,but then we become so judgmental
and so segregated that weforget the whole essence of
(25:25):
that.
And I think what you're doingand the way you're giving back
in your business and what you dofor the world is truly breaking
down those barriers for so manypeople.
Christopher (25:38):
Again, you've nailed it, Trudy.
Trudie (25:41):
The next question I have to ask you that came up in that
conversation when you talkabout the different families
going to the different places.
Do you often travel withparticular families, or is this
something that you do thebooking for and they go and
travel on their own?
Or do you actually get toexperience some of these things
with them?
Christopher (26:01):
No, I don't go with other families.
It'd probably be a little weirdif I was to tack along with
another family.
They every trip is tailor-made,and so I will, like you say,
create an itinerary for thatfamily, and then they'll
experience it.
And part of our philosophy isto work with local guides, and
(26:23):
so in the destination, they'refar from on their own.
They are with 24-7 care, butit's locally based care.
And then I'm still contactable,but it's far better to speak to
someone on the ground thansomeone on the other side of the
world.
Trudie (26:38):
No, thank you for clarifying that because I part
of me was like, is this run aslike a tour guide sort of
experience where you're goingwith multiple groups of
families, or is this essentiallylike a family holiday going
experiencing it one-on-one?
You've just done all thebackground work to make it
happen.
So I think what you're creatingthere is such a beautiful
(27:00):
experience because you're notbeing led by this to a guide
that's telling you what to do,when to do it, how to do it.
You're creating the basis forthis experience to evolve
naturally during its course ofhowever long the people are
there for.
Christopher (27:17):
Yeah, that's right.
And again, it comes down to aclient's preferences.
Some may want to keep reallyopen the non-volunteering days,
shall I say, and wing it.
And then others would prefer abit more structure and have each
day planned out.
So it really just comes down toclient preferences.
Trudie (27:36):
And that's what makes it so unique because then you are
literally tailor-making it forwhat the different experiences
want to.
And then inside of what youwere saying about your boys and
what they've already been ableto experience, having done that,
are they now coming to you withideas of what they want to do
next or where they want to goand help out next?
(27:58):
Are they doing their ownresearch themselves?
Christopher (28:02):
I haven't yet, I must say.
No, not yet.
I think it'll come, but notyet.
No.
Trudie (28:09):
No.
And I asked that about yourboys, but are other families
then coming back to youpotentially as repeat clients,
looking for differentexperiences, potentially
experiences that they havelearned about themselves?
Christopher (28:23):
For sure.
Yeah.
It's interesting.
We get a lot of repeatcustomers, and the majority want
to try somewhere different eachtime around.
And we've had families thathave done trips, I I remember,
well, I mean so many, but tripsin Brazil and then South Africa,
(28:46):
and then Thailand, and thenRomania, really covering the
globe quite remarkably.
And then another thing we get,which I really love, is
intergenerational trips, whereit's kids, parents, and
grandparents traveling together.
(29:06):
Sometimes grandparents and thegrandkids.
But those are, I think, alsoreally powerful because it's
it's covering that the whole agespectrum from the children
looking to be inspired throughto grandparents who want to
leave a legacy.
Trudie (29:24):
I love that idea of three generations going away to
a different place and immersingthemselves in the culture and
giving back.
And like you said, it's threedifferent ways of doing it
because what's there for thegrandparents will be completely
different to the adultexperience and then be again
(29:45):
completely different for thechildren's experience.
And yet all are going to comeaway, not only making a
difference to the community thatthey've worked with, but in
their own lives and what they domoving forward for however
long.
They have here becauseobviously the grandparents' time
on earth is much less than thatof the children.
But they're all going to beprofoundly impacted and go back
(30:09):
to their own communities andmake a difference there.
Christopher (30:14):
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's that that is anotherreally great point that uh
people may do like the family Imentioned in India, and we spend
a year in India, but otherswill be inspired to volunteer
and serve in their owncommunities after experiencing
this sort of thing on a holidayas well.
Trudie (30:36):
Yeah, which I think is extremely important because
while it's amazing to go and dothese holidays that have this
volunteering aspect to them,it's then being able to take
those experiences and bring itback to your everyday life where
it's not that memory thathappened back then, it's
actually being replicated inyour everyday world.
Christopher (31:00):
Yeah.
Trudie (31:02):
And from that, like looking at the different people
and the different cultures andthe different places, like you
said, you came back with about20 destinations.
I imagine that has grown overtime.
But do now people that are insort of those communities around
the world, are they now comingto you looking for that
(31:24):
experience?
Do you get referrals from othercommunities coming to you
saying, hey, we'd love you tovisit over here?
Christopher (31:30):
Sure.
Yeah, yep, definitely.
It's one way that we do grow isby now we get communities
pitching to us to say we'd loveto be part of the hands-up
family, so to speak.
And then it's a case ofevaluating it, desktop
evaluation, and then if it ticksthe right boxes, go getting out
(31:51):
there and experiencing itfirsthand before launching it.
Trudie (31:54):
Yeah, I can imagine that you would have to experience it
firsthand before you send afamily off.
What have been some of yourfavorite destinations across the
course of the last 20 yearsthat you have experienced,
whether it's a particular place,whether it's a particular
community, or even whether it'sa particular project?
(32:15):
Maybe you can give us anexample from across all three.
Christopher (32:20):
Place, community, project.
Okay.
Trudie (32:22):
It's hard to summarize 20 years of experiences, but at
least it gives you a startingplace to take us on a journey.
Christopher (32:31):
Yeah, I've mentioned Bali already, and that
is one of my all-timefavorites.
So I'll think of some otherones.
One that springs to mind is inArgentina, and as a place, I
think it's incredible.
Particularly, I think the sheerlength of it means that there's
(32:52):
so many diverse ecosystems inthere.
