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Introducing the Adventure Card Co. — Rose Foster interview
Words Julija Zivanovic Pics Rose Foster
Big Lap Bible creator Rose Foster has invented the Adventure Card Co. to help spread a sense of exploration and adventure on road trips, and we had to be the first to get the scoop on the new range.
Author, mother and digital nomad Rose Foster is passionate about travelling to the most remote and untouched parts of Australia, and the freedom that comes with it. Following her hugely successful Big Lap Bible and subsequent Kids’ Lap Bible, Rose found herself wanting to expand on the help she provides fellow travellers through her guidebooks.
Rose is so inspired by her travels and nomadic lifestyle, she’s created the Adventure Card Co. to encourage the same passion and inspiration among Aussie road tourers, whether that be solo travellers, couples or families.
We had an opportunity to speak with Rose about Adventure Card Co. and her exciting new range of products and we want to share that with you today ahead of the launch coming up later this month.
Chatting with Rose
Rose Foster with her son
Considering the range is new (it hasn’t even launched yet!), we first had to ask Rose what inspired her to create the Adventure Card Co. and who is it aimed at …
Rose told us, “The idea for the Adventure Card Co. really came from my experience working with adventurers through the Big Lap Bible. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of helping so many travellers explore Australia through our guides and resources. But for me those guides aren’t just providing people with information about where to go or what to do, they’re empowering people to do something that we’re not told is an option. We’re showing people how to live life to the maximum before when society expects it: after retirement!
“But I realised there was an opportunity to open up that sense of adventure to a much broader group of people, not just full-time travellers.
“We wanted to create something that anyone could enjoy, whether you’re a couple, a family with kids, a group of friends or someone just looking to inject a bit of adventure into their daily routine.
“The main Adventure Deck, in particular, is designed to be for everyone, no matter their age or where they are. It’s all about making adventure accessible, easy and fun for anyone who craves it.”
Wow, what an exciting concept to finally get off the ground, and we at Hema Maps are proud to be Rose’s distribution partner. So, we wondered, how do you use the adventure cards?
“Using the adventure cards is simple and flexible, which was a huge part of the design process. You just pull a card, and the prompt is open to interpretation. You can do something quickly — like a five-minute challenge — or take your time and stretch it into a longer adventure, maybe even a whole day. It’s really up to you how you want to engage with the cards,” Rose told us.
“What’s great is that the prompts are designed to adapt to wherever you are or whatever you’re doing — whether that’s at home, in a city, camping or on the road. And the other decks, like the Foodie Deck or Camping Deck, are a bit more specific, but they still maintain that flexibility, letting you tailor your adventures to your interests.
Adventure Card Co. Foodie Deck
“Each deck has 50 prompt cards which can be as simple as ‘Send a friend a message asking for a random destination, then head there’ (from the Adventure Deck) to ‘Create a playlist of your favourite songs and have a dance party’ (from the Date Night Deck). Some prompts will take you a couple of minutes, some will take you longer, but it’s up to you how long you want to play. There’s also no minimum and no maximum number of players.”
I’ve got a sample pack in my hands (more on this below) as I type this, and I must admit, no matter the deck — whether that be the Bush School Deck or Road Trip Deck — the prompts provide a lot of inspiration for further discussion and adventure … as a discussion in Hema HQ ensued.
Despite the cards obviously being a great activity and conversation starter, we had to ask Rose, what are the other benefits of the adventure cards?
“The adventure cards are all about fun, spontaneity and connection. First, they make it easy to inject a little fun into your day, even if it’s just pulling one card for a five-minute prompt. It gives you a little break from routine and opens the door to creativity and adventure. But they also work for bigger, more planned adventures if that’s what you’re after,” Rose told us.
“The cards are a great way to bond with others too, whether that’s as a family, with friends or as a couple. We have specific decks that target different kinds of adventures, like the Date Night Deck, which adds a bit of fun and excitement to relationships, or the kids’ decks like Kidventure and Bush School, which encourage kids to explore the world around them in fun, educational ways. Plus, the kids’ decks come with QR codes that offer extra content to help children get even more out of each adventure.”
Moving away from Adventure Card Co. for a minute, we’re so fascinated with Rose’s lifestyle and what it has evolved to — not to mention we are big fans of her work with the Big Lap Bible and the nomad lifestyle in general — that we had to ask Rose why she chose the nomad/touring lifestyle and what inspires her every day …
Rose told us, “I’ve always been a free spirit, and I don’t feel like I was built to live a ‘normal life’, so our decision to travel wasn’t a hard one to make! We love the idea of constantly discovering new places, and we wanted to share that sense of adventure with others through Big Lap Bible.
“What inspires me is seeing how much joy and growth people experience when they step outside their comfort zone and embrace adventure. But it’s more than the desire to see great places and do great things — it’s about challenging the notion of going through life in an arbitrary and expected fashion: go to school, go to work, have a few holidays, retire at 65 and then hope you’ve got enough time and vitality left in you to enjoy life.
“And with that in mind, one of the reasons I created the Adventure Card Co. is because we are not currently travelling. For the past few years, we’ve been focusing on raising babies and businesses. So, we took a break from travelling and I was determined not to fall into a life of mundanity! We’re not conditioned to believe that life can be fun and adventurous EVERY SINGLE DAY, not just the days we’re on holiday or on the weekends, so with the Adventure Card Co. I wanted to make adventure accessible, simple and easy.”
It's easy to feel Rose’s passion for adventure when you speak with her, and before we parted ways (for now!), we wanted to get the scoop on what other products may be in store down the line/what’s in store for the future of Adventure Card Co.?
“We’re really excited about the future of Adventure Card Co.! Right now, we’ve got the main Adventure Deck and nine other specialised decks like the Foodie Deck, Camping Deck and Date Night Deck. For kids, we have the Kidventure, Bush School and Rainy Day Decks, which have been designed with extra care to make sure they’re fun, educational and engaging.
“We actually had to compromise and only release 10 decks during this initial launch, so we already have so many deck ideas that are just waiting to be designed! There’s lots on the horizon — and not just for our new brand.
“While we’ve just launched the Adventure Card Co., the Big Lap Bible brand is also expanding with the addition of some much-requested products, including our new Scratch Maps. The Big Aussie Bucket List Scratch Map and the Little Explorer’s Scratch Map (for kids) offer a fun and unique way to track your travels. Both come with a large map of Australia to scratch off as you explore the areas and additional ‘points of interest’ scratch sections. For the grown-ups, that’s iconic roads, national parks and bucket list spots; for the kids, it’s bucket list items state by state — both with specially commissioned artwork.
“With so many families now getting on the road too, we’re leaning more into the kids’ space and 2025 will see us launch a number of products that will help support the sense of adventure they’re instilling in their kids.”
Act fast to get a FREE sample pack
To celebrate the launch of the Adventure Card Co., there is a special prize for the first 500 people to act fast. If you’re one of the first to hit the below link, you can secure a FREE sample pack of adventure cards. The set features 10 select cards, one from each of the full decks.
To nab a FREE sample pack, just follow this link.
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