Escape Adventures NZ was founded back in 1999 by John Etherington. With family connections in Kenya and Tanzania and solid knowledge of both countries gained driving overland trucks, John decided that riding bikes would provide a far better way to explore Africa than traveling in a vehicle. Ideas whirled, plans drawn up and finally Turtle materialised (middle picture above). The first iteration of an Escape Adventures support vehicle. A land cruiser whose previous life was on the Rainbow ski field road, shipped to Kenya and refitted to hold people and tow a bike/kitchen trailer. Our first ever tour ran in 1999 with a grand total of one biker! That was enough, the word was out and started to spread slowly but surely through New Zealand and the UK, the next few years were spent developing this tour and nurturing relationships, lots of which are still strong to this day!
Mandy officially joined the team around 2004, and in 2005 Turtle, having been outgrown, was replaced with Sabrina the bus. The first tour leaders were employed in 2006, and with bikers getting in touch hungry for more adventures, the first trip outside of Africa was developed. Chile and Argentina ran between 2006-2010.
There was a flurry of new tours over the next few years as bikers who had done one trip wanted more, and cycling adventures became a more common active holiday option. A few tours which have come and gone are, China and Tibet 2008-2019, Laos 2011-2012 and Fiji 2014-2019 but some have really stood the test of time and we still have departures for Cambodia est. 2013, Kyrgyzstan est. 2014, Madagascar est.2016, Colombia est. 2018 and of course Kenya and Tanzania.
One of the longest standing relationships has to be with Joseph and Innocent our local team in Kenya. Inno was running the camp in Nairobi where we used to start and finish all the tours, in 2008 he introduced his brother Joseph to John, with the idea of him driving support. Joseph still works for us to this day and juggles a full season driving tours with his other work throughout the year. Innocent ended up buying 3 overland trucks when the camp closed, and since 2013 we have been hiring one each year, kitting it out to carry bikes and people. ‘The Beast’ becomes everyone’s home away from home whilst on tour.
In 2019 it was Escape Adventures 20th birthday, with a big celebration held at the Timber Trail Lodge in the Central North Island of New Zealand. And who could have predicted what came next.
Covid… It was hard times for so many people around the world and we were very lucky to be here in New Zealand, but there’s no denying that for a small travel business operating international tours from NZ this was tough! With a business to save there was no time to waste, and out of the ashes came our New Zealand cycle tours. With permission from the Kennet brothers to base our supported tours on some of the classic bike packing routes that are Tour Aotearoa and Kōpiko Aotearoa, Escape Adventures evolved once more. 2020 – 2022 were filled with New Zealand tour logistics and supporting Kiwi’s to discover their own back yards by bike, it was great to see the support from all the local bikers and an amazing opportunity to discover some of Aotearoa’s hidden gems! Continued below.
2022 came round and international travel reopened, Escape Adventures and some of our most intrepid bikers were quick to jump on the opportunity, we ran tours in Kenya and Tanzania, Namibia and Colombia that year!
This also marked the beginning of a new chapter for Escape Adventures with the sale of the business, Tom and Jaimee Kearney took up the reins just in time for the 2022/2023 New Zealand cycle tours.
Ready to continue the legacy of running unforgettable cycle tours in amazing destinations, whilst dreaming up new tours and creating exciting opportunities for adventure. They got to work right away, and whilst nurturing the current international tours back from the covid hibernation, have also developed the Canterbury Peaks to Plains Cycle Tour here in New Zealand and the Japan E-bike tour, both running for the first time earlier in 2024!
Escape Adventures Cycle Tours is driven by the reward that comes with creating and leading tours that will touch your soul and stay in your memory forever, we cant wait to see where our bikes will take us next.
Can we request a 25th birthday present please?
We’re going to be a wee bit cheeky here, but since we’ve just turned 25, why not! Being a small New Zealand owned business operating all around the globe can be tricky. Getting in front of the right kinds of adventure seekers who are as excited to ride bikes in far off places as we are, then convincing them of our capability to provide an amazing and unique experience… That’s where you can help!
Reviews from previous bikers are a real game changer! I don’t think I need to explain how useful recent reviews from real people are to any of you seasoned travellers. So we would like to ask a favour, if you have travelled with us in the past few years on any of our tours and have had a wonderful time we would love to hear about it.
Please pick a platform, linked below and let the world know what you thought of your cycling experience with Escape Adventures. It could be as simple as a star rating, or if you fancy giving more detail then we would love to see it!
Write us a review on google
Or how about Trip Advisor
Maybe Facebook is more your jam…
Last Calls for Cambodia 2024
We have just seven spaces left on this season’s Cambodia Cycle Tour. Departing Siem Reap on November 15th, you will travel far off the beaten path with your bike, boats and the occasional vehicle transfer. Immersing yourself in a warm and welcoming culture that has blossomed after years of instability and turbulence, assisting with the regeneration and conservation of an important mangrove forest and of course sampling an abundance of delicious food! Your ends with you arrival into the bustling centre that is Phnom Penh on the 27th November, continue your travels from here or head home ready to embrace the madness that is December.
P.S. If you’re thinking ‘nah all good I’ll go in 2025’, WELL, we are almost fully booked next season as well! So don’t miss out and join us for an unforgettable cycle tour. We even have Ebikes available if you fancy a little extra power to get you through the Km’s.