You've got the glaciers down inthe south, and then you've got
the lake district heading a bitfurther north, and you've got,
and then you can move into sortof the pampas area where the
cowboys are, and then you've gotthe wine area around Mendoza,
(33:13):
and then you've got IguasuFalls, and then heading further
north, you you get into desertlandscapes, and so that as a as
a place is a favorite, andactually as a project, what we
have there is is one of myfavorites, is actually in
creating solar panel heatingsfor families using recycled
(33:36):
bottles and cans.
And it's a win on many levels,from just purely the actually
using recycled materials, butthen to then put them into
actually something that isgenerating heating for a family
and has the additional benefitsof saving that that family money
(34:01):
is a wonderful and favoriteproject of mine to promote and
certainly one to haveexperienced.
And yeah, communities.
Oh, yeah, here's a good one.
In Kenya, we've had a longrelationship with a Maasai
community that's a veryforward-looking community.
(34:25):
They're right on the edge ofthe Masai Mara.
And they are the onlyMaasai-owned camp that there is
for anywhere.
And so that they've beengranted a conservancy just on
the edge of the Massai Mara.
But in terms of so not only arethey forward thinking in terms
(34:48):
of their business now andsetting up this camp, but also
they are forward thinking interms of how progressive that
they think, certainly in termsof being very outspoken against
female genital mutilation andforced early marriage.
(35:09):
And so as a result, there's abeacon for young girls in other
villages can leave theirvillages where they're facing
these things and come.
And so we've been involved withbuilding a like a dormitory
style accommodation for youngwomen to come to from other
(35:29):
villages and live in and receivean education and then have
autonomy over their own lives.
And so that's just certainlyone of my favorite communities
there.
The whole experience when youarrive is incredibly welcoming.
There's the illulations of theMaasai women when you come in,
and then the jumping up anddown, the springing that's done,
(35:54):
and then the opportunity to goout with the Maasai men and
learn about their lives aswarriors, and also participate
in what they what we call theMaasai Olympics, which involves
learning about archery and spearthrowing.
And so, yeah, it's it's awonderful community and
incredible way to get immersedin the culture.
Trudie (36:17):
Just you describing those three things.
Argentina as a country, I neverlooked at how diverse it was.
I obviously know whereArgentina is, I know various
cities in Argentina, if you wereto name them, but you just
describing the differentlandscapes.
I was like, wow, okay, I didn'trealize how big of a place or
(36:39):
diverse a place it was.
And then you're talking aboutthe project in Argentina where
you said that not only are yourecycling materials, but you're
giving them some kind of solarheating, which is then going to
save them financially.
Like on all levels, that's sucha complex project in its whole
(37:01):
composition.
Yeah, you're taking wastedmaterials and recycling them.
You're providing an energysource, which then ultimately
saves the family money, whichmeans that they're going to be
financially better off to doother things.
Like that's such a profoundimpact on any community, even in
a Western culture, let alonesome of these communities in
(37:23):
other areas.
But then just describing theMassai community in Kenya, it's
I want to go there andexperience that.
Like it's the way you evendescribe it and bring it to life
is and what they're doing as acommunity for each other, for
the women in their community, ofmoving forward in a way that
(37:43):
you are not having these heinouskind of practices from the
past, that they're movingforward from that and not doing
it in a way that's this is rightor this is wrong, but just
progressing forward as a way ofexpanding their community.
I just think is incredible.
And the fact that you've gotnot only have you been able to
(38:06):
be part of these works, but thenother families are then going
in and experiencing this as wellas part of that hands-up family
that you have as part of yourbusiness.
Christopher (38:16):
Yeah, yeah, it's a joyous experience every time I
go there.
Trudie (38:20):
So obviously, listeners who have heard the episode want
to get involved and potentiallybook a trip of their own.
What sort of processes andsystems are in place and how
long would does the planningtake for something like that to
occur?
Christopher (38:38):
Yeah, there the in terms of the process, that's
that part's prettystraightforward.
Basically, going to our websiteand clicking on plan my trip,
and then that'll take you to apage which where you can really
select a checkbox.
So you can select destinationsof interest, ways of help that
(39:01):
are of interest, sightseeingactivities that are of interest,
time of year, length of trip,and so on, budget, etc.
And and all of those comethrough to me.
I handle every inquiry thatcomes through personally.
And then in terms of the time,the notice required, it it very
(39:21):
much depends on the time of yearand the destination.
And so, for example, Costa Ricais one of our most popular
destinations.
But if you wanted to travelover the Christmas, holiday, New
Year period this year, nochance of finding anywhere
there.
So for that, whilst we coulddeliver everything ourselves and
(39:46):
the volunteer experience wouldbe fine, we just can't get the
accommodation.
And so that's quite often theroadblock.
And so for a destination likeCosta Rica, or you know, there's
other examples, even closer tohome, New Zealand as well, at
Christmas time, really hard tofind accommodation.
Accommodation, as I say, can bethe roadblock and just need to
(40:10):
book further in advance.
But if you're willing to traveloff season, then we've done
trips with two weeks' notice.
So it's case-by-case basis.
Trudie (40:21):
And like you said, on the website, they've got all
these check boxes that gothrough the experience, how long
they want to travel for, theirbudget, the places they'd like
to go, the things they'd like todo.
So it really is, like you saidat the beginning, very much
tailor-made for each individualor family or multi-generational
family.
Do you do groups as well, or isit purely just smaller
(40:43):
families?
Christopher (40:45):
We only really do groups if it's like a group of
friends that come together andwant to travel.
I say that.
We do have another couple ofother brands that I launched,
which are all group trips, butthey're both pre-formed groups,
i.e., we have one that's is forschool trips, and so that's one
(41:08):
school group will traveltogether, and then the other is
a corporate one, and so that'swhere a company can take their
employees on one of these trips.
But again, it's a group trip,but it's everyone knows each
other prior.
