My name is Warren Ladbrook. I grew up in New Zealand and come from a family that traveled extensively…. it’s in the genes. I grew up on a noted sheep farm in Gore, at the bottom of the South Island. As a child I traveled around New Zealand with my family, and friends, but still wanted to see more of the world. I left New Zealand when I was 18 and have been traveling ever since. I met my wife, Colette, on a Mission trip to Brazil while sailing up the Amazon River. Colette’s first trip overseas was a mission trip to Israel with her college church group. It was after she graduated from The University of Florida that she went on the M/V Good Samaritan and sailed to Brazil for 10-12 weeks, where she met me. We had our first date in Grenada, and went on another mission trip to Mexico. We got married in 1988, honeymooned in NZ and have been on many, many adventures since. We have lived together in six US states and two countries. We have three adult children who have lived in both the US and NZ with us. I spent 7 years working in the Middle East and Asia, before giving that up to spend more time with our family – meaning we spent 10 years living in NZ from 2012 – 2022.
I’m a Professional Engineer who has traveled extensively for work in Afghanistan, Iraq, India, Sri Lanka, and many others. I’ve also done engineering mission trips with Engineering Ministries International, including a hair raising trip to Bolivia. I’ve been to 34+ countries and counting. I didn’t just go on all these trips, I have led countless groups -so have almost 40 years of putting itineraries together (Contact us at: Family@TheTravelingDad.com if you want help with your itinerary).
Colette works part-time, runs an online Etsy shop and helps with the blog. We currently live in North Carolina and spend our weekends hiking and chasing waterfalls with our amazing dog, Benji.
And the kids … well they all love to travel too – we’ve taken them to Australia, Tahiti and many places in the US and NZ. Our eldest son, Peter, has been to Jamaica and is a talented graphic artist – and is the designer of our revised website. Luke’s been to Turkey, the Netherlands, and Uganda – and has been working at an airport for the past 2-3 years. Anna-Kate has been to Iceland, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein, Austria and France (all before turning 23), and works as a marketing data analyst for a tourism company in North Carolina.
The above photo is one of my favorite family photos, from a few years ago, while we were visiting one of our favorite places in New Zealand (Castle Hill). It’s a lot more touristy now, but it used to be a lot more tranquil and peaceful.
The above photos were taken at two of our favorite spots in Western NC. We’ll be adding more content soon and we would appreciate if you would comment, follow and sign up for our newsletters!
Thanks, Family@TheTravelingDad.com
https://www.instagram.com/travelingdad_nz
For Graphic Design – greyembercreative@gmail.com