Eleven Years in the Rear-View Mirror

As I begin breathing new life into Freespirit Adventure Tours, it seems an appropriate moment to look back at the 11 years that have passed since I last worked in adventure travel.

The story begins in January 2015, when our daughter left Nepal to continue her studies in Cape Town. Like any parent, I watched her departure with a mixture of pride and apprehension, knowing she was setting out to build a life of her own.

Just a few months later, on 25 April 2015, everything changed.

The devastating earthquake that struck Nepal turned our lives—and the lives of millions of others—upside down. Communities were destroyed, families were displaced and villages were left urgently needing food, shelter and medical assistance. In the aftermath, we became involved in humanitarian efforts to help some of the stricken villages. It was a sobering and unforgettable period that put everyday concerns firmly into perspective.

Eventually, I made the difficult decision to leave Nepal and return to England. After many years overseas, it meant starting again and trying to work out what the next chapter of our lives might look like.

Part of that new beginning took me back to Cranfield. When I had first known it, Cranfield was an Institute of Technology; by the time I returned, it had become Cranfield University. Fortunately, it was still willing to welcome an “old boy” back.

I invested in postgraduate study, hoping that a formal qualification in geospatial data management would help me get a foot back on the career ladder. It proved to be money well spent.

Three jobs, a couple of side hustles and a great deal of learning later, I now consider myself a geospatial data professional. For anyone wondering what that means, I sometimes describe it simply as “map-making on steroids”—combining geography, data, technology and analysis to understand places and solve real-world problems.

In 2018, my wife Indira joined me in England, bringing an end to another period of separation and allowing us to begin building our new life here together. Since then, she has made England her home and has now become a naturalised British citizen—a significant milestone in our shared journey from Nepal to a new life in the UK.

More recently, my geospatial experience has taken me into the world of professional drone surveying. After gaining my GVC drone qualification and carrying out aerial mapping, inspection and survey work, I began developing GeoMapDrone as a business. The aim is to combine professional drone operations with my background in GIS and spatial data, turning aerial imagery into accurate maps, 3D models and useful information for clients.

So, alongside the day job—and the renewed effort to bring Freespirit Adventure Tours back to life—I am also building a new business around the skills and technology that have shaped the second half of my working life.

Meanwhile, our daughter has built a life of her own in Cape Town, where she now lives with her partner. This Christmas, if all goes to plan, we will finally make the journey south to visit them.

Looking back, the past 11 years have included upheaval, loss, humanitarian work, migration, education and the challenge of starting again. They have also brought new opportunities, new skills and several new ventures.

Now, as Freespirit Adventure Tours begins to stir back into life, it feels as though another circle is starting to close. The road has taken a few unexpected turns—but perhaps that is what makes it an adventure.