Trudie (41:20):
No, I totally get that, and I love that you've brought
that up so that if again, if mylisteners are connected to wider
networks that potentially wantto have a corporate trip or
potentially want to have aschool trip, that literally you
encompass everything that you doinside of one of your brands.
Christopher (41:37):
That's right, Trudy.
Yep.
Trudie (41:39):
Yeah.
I really love what you'vecreated today inside of what
you've created over the last 20years.
I think what you're doing outthere is incredible for not just
the families who get toexperience these trips, but the
broader communities that youimpact through the volunteering,
(42:02):
through the projects thatyou're incorporating, and just
the humanitarian connection thatwould otherwise not have
occurred had you not gone onthis trip to Cape Town like 20
something years ago.
Christopher (42:18):
Yeah, that's right.
Trudie (42:20):
And is there any sort of plans for you in the future of
what your next trip or nextproject or next family trip is
going to be?
Christopher (42:32):
A couple of destinations that are in the
pipeline.
We're looking at offering somedestinations in the Caribbean.
So Puerto Rico and DominicanRepublic are in the pipeline.
And then for us as a family, Imentioned Costa Rica, and that
is looking like being our nextdestination, but not this
(42:53):
Christmas.
Like I said, no chance of that.
So we'll probably be travelingthere probably off peak time.
Trudie (43:00):
Nice.
And is there a particularproject that you'll be looking
at in your life?
Christopher (43:03):
No, there's a couple there.
Yeah.
One is a wildlife conservationproject, which is working with
mostly with monkeys and parrots,but it could be any other
animals that are being cared forat that time.
And it's preparing their meals,it's maintaining their
enclosures, it's creatingenrichments to stimulate the
(43:24):
animals and really just learninga lot about the animals.
And then the other one is we'vegot a relationship with some
schools in this same sort ofarea in Costa Rica.
And so it'll be depending onwhat their needs are at the
time, but it's it tends to berepair and renovation work at
one or more schools.
Trudie (43:44):
Wow.
So the community will beimpacted in whichever way you
choose to do, or you might doboth.
Who knows?
Christopher (43:51):
Oh, yeah, we plan to do both, yeah.
Trudie (43:53):
Plan to do both, that's awesome.
I just want to thank you somuch for sharing your business
and your journey today and whatyou do for people around the
world.
I will put all your links inthe show notes so that people
who do want to explore and havethis adventure for themselves,
they can reach out and connectwith you directly.
(44:15):
But the stories I've heardmyself today, like as a person
who is, like I said, toooff-air, my sister lives in Bali
and is giving her and herchildren that worldly
experience.
They've lived up there forthree years now.
My daughter is currently livingthere, so I do make regular
trips up to Bali and I do try toget out and explore and see
(44:37):
things differently than just thetourist things.
Once you've been going for 20odd years as I have, you you get
beyond the tourist part.
But just seeing it more throughthe eyes that you've given me
is that my next trip, I thinkI'm going to look at doing more
for myself, even if it's only onmy own accord.
Uh, but just giving back in away that I haven't given
(45:00):
previously on one of my trips.
So you've really opened my eyesto a different perspective of
the world.
So thank you for that as well.
Christopher (45:09):
Oh, amazing.
Uh thank you so much for theopportunity to share.
Trudie (45:13):
You're welcome.
And I always finish the podcastepisode by asking, what is one
thing you are most grateful fortoday?
Christopher (45:21):
It'll be my kids.
Yeah, I'm they're challenging,yeah, a lot of the time, but I'm
so glad to have them.
Trudie (45:33):
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It is mid-afternoon for therecording in my time and early
(03:46):
evening for his time.
And the way we connected wasactually via this gentleman's
personal assistant.
She emailed me after listeningto some of the episodes and said
she had the perfect guest forme.
So I would like to welcometoday Chris.
Christopher (04:03):
Thanks, Trudy.
It's great to be here.
Trudie (04:05):
It's so nice to have you.
And I mentioned to Kelly in heremail initially to me that you
weren't my usual guest, but youhad a fabulous story that I
wanted to be able to share.
So it really is an honour tohave you on the show today.
Christopher (04:21):
Amazing.
I'm so excited.
Trudie (04:23):
And I'd like to start your story probably about 20
years ago, before we hit record,is that you said your story
started some 20 odd years agothat's led you to today.
So tell me about that.
Christopher (04:37):
Yeah, sure.
My background that we quicklyraced through was that I did a
law degree and a business degreehere in New Zealand.
And then I ended up with myfirst job was in London working
in investment banking.
And I did that for six years.
And in that sixth year, I tooka trip down to South Africa.
(05:02):
I was invited down there by myfirst flatmate that I had in
London, who moved down to SouthAfrica and ended up becoming a
tour guide there.
And so he invited me down on atrip with him.
And we'd for a while had beendiscussing or really
brainstorming some ideas of waysthat I could get into the
(05:26):
travel industry because I hadtraveled quite extensively
leading up to that point.
And he knew it.
And I had thought that I wasgoing to get travel out of my
system and then settle down andbecome a lawyer.
But really, the more Itraveled, the more I realized I
(05:47):
wanted to travel.
And so as I say, we werediscussing some ideas.
And one idea that I liked thesound of was to combine a
holiday sightseeing withactually an element of giving
back and volunteering in thatdestination.
(06:07):
And he said, I've got a goodrelationship with a guy who runs
Habitat for Humanity in CapeTown.
And so do you want to see ifthey've got any openings for you
to get involved in a build withthem?
And I said, Yeah, sure, that'dbe great.
And so he got in touch with hisfriend.
And as it turns out, they didhave availability for the days
(06:28):
that we were going to be in CapeTown.
So we finished the trip, whichwas exploring the country, an
amazing country, and going onsafari and all that sort of
wonderful thing along the gardenroute as well.
And then got to Cape Town.
And as I say, he arranged forme to do this house build.
