Active New Zealand CEO and experienced New Zealand bush pilot Andrew Fairfax survives near fatal plane crash and on being predicted to never walk again, cycles 4,000 km across Europe as a successful rehabilitation expedition. In doing so he thinks up his edgy New Zealand cycling tour company.

(TRAVPR.COM) NEW ZEALAND - September 28th, 2011 - Queenstown, New Zealand - Andrew Fairfax, founder and CEO of Active New Zealand, suffered a near-fatal plane crash while landing on Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown. Due to extraordinary good fortune, the aircraft crashed near a passing yacht, whose crew were able to pull Andrew and his instructor from the near-freezing water, saving their lives and beginning a long rehabilitation process for them both.

Despite severe injuries, Andrew mustered the strength to ask the paramedic to save his right foot. The paramedic intended to remove his foot at the scene, to stabilize his vital functions, but Andrew convinced him to wait. After surgery and a long recovery time, Andrew was given a 95% chance that a key bone in his foot, which had not healed, would require amputation.

As he hobbled about in a leg brace, facing this reality, he one day found himself staring nonchalantly at the world map in his office. He was wondering if he’d ever be back cycling New Zealand roads and trails again, when suddenly, he had a brainwave, and announced that he was going to Istanbul to bike from there to London to fix his foot. On hearing his announcement, his PA smiled at him, and said “yes, Andrew, knowing you, you probably are!” And so he did. It was a long, painful journey, but eventually, after seven weeks of hard yakka, he experienced his “golden moment” – the end of a long expedition when the destination, once unimaginably far away, finally came into view.

In this case, it was London Bridge, and Andrew rode onto the bridge, with the song that he’d saved the whole way, the Clash’s “This Is England”, playing on his CD player. On returning home, his surgeon was amazed at the effect it at had on his foot, and reported that the bone had healed.

Andrew now says, “It was hard, with a capital ‘H,’ but I took it one moment at a time – it’s amazing what the human body can do.”

Now Andrew was not new to pushing himself, in fact that’s why he started ACTIVE in the first place - but on this bike ride he realized there was something more to this idea. The exhilarating and compelling feeling of a cycle tour that’s a bit harder and longer than normal. He decided to create a niche business for people to experience something remarkable in their lives. So www.cycletours.activenewzealand.com was born.

If you're interested in hiking or biking New Zealand, then Active New Zealand has cycled many a hill in the Southern Alps, put dirt in over 14,000 boot treads, and helped people push their boundaries on hundreds of adventure vacations over the last 16 years. They’re a highly talented and experienced adventure travel outfitter.

###