Father's Day Special: Interview with Adventurous Dad Andrew Hughes - Discover the Highlights of His Inspiring Global Family Bike Journey

To celebrate Father's Day, we're excited to feature Andrew Hughes, a truly inspiring dad whose adventurous spirit has taken his family on incredible journeys. In 2019, Andrew and his family embarked on a year-long tandem bike trip around Australia. Now, with an additional family member and a custom-made bike to accommodate everyone, they're on the road in an epic three-year journey around the world. We had the chance to catch up with Andrew to learn more about their past experiences, upcoming journey, and how they balance family life with their passion for adventure.

1. What inspired you to undertake the 2019 tandem bike trip with your family, and how has fatherhood shaped your decision to embark on a global adventure in 2024?

At the time Nic and I had two children aged 3 and 5, so it was a difficult choice to take them riding around Australia for a year. There wasn’t a lot of precedent for doing that so we had our fair share of doubts. I think what ultimately inspired us to make that leap was a sense that we wanted to lay a different foundation for our kids. We both strongly value the intangible things that adventure can provide. Things like perseverance, dealing with adversity, adaptability and positive risk taking. The experiences you have at those young ages become a huge part of who you are in the future. That was our theory anyway, we’ll let you know how it works out for them down the track a bit! 

2. What role does your partner play in these family adventures, and how do you support each other?

We’re a great team at the end of the day. There’s no way you could undertake what we’re doing now, and have done in the past, if you didn’t share the same, or very similar, ideals. We both have slightly different skill sets that complement each other pretty nicely. Nic is just a lot more sensible and realistic than me. So, when we’re discussing plans and I’m getting carried away she brings that level headedness to the table. It can be exhausting travelling with children, especially on bicycles in foreign countries, so we have to have each others back when we see each other struggling. We’ve found that having some defined expedition roles helps a lot. I’m an early riser so mostly do the breakfast roundup, and Nic loves experimenting with food so generally cooks dinner. I’m obsessed with maps so do a lot of route finding and Nic is much better at remembering that we have to eat lunch and that our toddler needs to stay warm. Having somewhat predictable roles day to day does help when we’re moving around so much and facing novel and stressful situations regularly. 

3. What has been the most memorable experience you've shared with your children during your adventures?

I’ll mention two, one from our Australia ride and one more recently. In 2019 when we set off around Australia by bike we really didn’t know how we’d go in the remote areas with the kids being 3 and 5 at the time. As we gained confidence over the year we took on bigger challenges. One special highlight was when we decided to ride out along the Trans Access Road from Kalgoorlie to Rawlinna and then across this huge sheep station track back down to the highway at Cocklebiddy. This put us right out in the middle of the Nullarbor Plain in a very remote setting. We camped one night on this incredible undulating saltbush plain with the nearest other person probably more than 80km away. A distant thunderstorm lit up the sky with bolts of lighting as we sat around a little cooking fire just taking it in. It was awesome. 

On this current expedition we came across from New Zealand to Peru to tackle the Andes. This was a huge question mark for us as we didn’t know how we’d go with the altitude and the culture shock. Coming out of Lima we’d lined up a rarely ridden route that took us up to a 4700m pass in something like the first 180km. As we climbed through small towns and rose steadlily up over those first weeks we all felt the trepidation rise as the people thinned out and we finally reached an elevation where it was just grassland and mountain peaks. We camped next to the dirt road just a few kilometers and 300m elevation below the pass and the next day pushed and puffed our way to the top. It was genuinely hard work and Nic and I were so proud of the kids, especially Hope and Wilfy who had to walk most of the way. But that feeling of accomplishment, combined with the snow capped mountain view as we rolled down the other side, will be hard to beat. Sharing moments like that with your family is as good as life gets. 

4. How do you plan to celebrate special occasions like Father's Day while travelling the world?

Our two oldest children are at that wonderful age between being psychopathic toddlers and disinterested teenagers when they genuinely love celebrating special events like Father’s Day. Travelling by bicycle makes it even more fun because they have to get creative with how to do it. Big presents are thankfully out, and small gestures and scrap paper cards are in. If I’m lucky I won’t have to make the porridge in the morning and someone will pack up my sleeping bag and maybe even the tent!

5. In what ways do you involve your children in the planning and decision-making process for these adventures, and how does this foster their sense of responsibility and adventure?

Our two year old is completely excluded from all decision making and planning, which is a good thing or we would be swinging back and forth in a playground and eating ‘ang’ (ice cream) for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The older two definitely have input. Nic and I are constantly changing our longer term plans and we always discuss these fully with the children. We talk about pros and cons of each decision and usually come up with a consensus for where to go and how to get there. From the beginning of this world adventure we’ve also made it crystal clear that if anyone, for whatever reason, feels super strong about needing to go home, then that’s what we’ll do. On the day to day decision making we try to build in a growing sense independence. That might be as simple as giving them some pocket money and letting them wander off up the street to decide how to spend it. Or it could be giving them a packet of matches and letting them build their own cooking fire. Of course we maintain our parental right to veto any of their suggestions with no further discussion to be entered into!

6. What advice do you have for other families who want to inspire their children to embrace adventure and explore the world together?

Adventures are hiding around every corner and they don’t have to be far from home. So if you’re not willing or able to quit your job and guarantee financial ruin then look for the mini adventures in your own backyard. A night outside with a little campfire and some stargazing is a wonderful thing for any child to experience. But if adventures further afield  is your goal then don’t let time slip away too far! Maybe don’t load your newborn into a backpack and trek off to Everest Base Camp before their first vaccination jab, but don’t underestimate how young children can thrive on adventure travel. Our two year old isn’t learning about Peruvian history and geopolitical tensions but she is exploding with language and learning how to walk on tough terrain in a hurry! Not to mention the affection she receives from all the grandmas that must be teaching her that the world is overall full of good people. And finally, as a general rule of thumb when exploring the world with children, plan on going half as far and taking twice as long as you might have expected. And then scratch that idea and just see what the day brings.

As Andrew and his family embark on their incredible journey, we invite you to follow their adventures through their Instagram profile, @swagfamilyhughes, and their website, Get inspired by their stories, photos, and updates as they travel the world, creating unforgettable memories and teaching their children the true spirit of adventure.