Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
A globetrotting dad who has travelled to over 100 countries has recreated 20 in is back garden for his kids.
David Nash, 41, has used a variety of props to make DIY versions of some of the planet’s most beautiful places.
He has recreated the Nile River and Venezuela’s Angel Falls as well as scenes from France and Cuba in his garden, shed and roof.
David has used his garden to build Peru, Japan, USA, Morocco, Thailand, Panama, Venezuela, Brazil Trinidad and Barbados.
His children have also enjoyed trips to Sri Lanka, China, The Netherlands, the UK, Ireland, Bhutan, Russia, Egypt, Iceland, Australia and Italy.
The 41-year-old, from Sible Hedingham, Essex, got creative for partner Emma and their two daughters Rose, two, and Ruby, four months.
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
David, assistant headteacher at Hedingham School, said: “I have tried to bring the essence of each country out while portraying it in a humorous way.
“I’ve recreated famous scenes from each country, just from using scraps around the house that I’ve collected from all the places I’ve been.
“I’ve made the Nile River and the Panama Canal from painting old cereal boxes.”
He added: “We are all aware of how awful the situation is at the moment – but it has made us all slow down a bit.
“It’s giving us time to make things like we used to do – from scraps and from boxes and things like that.
“The aim of this, more than anything, is to keep spirits up, and keep people smiling during a tough time.”
David has travelled to 105 countries in his life, and has so far recreated 25 of them in his garden since the beginning of the lockdown.
He has created a Sri Lankan themed night, and a funny Australian scene where he fashioned himself an outfit out of Fosters boxes, and donned an Australian cork hat.
And David has also created a Caribbean beach scene, inspired by his honeymoon with wife Emma – during which the couple visited 11 Caribbean islands.
David said: “One thing you find when you travelling particular countries like India or Central America, is that you can’t rush things.
”There is a lot to take in and it takes time.
“We’ve turned into a very ‘hurry-hurry’ culture – if there is one silver lining in all of this is that people have realised the importance of spending time with each other.”
He added that he has drawn inspiration for using household items from seeing children in some of the countries he has visited doing exactly the same thing.
David, who fashioned a rickshaw out of a large milk carton, said: “I remember in Ethiopia we saw exactly that, one of these Tuk Tuks made out of old oil cans.
“In South Africa, kids were using bricks as cars.
“The joy of doing this with my two-and-a-half year old daughter is that children tend to have that creative imagination, a willingness to believe anything can become anything.”
David said that some of his favourite countries that he’s visited include Bhutan, in south Asia, Japan, and Holland.
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
He said: “We’ve done Bhutan as one of the countries in our garden.
“They measure wealth there in terms of happiness, rather than economic prosperity.
“They have famous funny signs at the side of the road, that say things like ‘After drinking whiskey, driving is risky’.
“So we recreated some of those in our garden, but made them more topical to here.
“I did Holland last week, too – I put some clogs in the sink, and told my wife that the sink was clogged,” David joked.
David added that he hopes bringing a taste of each country to his home can enrich his daughters’ lives during lockdown – as well as the lives of his followers on social media.
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
He said: “We haven’t been able to do as much travelling in the last couple of years, with two young children – especially with the younger one.
“But at least now they’ll have some funny photos to look back on, and know about some of the countries their dad has been to.”
He added: “I feel very lucky, I’m healthy and my family’s healthy, I’ve got a wage, whereas a lot of people out there have an uncertain future.
“Experiences you have while travelling help you to gain perspective. You miss the most basic things – and I think that’s what this current situation has taught us.
“With panic buying, this is the first time in our lives we’ve thought ‘are we going to have to do without these things we need’. It’s woken us up slightly.”