And it was there that thisexperience really added sort of
(06:52):
two extra dimensions to travelfor me.
One was that I actually got toengage with the local people and
hear their stories and share myown story with them and gain
insights into their lives.
And then secondly, it just feltgreat to actually make a
(07:12):
difference and help this familythat we were helping build
alongside.
And so I got thinking, yeah,I've learned some good business
skills.
Why don't I put these skillsinto something that I would find
a bit more meaningful andfulfilling and make it easier
for others to have similarexperiences to what I've just
had?
And so that was really the thebirthing of what three years
(07:35):
later became Hands Up Holidays,which is the first travel brand
that I launched.
Trudie (07:41):
That's incredible that one simple trip for you
literally changed the course ofyour life.
And I want to take you back tothat and ask, like you said,
that you had this thing, youwere trained at university to
become a lawyer and you wereworking in that industry, but
you had this travel bug.
(08:01):
How long did you stay a lawyerfor after this trip?
And do you feel like it wassomething that potentially that
you were driven towards byexternal factors?
And then once you actually gotto taste this idea of travel and
what you could do, that youthen started truly living into
your passion?
Christopher (08:23):
One thing to clarify actually, I never
practiced law.
I I actually ended up, as Imentioned, I studied law and
accepted a job with a law firm.
And they got them to agreebefore I start that I could
travel with them for sorry, notwith them, but travel for nine
months before starting workingfor them.
And in the course of my finalyear of university, because this
(08:47):
all happened going into myfinal year, in that final year,
I won a scholarship from aninvestment bank.
And it was through thatrelationship that they that I
ended up getting a job in Londonin investment banking and
thinking, well, if I don't takeit, I'll probably always regret
it.
And so saying to the law firm,actually, no, I'm actually not
(09:08):
able to start with you.
So there was that.
And then the second part ofyour question, yeah, I felt like
whilst technically I was goodat the job and was making head
in the right directionexternally, it wasn't speaking
to my soul.
And so it was really, it wasthis experience in South Africa
(09:32):
that did speak to my passion andmy soul.
And to the extent that I feltlike, yeah, this was a
no-brainer for me to pursue.
Yeah.
Trudie (09:43):
Wow.
And I love that you say thatyou it spoke to your soul that
you were doing something, andeven though you were good at it,
being good at it wasn't enoughfor you to stick it a career.
It was no, I have to go andfollow my passion, I have to go
and follow what speaks to mysoul and ultimately what makes a
difference.
Because I think, as you said,coming out of that trip, the two
(10:05):
things that that stood out foryou were engaging with locals
and being able to make adifference.
So you launched your newbusiness, Hands Up Holidays.
Tell me what happened fromthere.
Christopher (10:19):
At that at the time that we launched, which was in
2006, there was actually justback a couple of years, I had
intended to launch with justSouth Africa.
So like launch one destinationbeing South Africa, and really
carbon copy of what I'd doneback in 2002.
However, I got some advice froma family friend who was working
(10:43):
in the travel industry who saidthat in order to come across as
more credible and appeal to awider variety of customers, he
thought it would be best if wedelayed that launch and actually
built up a portfolio ofmultiple destinations.
(11:04):
And so I took that advice andactually ended up delaying the
launch by two years and traveledthe world during that time.
And so we ended up launchingwith about 20 destinations, and
that was in 2006.
And at that point, I had reallyyoung professionals in mind as
our main target audience 25 to35 year olds, cash rich, time
(11:28):
poor, who wanted to have a greatholiday, but at the same time
wanted to make a difference.
And we we did get some bookingsfrom them, but really what blew
me away was right from theoutset, we were getting bookings
from families.
And at that point, familiesweren't on my radar at all.
(11:49):
I didn't have children of myown at that time, and just it
didn't even occur to me thatfamilies would want to be
booking with us.
So I'd ask them, Why are youbooking with us?
And they'd say things like ourkids come from pretty privileged
backgrounds, and we really wantthem to appreciate just how
fortunate they are.
Or they'd say, We're lookingfor a great family bonding
(12:09):
experience, and this nails itfor us.
Or it it would like to inspireour kids to become the next
generation of world changers.
And this really resonated withme, and I can't remember how
long it took, but not that long.
We it started to focus ourmarketing messaging pretty much
(12:31):
exclusively, not exclusively,but certainly primarily on the
family audience.
And that's been uh anincredible ride to be able to
facilitate these trips forfamilies and even more so now
that I have children of my own.
Trudie (12:46):
Wow, that's yeah.
I'm just trying to fathom thatwhole process from going you
doing one trip for humanity inSouth Africa, that the advice of
somebody had you then go on atwo-year journey traveling
yourself and obviouslyexperiencing some of these other
things in different locationsaround the world so you could
(13:09):
launch your business withmultiple destinations, setting
up to have professionals do thistype of adventure, to then the
whole trajectory of it changingbecause families were coming to
you wanting to make adifference.
Like that, there is just somuch to explore inside of that.
(13:30):
So I want to take you back tothat two years where you were
traveling yourself to explorepossible other destinations and
obviously doing the humanitarianwork yourself.
What did you come across orlearn during that period?
Christopher (13:47):
Huh.
I think one key thing that Ilearned was that just by putting
yourself out there, you canattract uh like-minded people or
opportunities that you wouldn'tnecessarily certainly on your
on your own strength comeacross, but by being very vocal
(14:11):
and doing using your network,just amazing connections can
happen.
And it's been an incredibleexperience of building those
connections where they weren'teven necessarily expected.
For example, one was with a awoman who had was working for
(14:32):
Vodafone, and at the time therewas the Vodafone Foundation,
which essentially sponsoredemployees to take a year out and
volunteer at a project for thattime.
And and so a friend of minesaid, Oh, you should talk with
(14:52):
Annette.
She's just come back fromvolunteering in Bali for a year.
