An epic story of adventure and love without borders

18 November 2014

An epic story of adventure and love without borders

When a young Kiwi lad fulfilled his dream of working and travelling around the world by age 30, he did more than find his purpose in life. He inspired Auckland-based filmmaker Susan Parker to take the next step in her creative career.

Susan can list film credits such as The Last Samurai, Vertical Limit and In My Father’s Den in her 25-year career - but when it came to finding a partner to share her life with, she had lost her vision. That was, until she heard of Hap Cameron’s mission. The published author originally from Nelson, spent close to a decade fulfilling his ambition to work and travel his way around the world. He cycled through Africa, sailed to Antarctica and worked in an orphanage in Guatemala. But Hap’s greatest adventure was to meet the woman of his dreams and overcome extraordinary obstacles to be with her.

Loving in Limbo tells the amazing and heart-breaking story of Hap and Mandy’s love. Susan read Hap’s book, Hap Working the World and was intrigued by the footnote saying Hap married his sweetheart Mandy after he broke up with her in Africa.

Susan Parker says “How do you go from being broken up in Africa one minute to getting married the next?”.

Mandy Todd was an American high school teacher 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. Deportation from America, global travel, long distance separation and family issues have all played a part in this love story.

Susan has been through a series of unfortunate relationships – including receiving a “Dear John” telegram from her boyfriend in Africa. The experiences left her questioning the strength of love. “This is a story that made me believe in love all over again,” Susan said. Even after the couple married, they lived in different continents for two years waiting for Hap’s green card to come through. “I felt that if they could overcome all the obstacles that were thrown at them, then it meant that I could too. It gave me hope and faith not to give up on love,” she said.

Now, she wants to share this story with others.

The documentary, Loving in Limbo explores the depth of Hap and Mandy’s love and how they managed to maintain their connection. Mandy was brought up in a household affected by depression, drugs and suicide – and when Hap suffered an episode of depression, she chose to accept and love him.

Producer/Director Susan is seeking $25,000 on Kickstarter to help complete the documentary. In just over a week, she has already successfully raised 50% of her target.

“We already have the footage of this couple’s journey together,” Susan said. “Now we just need to do a few final interviews and complete the editing process. By reaching our target of $25,000 through Kickstarter, we would be able to tell this beautiful story the way it deserves to be told."

“We would love to have the support of anyone who believes in love, overcoming obstacles and how your choices in life define you."

Supporters can contribute via: http://kck.st/1Gv7XCy

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Hap grew up in Nelson and attended Waimea College before completing an Outward Bound course in Anakiwa.

There, he came up with the goal of working and living in every continent before the age of 30. Today, he lives in Colorado with Mandy.

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