roundthebendproject@gmail.com
This is us with our bikes fully loaded on day one in Cancun, Mexico.
Round the Bend Cocktail
- 1 Croatian - New Zealand - Australian designer/architect
- 1 South African - Canadian grants guru
- A liberal pouring of Travel Passion
- An equal pouring of Environmental Passion
- A handful of Curiosity
- A pinch of Magic, to garnish
Round the Bend project is Vinko & Colette Grgic, two adventurous dreamers from all corners of the world who are passionate about living sustainably on our beautiful planet whilst creating long-term prosperity for its many creative people.
It's hard to tell exactly where and how it all began. We've spent a lot of our lives so far being academics, activists and general worker bees. The #1 thing Vinko learnt from his 10 years of studying is that it was time to dislocate his right hand from the mouse, tear his eyes away from the computer screen and go explore the amazing things that are waiting round the bend. It fit in perfectly with Colette's desires to get away from an office job to frolic freely in the tropics of foreign lands doing development work.
But we have always been happiest outside surrounded by nature. We have always said that we could live in a remote jungle or deserted island (providing we have internet!). But we didn't realise how strong we both felt about it until we visited a community operated hide-away on an idyllic island in Fiji. We had a million ideas for improvements so that the whole community could be more sustainable and successful through the Safe Landing Resort. The idea simmered for a few months, and then we hit Jasmine Valley Eco-resort in Cambodia and found it impossible to leave. It made us think about our passion for meaningful travel and our career aspirations for starting a world-class eco-resort. So we traded in our cushy life with hot water and cold drinks for some bikes and equipment, and this website.
But where to find the right place? And how much damage would we do if we zipped across the globe looking for it? Fortunately we ran into Jesus and Sarah in Borneo. Tired, thirsty and sunburnt the couple had biked over 17,000km already through South and Central America, and South East Asia. And they were nowhere close to being finished with their travels. "We like biking" we said. It allows you to travel at a pace where you can really feel immersed in the typography, the sights, smells and sounds. You get to meet incredible people who don't necessarily speak English and you get to experience the real culture. Like good slow-cooked food. It just tastes better. We can craft our own route, find hidden treasures. No bus schedules, no pre-determined routes, no mass tourism locations. Less impact on the environment, less greenhouse gasses, less consume-and-carry-on tourism. Barefoot travel.
Round the Bend project satisfies our goals to travel as much of the world as we can and to build a career in sustainable eco-tourism as a means of community development.
Follow us as we see what's Round the Bend...