And and so I did got in touchwith her, and she was very
generous with her time and spokeabout how she was working at a
charity that primarily makesprosthetic limbs for people that
are missing limbs in Bali.
(15:13):
And she added, though, thatanother kind of sideline that
they do is building disabledaccessible bathrooms for
paraplegics.
And this really pricked my earsup.
And so I had to get up to Baliand experience firsthand what
they were doing there, and wasreally moved by the impact that
(15:35):
is made on really just oneindividual, but in an area
that's so personal, i.e., goingto the bathroom, being actually
able to bring about a measure ofdignity and independence in
this area, as I say, was reallymoving.
And so that's just one exampleof many that just through using
(15:56):
the network may become aware ofall these incredible
opportunities and projects thatwe can facilitate.
So yeah, that was one keylearning for sure.
Trudie (16:06):
And such an amazing key learning to have in that we take
for granted quite often in theWestern world that we live in,
of what facilities we have.
And people in other countriesand other areas don't have the
same luxuries that we do on aday-to-day basis.
Like you said, in somesomething as simple as going to
(16:29):
the bathroom, that you helpingout and having this amazing
adventure in Bali, but alsogiving back to the community in
such a profound way that has aripple effect beyond whatever we
would ever know.
Christopher (16:45):
Yeah, that's right, Trudy.
Yeah.
And connected with that wouldbe another key learning was for
me around contentment andgetting to engage with lots of
communities who materially havevery little, but spiritually and
emotionally are incredibly richand happy.
And that's, as I say, alearning for me that I've
(17:07):
embraced.
Not I've still got ways to go,but it's helped a lot with my
own.
Connected with that is a senseof gratitude and having actually
a daily practice of gratitudeas well.
Trudie (17:18):
Something so important that I think we all too often
forget is just being gratefulfor what we do have in our
day-to-day lives.
Because I think so often thereare so many people out there
searching for the next bestthing, or wishing for something
that they don't have, or wishingtime forward, like people who
are wanting, can't wait for thenext holiday, or can't wait for
(17:41):
the next occasion to come upbecause they're so dissatisfied
with their everyday world thatif we can all just have more
gratitude in our daily lives,that we become more accepting
and tolerant and have a morefulfilling life.
Like you said, they'reemotionally and spiritually more
(18:02):
connected to themselves thanpretty much what the rest of us
are for the most case, becausewe all become so materialistic.
Christopher (18:11):
Exactly.
Trudie (18:12):
So you obviously launched with approximately 20
destinations, and then obviouslythese families started coming
on board and taking advantage ofall these trips.
Are there particular ones thatstand out where families have
come back from those particularareas and have said, wow, or
(18:32):
wanted to do it again, or wantedto do something similar again?
Christopher (18:37):
Yeah, that there are.
There's a good number of one ofthe beauties I think of working
with families is repeat clientsand word of mouth for referrals
is really powerful.
And a couple of things, acouple of sort of stories that
spring to mind along thoselines, not necessarily repeat
customers, but one in a sensewas, and that one was they
(18:59):
traveled with us to India, andthey were helping in a remote
part of India called the SunderBarnes, which is not too far
from Bangladesh.
And they were in a villagecontext there and was
transformed by the experiencethat they actually moved to
India for a year and spent afull year volunteering in that
(19:23):
village.
And so yeah, they became arepeat customer in that sense.
And then another story I'd loveto share was a trip to Morocco
from a family, and they werebuilding a library in a school
about 45 minutes outside ofMarrakesh.
And their kids were quiteyoung.
(19:44):
They did get involved with thebuilding, but the kids more
focused on playing with the kidsat the school and getting that
interaction, and that which isgreat.
And so the trip happened, and Ididn't think too much more of
it other than that, until thefamily wrote to me and said that
they Christmas around Christmastime came and they said
(20:06):
actually our kids declined tohave their Christmas presents
and they wanted their Christmaspresents to be sent to the
children in Morocco.
Trudie (20:13):
Wow.
How do you even put a price onthat experience?
That what was started out as afamily holiday and a bonding
experience, and the childrenjust get to play with children
from a completely differentbackground, completely different
culture, and then of their ownfree will turn around and say,
(20:35):
No, we want to give back.
Like we've had such a profoundexperience without even
understanding probably what theywere asking or requesting, that
they are now giving it forwardin a way that what is the rest
of their lives going to be likeif they're already doing that as
kids?
Christopher (20:53):
Yeah, yeah, you nailed it.
Trudie (20:55):
Yeah, beautiful.
Like I I love that.
And obviously, this is allhappening in the early stages,
like you said, when you startedthe business and you had these
families come to you, you didn'thave children.
You've gone on now to have afamily.
How have your own boys startedto experience the business
(21:17):
through their eyes?
Christopher (21:19):
Yeah, I've been really fortunate to be able to
take them on on a good number oftrips now.
Actually, that Bali one that Imentioned, we took them on
recently, and that was certainlyone of the highlights because
it was coming full circle toactually be able to do it with
my children.
They got involved withcapturing water from the well
and then carrying that waterover to where the cement was
(21:43):
being mixed, and then actuallygot involved with mixing the
cement and then getting thespade and loading that cement
into the wheelbarrow and thenwheeling it over to where the
experts were doing the trickyparts, and at the same time got
to engage with the local kids,play soccer with them and
various other games.
And yeah, it was really specialthat we've also done some
(22:06):
turtle conservation work inMexico with them recently.
And one of the earlier ones wasbuilding an eco-friendly stove
in Belize.
And these stoves are reallywonderful in that one, they can
be completed from start tofinish in just a few days, but
also they have some wonderfulbenefits, such as they replace
(22:30):
the open flames that you get intraditional huts.
And particularly with youngkids running around, there's
risk of getting burnt.
And so by having an enclosedstove, you eliminate those
burns.
And by having a chimney, youcan expel the smoke, and thus
respiratory problems such asasthma are dramatically reduced.
