Hap Cameron

Bikes for Africa is an entertaining, insightful and moving documentary following the life adventures of Hap Cameron and Mandy Todd, and their attempt to help implement a self sustainable bike workshop in rural Namibia with a container load secondhand donated bikes from Melbourne. The film investigates how a bicycle can fundamentally change the lives of rural Africans, and brings to focus the great works of two-wheeled charities Bicycles for Humanity and the Bicycling Empowerment Network Namibia.

Two people, from different countries, determined to overcome distance, government bureaucracy and family resistance, to be together. Hap Cameron (a published author originally from Nelson) had a dream of working in every continent, which catapulted him into a lifetime of adventure, danger and love. He spent close to a decade fulfilling his ambition — cycling through Africa, sailing to Antarctica, teaching scuba diving in Asia and working in an orphanage in Guatemala. But Hap discovered the greatest adventure of all was meeting the woman of his dreams and the extraordinary obstacles he had to overcome to be with her. Mandy Todd, an American high school teacher, was on holiday in Mexico when she met Hap. They spent only six days together before they knew this was more than a holiday romance. What took place over the next seven years tested their love further than most couples could sustain.