THE family of Dean and Tanya Griffioen, the young Gold Coast couple killed in a motorcycle crash in Uganda, say they are “paralysed” with grief.

“These two fun-loving, adventurous spirits worked hard to live their dreams,” the family said in a statement released through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

“They were at the beginning of an amazing three-year journey that was unfairly cut short.

“We are paralysed by the sudden death of our beloved Dean and Tanya Griffioen.”

The family said police reports had confirmed the couple were travelling along the Fort Portal – Mubende Highway, about four hours from outside the capital Kampala, when a 4WD travelling in the opposite direction overtook another vehicle.

The Griffioens, who were riding a BMW GS R1200 motorbike, were killed in the resulting head-on collision with the 4WD.

“The impact caused Dean’s life to end instantly, with Tanya dying on the way to the hospital,’’ the Griffioen family said.

“The drivers of the offending vehicle are still at large.’’

The family said Mr and Mrs Griffioen’s travel blog, ‘One Life is All You Get’, was aptly titled as Mr Griffioen, 33, and his wife, 34, had ‘filled their lives with unparalleled experiences all over the world’.

“Dean and Tanya have touched countless people in so many different ways, from family, friends and colleagues to strangers in foreign lands,’’ the family said.

“Their kind hearts and cheeky antics will never be forgotten by anyone who has encountered them.

“The couple will be repatriated to Melbourne where their family will soon be reunited and their memories will live on.”

Earlier, The Courier-Mail reported “One Life is All You Get” was the title of Dean and Tanya Griffioen’s travel blog.

“The most dangerous risk of all: the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later,’’ read a quote above their photo posts.

But on what was meant to be the adventure of a lifetime – a worldwide motorcycle odyssey – the young Gold Coast couple, both in their early 30s, had their lives cruelly snatched away.

Local media reported the fatal crash occurred on the Mubende Highway in a town called Namagogo, about 150km west of the Ugandan capital Kampala in Africa, when their BMW motorcycle collided with a four-wheel-drive.

Local traffic officer Alex Muramuzi blamed the accident on reckless driving of the 4WD.

The couple were only three months into on a planned three-year global tour and had only just conquered one of the world’s tallest mountains together, Mt Kiliminjaro in Tanzania, when the tragedy happened.

Neighbour and friend Tara Barney broke down when told the news.

“I’m in shock, I can’t believe it,’’ she said.

“They were such a vibrant, beautiful young couple. It’s just the saddest news I’ve ever heard.’’

Mubende, Uganda

Mrs Barney said the Griffioens had been excited about their trip and came over for dinner the night before they left to say goodbye.

“They were starting their trip in Africa and were going to base themselves there for a while. They were travelling with another group.

“Dean was right into his motorbikes and had the bike tailor-made for a the trip. He had special comfy seats made for Tanya.’’

Mr Griffioen was an engineer and his wife an administration manager in the Brisbane office of construction giant Leighton Contractors.

They are believed to have thrown in their jobs to embark on the dream trip, which they began planning last year.

They rented out their Worongary home in the Gold Coast hinterland and left in mid-July after shipping their BMW touring bike to Johannesburg for the first leg of their trip through South Africa.

Their itinerary included almost the entire African continent, the Middle East, Europe, Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, Alaska, and South America.

They had travelled through Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Malawai, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya and were on a planned four-day ride through Uganda when they were killed.

Both had celebrated their birthdays on the road in Africa in recent months – Dean his 33rd and Tanya her 34th.

Their plan was to do charity work along the way and their blog included a form to suggest worthwhile local projects and make donations.

Mr Griffioen joked that these projects could include everything from him taking villagers for motorbike rides to ‘sponsoring Tanya to be quiet for a whole day … although this donation would never actually need to be paid’.

They blogged about seeing spectacular African scenery including Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, wild animals from meerkats to elephants and stunning rainbows.

In their last post on October 15, the couple told of their pride and joy at having climbed the 5895m Mt Kiliminjaro, Africa’s tallest peak.

“Today we both woke up after a night of well needed rest. We had made the summit of Kilimanjaro and we both very proud of each other,’’ Mr Griffioen wrote.

“We have pulled up in a pretty fancy place for the night to rest, get some of our energy back before we head toward Nairobi tomorrow.

“Tanya is enjoying laying by the pool and resting her tired muscles after the past week of walking up and down an average grade of 17.5 per cent for 6 days and over 70km. I’m very proud of the little one as she even made it in her motorcycle boots.’’