(22:52):
And from an environmentalperspective, they're a win as
well, because they're much moreenergy efficient than the open
flames.
And yeah, that was anothergreat one to do with the kids.
And then most recently, we wereinvolved in Tahiti with a coral
reef restoration project.
So they've had a goodcross-section of activities.
Trudie (23:15):
Yeah, and it's not just about them being able to see
different parts of the worldfrom a tourist perspective, but
they're actually engaging.
Like you said, one of the veryfirst things you learned was
about engaging with the localsand seeing how how other people
live really, because you'regetting involved in their
day-to-day lives and them beingable to make a difference as
(23:37):
well, because it's not justabout I think making a
difference to the communitiesthat they're working in, but
surely as young men growing up,they are now learning skills
about life and about communityand about connection and who
they get to be in the world,which when you consider that
most kids are often glued to ascreen, gaming, doing all those
(24:03):
sorts of things, like your boysare really embracing the world
that you've had them grow up in.
Christopher (24:10):
Yeah, they are, and this wonderful sort of soft
skills developed around empathyand compassion and gratitude.
I mentioned, and as well, justI think a cultural awareness and
appreciation of culturalrichness really helps with a lot
of overcoming a lot of theothering that I think can happen
(24:33):
these days.
All around the world, we seeimmigration is a big issue, and
I think in that people'shumanity gets lost, and it's
just it it can be, as I say,other and not even humanizing
that other.
But I and so for me, havinginteraction with a diverse range
(24:55):
of cultures is really powerfulat a minimum for preserving
people's humanity.
Trudie (25:01):
I totally agree, and I think that you're spot on with
what you said about the factthat there is this other that
we're all human beings, we maylook different, but at the end
of the day, we all bleed red,and we are all having this human
experience while we're alive,but then we become so judgmental
and so segregated that weforget the whole essence of
(25:25):
that.
And I think what you're doingand the way you're giving back
in your business and what you dofor the world is truly breaking
down those barriers for so manypeople.
Christopher (25:38):
Again, you've nailed it, Trudy.
Trudie (25:41):
The next question I have to ask you that came up in that
conversation when you talkabout the different families
going to the different places.
Do you often travel withparticular families, or is this
something that you do thebooking for and they go and
travel on their own?
Or do you actually get toexperience some of these things
with them?
Christopher (26:01):
No, I don't go with other families.
It'd probably be a little weirdif I was to tack along with
another family.
They every trip is tailor-made,and so I will, like you say,
create an itinerary for thatfamily, and then they'll
experience it.
And part of our philosophy isto work with local guides, and
(26:23):
so in the destination, they'refar from on their own.
They are with 24-7 care, butit's locally based care.
And then I'm still contactable,but it's far better to speak to
someone on the ground thansomeone on the other side of the
world.
Trudie (26:38):
No, thank you for clarifying that because I part
of me was like, is this run aslike a tour guide sort of
experience where you're goingwith multiple groups of
families, or is this essentiallylike a family holiday going
experiencing it one-on-one?
You've just done all thebackground work to make it
happen.
So I think what you're creatingthere is such a beautiful
(27:00):
experience because you're notbeing led by this to a guide
that's telling you what to do,when to do it, how to do it.
You're creating the basis forthis experience to evolve
naturally during its course ofhowever long the people are
there for.
Christopher (27:17):
Yeah, that's right.
And again, it comes down to aclient's preferences.
Some may want to keep reallyopen the non-volunteering days,
shall I say, and wing it.
And then others would prefer abit more structure and have each
day planned out.
So it really just comes down toclient preferences.
Trudie (27:36):
And that's what makes it so unique because then you are
literally tailor-making it forwhat the different experiences
want to.
And then inside of what youwere saying about your boys and
what they've already been ableto experience, having done that,
are they now coming to you withideas of what they want to do
next or where they want to goand help out next?
(27:58):
Are they doing their ownresearch themselves?
Christopher (28:02):
I haven't yet, I must say.
No, not yet.
I think it'll come, but notyet.
No.
Trudie (28:09):
No.
And I asked that about yourboys, but are other families
then coming back to youpotentially as repeat clients,
looking for differentexperiences, potentially
experiences that they havelearned about themselves?
Christopher (28:23):
For sure.
Yeah.
It's interesting.
We get a lot of repeatcustomers, and the majority want
to try somewhere different eachtime around.
And we've had families thathave done trips, I I remember,
well, I mean so many, but tripsin Brazil and then South Africa,
(28:46):
and then Thailand, and thenRomania, really covering the
globe quite remarkably.
And then another thing we get,which I really love, is
intergenerational trips, whereit's kids, parents, and
grandparents traveling together.
(29:06):
Sometimes grandparents and thegrandkids.
But those are, I think, alsoreally powerful because it's
it's covering that the whole agespectrum from the children
looking to be inspired throughto grandparents who want to
leave a legacy.
Trudie (29:24):
I love that idea of three generations going away to
a different place and immersingthemselves in the culture and
giving back.
And like you said, it's threedifferent ways of doing it
because what's there for thegrandparents will be completely
different to the adultexperience and then be again
(29:45):
completely different for thechildren's experience.
And yet all are going to comeaway, not only making a
difference to the community thatthey've worked with, but in
their own lives and what they domoving forward for however
long.
They have here becauseobviously the grandparents' time
on earth is much less than thatof the children.
But they're all going to beprofoundly impacted and go back
(30:09):
to their own communities andmake a difference there.
Christopher (30:14):
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's that that is anotherreally great point that uh
people may do like the family Imentioned in India, and we spend
a year in India, but otherswill be inspired to volunteer
and serve in their owncommunities after experiencing
this sort of thing on a holidayas well.
Trudie (30:36):
Yeah, which I think is extremely important because
while it's amazing to go and dothese holidays that have this
volunteering aspect to them,it's then being able to take
those experiences and bring itback to your everyday life where
it's not that memory thathappened back then, it's
actually being replicated inyour everyday world.
