ROMANTIC ENGAGEMENT
The Kiwi couple famous for traversing the globe in a Jeep, Expedition Earth’s Topher Richwhite and Bridget Thackwray had a romantic engagement over the holidays.
Richwhite, the son of Rich Lister David, proposed to Thackwray in front of both of their families, who came together to celebrate the building of our their new home in the Far North in the New Year.
Thackwray tells Spy that Richwhite presented the ring to her in a tiny scallop shell she had handed him on a beach stroll on their first date in 2017.
“He kept the shell hidden and used it to propose to me all these years later,” she says.
“It was on only our second date that we had the idea of Expedition Earth, and just two months later we were in Deadhorse, Alaska at the start line of our 300,000km journey across the length and breadth of the world.”
After travelling through North and South America, up Africa and across Europe, they had just started their third and final leg, which was to see them drive home through Asia when Covid and worldwide lockdowns hit and they returned to New Zealand from Russia, leaving behind Gunther, their trusty Jeep.
Since then, when able, they have shown their hundreds of thousands of global followers the best parts of New Zealand.
“We have spent the past 12 months building ourselves a tiny home in the Far North. We have also been working on an exciting new project which is a sustainable tourism attraction in Rotorua,” says Thackwray.
The home is called Faraway Cove and is a private hideaway on pristine coastal land not far from Kauri Cliffs. Thackwray says when they are back on the road, they have a waiting list of guests wishing to book it.
“Moving to the Far North made sense to us, immersed in nature and outdoor living, which is why we have called our little paradise Faraway Cove.”
And that time has come quicker than they thought, last week they had a call from the team at Jeep Moscow, who told them that Gunther’s import licence has expired and the Jeep must exit Russia by the end of March, or the authorities will seize it and the couple will never again see their travel companion.
“We will fly to Moscow in February and drive him to either London or Istanbul where he can wait out the Covid border closures. We are looking at the option of driving Gunther through West Africa while we wait for the borders along our route from Russia to New Zealand to reopen,” she says.
The couple still have 33 countries left from their original route and say it will be interesting to see how Covid has affected the areas they plan to explore.
After meeting people and cultures from all over the world, the pair have also learned many lessons about themselves on the road including, tomorrow celebrating two years of no drinking.
“Our travels taught us that alcohol was a distraction from living our lives to the fullest.”