Adventure and travel have long been part of how Charlotte understands the world. They have shaped her perspective, deepened her curiosity, and given texture to a life lived across countries, cultures, and seasons.
Charlotte, a New Zealander, has spent much of her life in different parts of the world, including a decade in various Middle Eastern countries, and now divides her time between New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
With Andrew, she has driven the Peking to Paris Rally twice, in 2019 and 2024, in her 1941 Chevrolet, Eleanor. Peking to Paris is a mapcap motor challenge from Beijing along an adventurous route that concludes in Paris.
The two routes Charlotte has driven were almost completely different because in 2024 the rally could not go through Russia or Mongolia, and traversed China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and San Marino to France.
Original Peking to Paris
The original Peking to Paris Rally was in 1907, when Prince Scipione Borghese, with his co-driver, Ettore Guizzardi, and four other cars, left the French Embassy in Peking on 10 June to drive the 15,000 kilometres (9,317 miles) to Paris.