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Cancer diagnosis spurs decision to quit work and hit the road

Sandy and Greg Corbett had never holidayed in a caravan when they decided to live in one fulltime after Sandy was given just four years to live.

SANDY and Greg Corbett had never so much as holidayed in a caravan when they decided to live in one fulltime, after a devastating medical diagnosis made them reassess their lives.

Last year, Sandy Corbett was diagnosed with myeloma, a type of blood cancer, and originally given just four years to live.

‘‘We thought, ‘Stuff it, there’s more to life than this’. Both of us were working fulltime and living in Palmerston North,’’ Greg says.

‘‘Before I got the diagnosis,’’ Sandy says, ‘‘we thought we’d love to do it when we retire, but it pushed us forward a few years.

‘‘We were just working for the man and trying to earn money to pay off our house and go overseas. When you find out you’ve got a terminal illness . . . money just became nothing.’’

The couple sold their threebedroom house, bought a

$110,000 Jayco Silverline touring caravan and a ute to tow it, and hit the road, starting with a three-week stay in Rotorua as the August 2021 lockdown hit – allowing them to get used to living in close quarters.

‘‘That allowed us to get our spatials worked out. We were crashing into each other for a while, but three weeks in one spot allowed us to work it out,’’ Sandy says.

Greg, 61, quit his job as manager of a large truck workshop, and Sandy, 51, didn’t renew her contract as project administrator on a wind farm. Greg is able to do some part-time work on the road, as an assessor for Mito, the motor industry training organisation.

Living in a confined space together wasn’t a concern for the couple who have been together for 23 years, and have six adult children between them.

They’d never been in a caravan before, but had done a one-week canal boat trip in

Ireland that they both loved.

They initially planned to travel the far north of the North Island, but lockdowns put paid to that, so instead they have travelled the central North

Island and below, including Tauranga, Thames and the Coromandel, Hamilton, Palmerston North and Wellington.

They then spent eight months in the South Island, returning to Palmerston North this week to sort out a change of tenants at their rental property.

The next stop will be Blenheim, where Greg’s 94-yearold father is not in great health.

‘‘So we will spend some time with him while we can. We can do that, we’re flexible, so why not?’’ Greg says.

His mother died earlier this year, and they were able to spend time with her beforehand.

The couple share their adventures and learnings on their YouTube channel, Kiwi Wanderers, which Greg says gives him a real sense of purpose – helping others see how they could do a similar thing.

‘‘In my job I’ve always been helping people whether with their cars, trucks or training so

that’s in my blood. Doing the videos gives me a real purpose. So when we go somewhere we’re not just looking around: We get the video out and record.’’

After chemotherapy and radiation therapy last year, Sandy is doing better with her health, and she says her prognosis has been ‘‘extended way out’’.

She may need a bone marrow transplant at some point.

Their plan to be on the road is open-ended – ‘‘as long as we can’’ – and their only regret is that they didn’t do it years ago.

They say they don’t miss living in a house, even though they had only been in their dream home in Palmerston North for two years.

‘‘The house we were in was the one we wanted,’’ Sandy says, ‘‘quite modern, lock-up-andleave house, no mowing. We just loved it, but we don’t miss it.

‘‘When we were sleeping upstairs in Greg’s dad’s house, we couldn’t wait to get back to the caravan.

‘‘Life’s too short and it’s to be enjoyed,’’ Sandy says. ‘‘It’s all very well saying just do it, but it shouldn’t take a life-changing event to make you want to do it.’’

NEWS

en-nz

2022-08-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-08-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281676848677710

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