I became a tour guide because I wanted to get paid to travel. These days, I think more about what people take home after travelling with me. Beyond the photos and sandy shoes, could it be confidence, curiosity or a renewed sense of wonder? A reflection on finding my why, and what we each bring to the journey.

From a chaotic Sydney pick-up to an abusive guest on tour, I’ve learnt that personal responsibility means noticing what’s happening in my body, choosing what I can do, and asking for help when I need it.

A battered piece of plastic on the beach got me thinking about what we notice, what we walk past, and how we care for the places we visit. As a guide, I hope guests take that curiosity home with them.

Reflections on co-guiding, intuition, triggers, boundaries, communication and self-awareness while working closely with another guide in the field.

The Five Guide Elements aren’t separate personality boxes. They work together. When one part of us feels depleted, stuck or out of balance, the answer might not be to push harder—it may be to look at what supports it. A simple introduction to the generating cycle and how it can help us understand ourselves on and off the road.

Tourism doesn’t have to be a forever career to be a meaningful one. A reflection on seasonality, strange résumés, career gaps, changing direction and creating a working life that actually fits.

I’ve always been fascinated by people, behaviour and the tiny moments of connection that make life feel meaningful. Adventurous Souls has grown from that curiosity, from years of guiding, travelling, teaching, living abroad and paying attention to my own life. This is a little about who I am, what I believe, and why I think life is far too short to stay comfortable, disconnected or half-asleep.

We never really know what someone has lived through before they arrive in front of us. Trauma-informed guiding isn’t about diagnosing people, excusing difficult behaviour or becoming their therapist. It’s about staying curious, offering choice where we can, holding boundaries when we need to, and remembering there’s always a human behind the behaviour.

Good guides don’t remove every discomfort. They lead by example, stay calm when things go sideways and help people remember they’re more capable than they think. With a little humour, clear communication and the right nudge, even a rainy walk in a bin-bag poncho can become the story everyone remembers.

A group trip might start with a bus, an itinerary and a room full of strangers, but somewhere along the way it becomes something much more human. This is a story about the magic bus, the people who step onto it, the quiet moments guides notice, and why I believe the best part of travel has very little to do with ticking boxes.

The itinerary matters, but it’s never the whole trip. Great guiding is about knowing the route while also reading the weather, the group, the energy and all the tiny moments in between. This is the part of guiding that lives beyond the guide notes.

Discover the hidden work behind tour guiding, from logistics and emotional labour to burnout, boundaries and building a sustainable life on the road.