Leigh developed a passion for travel from an early age. In fact, when she was a young girl, she remembers sitting on her dad’s knee and watching a documentary on Egypt where she noted ‘I am going to go there dad.’ When Leigh was slightly older she remembers going on school excursions and she was always surprised to see that other kids were reluctant to leave their families. Instead, Leigh was always keen to go on an ‘adventure’ with her friends.
When the opportunity came up for Paul and Leigh to purchase Harvey World Travel (now helloworld Armidale) more than a decade ago, the young couple decided that owning a travel agency was a terrific option. At the time, Leigh and Paul had young kids, so Paul decided to work part time in the business whilst Leigh built up the business on a full time basis. Paul’s tenure as a ‘house husband’ slowly came to an end and he now works full time in the business with Leigh.
When Paul is not working, he likes motor bike riding whereas Leigh enjoys push bike riding and playing hockey. Both share a love of travel and adventure. In fact Paul has been lucky enough to be able to integrate his love of travel and motorbikes by hosting an annual tour to the Isle of Mann TT, which is a motor cycle race and extravaganza. Several years ago, Paul started an annual pilgrimage to the Isle of Mann with a group of mates, but now he has extended the invitation to other interested parties.
Having both lost their brothers at an early age, Paul and Leigh know that life is short and that it is important to make the most out of every day. They therefore choose to spend their disposable income on ‘experiences’ rather than ‘material’ goods. Now that Paul and Leigh’s kids are adults, they hope to increase the frequency of their travel adventures.
In our next posting, we will tell you about some of the interesting travel experiences that Paul and Leigh have had…