Christine Courtenay (nee Gee) was born in north-eastern Victoria in 1954 and grew up on a cattle property before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University. In 1975 she co-founded Australian Himalayan Expeditions, which offered trekking trips to the Himalayas, and became a world leader in adventure travel. In 1989 she created her own marketing company that focused on high-end tourism projects and polar expeditions. She served as the Nepalese Honorary Consul-General in NSW from 1987, and Nepal attache during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. She was a founding director of the Australian Himalayan Foundation and awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2013. Christine was Bryce Courtenay's partner from 2005, and they married in 2011. She has a son called Nima, and continues to enjoy travelling, writing, and walking in wild, beautiful places. She lives in Sydney.