Christopher (31:00):
Yeah.
Trudie (31:02):
And from that, like looking at the different people
and the different cultures andthe different places, like you
said, you came back with about20 destinations.
I imagine that has grown overtime.
But do now people that are insort of those communities around
the world, are they now comingto you looking for that
(31:24):
experience?
Do you get referrals from othercommunities coming to you
saying, hey, we'd love you tovisit over here?
Christopher (31:30):
Sure.
Yeah, yep, definitely.
It's one way that we do grow isby now we get communities
pitching to us to say we'd loveto be part of the hands-up
family, so to speak.
And then it's a case ofevaluating it, desktop
evaluation, and then if it ticksthe right boxes, go getting out
(31:51):
there and experiencing itfirsthand before launching it.
Trudie (31:54):
Yeah, I can imagine that you would have to experience it
firsthand before you send afamily off.
What have been some of yourfavorite destinations across the
course of the last 20 yearsthat you have experienced,
whether it's a particular place,whether it's a particular
community, or even whether it'sa particular project?
(32:15):
Maybe you can give us anexample from across all three.
Christopher (32:20):
Place, community, project.
Okay.
Trudie (32:22):
It's hard to summarize 20 years of experiences, but at
least it gives you a startingplace to take us on a journey.
Christopher (32:31):
Yeah, I've mentioned Bali already, and that
is one of my all-timefavorites.
So I'll think of some otherones.
One that springs to mind is inArgentina, and as a place, I
think it's incredible.
Particularly, I think the sheerlength of it means that there's
(32:52):
so many diverse ecosystems inthere.
You've got the glaciers down inthe south, and then you've got
the lake district heading a bitfurther north, and you've got,
and then you can move into sortof the pampas area where the
cowboys are, and then you've gotthe wine area around Mendoza,
(33:13):
and then you've got IguasuFalls, and then heading further
north, you you get into desertlandscapes, and so that as a as
a place is a favorite, andactually as a project, what we
have there is is one of myfavorites, is actually in
creating solar panel heatingsfor families using recycled
(33:36):
bottles and cans.
And it's a win on many levels,from just purely the actually
using recycled materials, butthen to then put them into
actually something that isgenerating heating for a family
and has the additional benefitsof saving that that family money
(34:01):
is a wonderful and favoriteproject of mine to promote and
certainly one to haveexperienced.
And yeah, communities.
Oh, yeah, here's a good one.
In Kenya, we've had a longrelationship with a Maasai
community that's a veryforward-looking community.
(34:25):
They're right on the edge ofthe Masai Mara.
And they are the onlyMaasai-owned camp that there is
for anywhere.
And so that they've beengranted a conservancy just on
the edge of the Massai Mara.
But in terms of so not only arethey forward thinking in terms
(34:48):
of their business now andsetting up this camp, but also
they are forward thinking interms of how progressive that
they think, certainly in termsof being very outspoken against
female genital mutilation andforced early marriage.
(35:09):
And so as a result, there's abeacon for young girls in other
villages can leave theirvillages where they're facing
these things and come.
And so we've been involved withbuilding a like a dormitory
style accommodation for youngwomen to come to from other
(35:29):
villages and live in and receivean education and then have
autonomy over their own lives.
And so that's just certainlyone of my favorite communities
there.
The whole experience when youarrive is incredibly welcoming.
There's the illulations of theMaasai women when you come in,
and then the jumping up anddown, the springing that's done,
(35:54):
and then the opportunity to goout with the Maasai men and
learn about their lives aswarriors, and also participate
in what they what we call theMaasai Olympics, which involves
learning about archery and spearthrowing.
And so, yeah, it's it's awonderful community and
incredible way to get immersedin the culture.
Trudie (36:17):
Just you describing those three things.
Argentina as a country, I neverlooked at how diverse it was.
I obviously know whereArgentina is, I know various
cities in Argentina, if you wereto name them, but you just
describing the differentlandscapes.
I was like, wow, okay, I didn'trealize how big of a place or
(36:39):
diverse a place it was.
And then you're talking aboutthe project in Argentina where
you said that not only are yourecycling materials, but you're
giving them some kind of solarheating, which is then going to
save them financially.
Like on all levels, that's sucha complex project in its whole
(37:01):
composition.
Yeah, you're taking wastedmaterials and recycling them.
You're providing an energysource, which then ultimately
saves the family money, whichmeans that they're going to be
financially better off to doother things.
Like that's such a profoundimpact on any community, even in
a Western culture, let alonesome of these communities in
(37:23):
other areas.
But then just describing theMassai community in Kenya, it's
I want to go there andexperience that.
Like it's the way you evendescribe it and bring it to life
is and what they're doing as acommunity for each other, for
the women in their community, ofmoving forward in a way that
(37:43):
you are not having these heinouskind of practices from the
past, that they're movingforward from that and not doing
it in a way that's this is rightor this is wrong, but just
progressing forward as a way ofexpanding their community.
I just think is incredible.
And the fact that you've gotnot only have you been able to
(38:06):
be part of these works, but thenother families are then going
in and experiencing this as wellas part of that hands-up family
that you have as part of yourbusiness.
Christopher (38:16):
Yeah, yeah, it's a joyous experience every time I
go there.
Trudie (38:20):
So obviously, listeners who have heard the episode want
to get involved and potentiallybook a trip of their own.
What sort of processes andsystems are in place and how
long would does the planningtake for something like that to
occur?
Christopher (38:38):
Yeah, there the in terms of the process, that's
that part's prettystraightforward.
Basically, going to our websiteand clicking on plan my trip,
and then that'll take you to apage which where you can really
select a checkbox.
So you can select destinationsof interest, ways of help that
(39:01):
are of interest, sightseeingactivities that are of interest,
time of year, length of trip,and so on, budget, etc.
And and all of those comethrough to me.
I handle every inquiry thatcomes through personally.
And then in terms of the time,the notice required, it it very
(39:21):
much depends on the time of yearand the destination.
And so, for example, Costa Ricais one of our most popular
destinations.
But if you wanted to travelover the Christmas, holiday, New
Year period this year, nochance of finding anywhere
there.
So for that, whilst we coulddeliver everything ourselves and
(39:46):
the volunteer experience wouldbe fine, we just can't get the
accommodation.
And so that's quite often theroadblock.
And so for a destination likeCosta Rica, or you know, there's
other examples, even closer tohome, New Zealand as well, at
Christmas time, really hard tofind accommodation.
Accommodation, as I say, can bethe roadblock and just need to
(40:10):
book further in advance.
But if you're willing to traveloff season, then we've done
trips with two weeks' notice.
So it's case-by-case basis.
Trudie (40:21):
And like you said, on the website, they've got all
these check boxes that gothrough the experience, how long
they want to travel for, theirbudget, the places they'd like
to go, the things they'd like todo.
So it really is, like you saidat the beginning, very much
tailor-made for each individualor family or multi-generational
family.
Do you do groups as well, or isit purely just smaller
(40:43):
families?
Christopher (40:45):
We only really do groups if it's like a group of
friends that come together andwant to travel.
I say that.
We do have another couple ofother brands that I launched,
which are all group trips, butthey're both pre-formed groups,
i.e., we have one that's is forschool trips, and so that's one
(41:08):
school group will traveltogether, and then the other is
a corporate one, and so that'swhere a company can take their
employees on one of these trips.
But again, it's a group trip,but it's everyone knows each
other prior.
Trudie (41:20):
No, I totally get that, and I love that you've brought
that up so that if again, if mylisteners are connected to wider
networks that potentially wantto have a corporate trip or
potentially want to have aschool trip, that literally you
encompass everything that you doinside of one of your brands.
Christopher (41:37):
That's right, Trudy.
Yep.
Trudie (41:39):
Yeah.
I really love what you'vecreated today inside of what
you've created over the last 20years.
I think what you're doing outthere is incredible for not just
the families who get toexperience these trips, but the
broader communities that youimpact through the volunteering,
(42:02):
through the projects thatyou're incorporating, and just
the humanitarian connection thatwould otherwise not have
occurred had you not gone onthis trip to Cape Town like 20
something years ago.
Christopher (42:18):
Yeah, that's right.
Trudie (42:20):
And is there any sort of plans for you in the future of
what your next trip or nextproject or next family trip is
going to be?
Christopher (42:32):
A couple of destinations that are in the
pipeline.
We're looking at offering somedestinations in the Caribbean.
So Puerto Rico and DominicanRepublic are in the pipeline.
And then for us as a family, Imentioned Costa Rica, and that
is looking like being our nextdestination, but not this
(42:53):
Christmas.
Like I said, no chance of that.
So we'll probably be travelingthere probably off peak time.
Trudie (43:00):
Nice.
And is there a particularproject that you'll be looking
at in your life?
Christopher (43:03):
No, there's a couple there.
Yeah.
One is a wildlife conservationproject, which is working with
mostly with monkeys and parrots,but it could be any other
animals that are being cared forat that time.
And it's preparing their meals,it's maintaining their
enclosures, it's creatingenrichments to stimulate the
(43:24):
animals and really just learninga lot about the animals.
And then the other one is we'vegot a relationship with some
schools in this same sort ofarea in Costa Rica.
And so it'll be depending onwhat their needs are at the
time, but it's it tends to berepair and renovation work at
one or more schools.
Trudie (43:44):
Wow.
So the community will beimpacted in whichever way you
choose to do, or you might doboth.
Who knows?
Christopher (43:51):
Oh, yeah, we plan to do both, yeah.
Trudie (43:53):
Plan to do both, that's awesome.
I just want to thank you somuch for sharing your business
and your journey today and whatyou do for people around the
world.
I will put all your links inthe show notes so that people
who do want to explore and havethis adventure for themselves,
they can reach out and connectwith you directly.
(44:15):
But the stories I've heardmyself today, like as a person
who is, like I said, toooff-air, my sister lives in Bali
and is giving her and herchildren that worldly
experience.
They've lived up there forthree years now.
My daughter is currently livingthere, so I do make regular
trips up to Bali and I do try toget out and explore and see
(44:37):
things differently than just thetourist things.
Once you've been going for 20odd years as I have, you you get
beyond the tourist part.
But just seeing it more throughthe eyes that you've given me
is that my next trip, I thinkI'm going to look at doing more
for myself, even if it's only onmy own accord.
Uh, but just giving back in away that I haven't given
(45:00):
previously on one of my trips.
So you've really opened my eyesto a different perspective of
the world.
So thank you for that as well.
Christopher (45:09):
Oh, amazing.
Uh thank you so much for theopportunity to share.
Trudie (45:13):
You're welcome.
And I always finish the podcastepisode by asking, what is one
thing you are most grateful fortoday?
Christopher (45:21):
It'll be my kids.
Yeah, I'm they're challenging,yeah, a lot of the time, but I'm
so glad to have them.
Trudie (45:33):
Thank you for tuning in to the Everyday Warriors
podcast.
If you have an idea for afuture episode or a story you'd
like to share yourself, thenplease reach out and message me,
as I am always up for real,raw, and authentic conversations
with other Everyday Warriors.
Also, be sure to subscribe sothat you can download all the
(45:55):
latest episodes as they arepublished.
And spread the word to yourfamily and friends and
colleagues so they can listen intoo.
If you're sharing on socialmedia, please be sure to tag me
so that I can personallyacknowledge you.
I'm always open to commentabout how these episodes have
resonated with you, thelistener.
(46:16):
And remember, lead with love asyou live this one wild and
precious life.
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