Snapshots From the Tour Guide Seat

Imagine this: you board a bus with a destination, expectations and Instagram posts in mind. On the flip side, your stomach holds a mix of nervousness and excitement. Unbeknownst to you, it’s the same internal feelings, what matters is the way your mind narrates the situation! New things can be uncomfortable or exciting; you get to choose your own adventure!

You arrive at the welcome meeting, scanning for others who might be on your tour. Is everyone going to be older or younger than you? Will you make friends? Have you made the right decision? That person over there is young enough to be your granddaughter, surely, she’s not on the trip.

Then I walk in. Easily noticeable in a bright red t-shirt that says Intrepid. There’s an array of anxious eyes looking in my direction, so I start playing the “are you on my trip?” game. I’d say 95% of the time, I pick my people in the crowded room. The check in and welcome meeting are the easy part. You look around, this is your family for the next week or three.

What happens next varies from trip to trip, but basically, you’ve signed up for a road trip in a country bigger than you expected. The written itinerary goes out the window for many, as they navigate social situations and find their place in this newly formed group of people with a whole lot of stories to tell.

I ask if everyone is happy to post a selfie with their name, two truths and a lie underneath, starting off the trip with some very random stories. I write that I almost died in Africa while trying to cross a river, sat two ten-day silent meditation retreats and cage dived with great white sharks. Then I spend the next two days trying to remember what truths and lie I wrote so I don’t give it away!

The group seems nice; some people seem to be friends already. Are they travelling alone or together? You wonder. Others are still quietly assessing the group with curiosity and a slither of hesitation. You get back on the bus, stare out the window for a minute and close your eyes.

Next thing you know, you hear a voice, “If you’re asleep, now is a great time to open your eyes. We just drove past a paddock full of kangaroos and we’re only ten minutes away from wine.” You open your eyes to realise that you are, in fact, in Australia (this is not a dream) and you’ve been magically delivered to a new place. One surrounded by vineyards and rolling hills. A couple of dogs run out to greet the bus. Hazy eyed, you all exit the bus, bird sounds fill the air, they really are a lot louder in Australia. The sun is shining and you realise that you have made a great choice.

Each afternoon, you are sent a detailed itinerary with timings for the following day (just in case you were distracted or sleeping and didn’t hear a thing I said). At 8:30am the magic bus is ready to go, you’re happily caffeinated and you walk through the doors to find your seat. You vaguely hear stories of Australian flora and fauna, a reminder that the ocean is on our left, and if at any time it is on our right, I might be driving the wrong direction. You shut your eyes.

OK, maybe your eyes are open, maybe they’re not, as I point out signs welcoming us to different countries within the continent we call Australia. I tell stories of Australia’s First Nations people and talk about the beauty and sustainability of one of the oldest living cultures on earth. We meet First Nations Australians and you’re blown away by their stories and openness. The person in front of you is 25, and you casually drift off to sleep smiling, realising you have done their lifetime three times already. You soon realise that no matter where people have come from, or how old they are, everyone is invested in morning coffee runs, spotting kangaroos, and tomorrow you get to visit a koala hospital!

You’re awoken to more kangaroo sightings and the smell of the ocean. Was that a giant lizard crossing the street and a family of tawny frogmouths in the tree outside your window? How on earth are they not owls? The bus has done it again, it’s delivered you to a new place, one where you can hike and swim (which sounds great as you seem to have been sitting and eating a fair bit the last two days!)

The magic Intrepid bus does this daily; you enter in one place and exit in a completely different place. Then you wonder why you’ve never heard about the world’s oldest rainforest, and you get cranky at the sugar cane farmers for almost destroying it all. But then you’re happy that certain parts of the Wet Tropics have gone from 1% to 2% due to environmental activism because, honestly, the health of soil is pretty important. You can’t get enough of kangaroos, and now you’re praying for turtles, dolphins and whales. The coastline meets the horizon with turquoise water lapping up on white sand. The beaches go on forever. And there’s no one on them. That would never happen where you’re from! “If you visit one beach a day in Australia, you could visit a different beach every day for almost 30 years,” I say.

I love my country, and the land I get to call home. I’m passionate about all things nature, including humans. And I spend the time getting to know each one of you. My heart is full each time you get excited about something, and although I may have seen it many times, I also get excited! I’d be in the wrong job if I didn’t!

The thing that changes for me each tour are the humans who join. Slowly, they open up to me as I notice their passions and triggers, and help them feel comfortable where I can. I see the fear in Jo’s eyes each night as she goes to her room alone, and I hold space for her as she opens up about a violent home invasion she endured. I see Lola’s mouth quivering and her eyes welling up as the group talk to a married couple about their 50th wedding anniversary, because I know that she lost her husband of 60 years just recently. I see John rock and bounce as he gets excited, and note his anxiety in group situations. Then, on a walk home, he opens up about his autism and his difficulty reading social cues. I hold hands with Susan as she snorkels for the first time on the Great Barrier Reef, knowing that she would not be in the water or ticking off this bucket list item if I didn’t, and it’s an absolute pleasure for me to encourage her to just relax and breathe, as I do the kicking, point out fish and show her around the underwater garden.

Some days when I’m driving, I imagine creating a reel where people leave a beautiful location, get on the bus, close their eyes and wake up in a completely different place. My imagination runs wild and maybe I will make the reel someday.

Occasionally, we are lucky to have a couple of nights in one place. Generally, this means we don’t need to get on the magic bus. We get to spend a whole day exploring together or have a free day where you can choose your own adventure. Some people surf, others hike, some read their book and do their washing, even though you are officially in the future (except if you’re a Kiwi), your clothes still need washing.

Other than life admin, the future looks bright. The water is drinkable, there are free toilets everywhere, people smile at you and love a yarn, even if you’re just standing in line waiting for coffee. One thing that has taken you a while to get used to, though, is how cheery I am in the morning. I keep telling you that we do things differently down here, early mornings and nights are common. No, you can’t get a good coffee after 2pm (but you can get one at 6am). No, the kitchen won’t be open at 11pm. It’s true, you’ll hardly ever be alone at a 5am sunrise over the Pacific Ocean, and yes, it’s normal for us to surf, hike and see friends before we start work!

On that note, if you’re up for an adventure, don’t miss the sunrise hike if I offer it to you. If you choose sleep, you’ll probably miss wallabies, koalas, acrobatic and playful dolphins surfing waves… and you’ll be annoyed you stayed in bed!

There really is no one who can’t fit into an Intrepid (or any) group trip. The biggest hurdle I notice is watching some people navigate social situations, especially with people from other cultures. Some struggle adapting to change. You won’t get the same food you have at home. Not everyone agrees that the best pizza in the world comes from New York. Yes, we put pumpkin in salads, it’s not just for Halloween. No, I never went trick or treating when I was younger, that marketing holiday took a while to make it down under. No, I won’t tell you where Chris Hemsworth lives. Yes, I know we abbreviate all of our words, but I did send you a video on “how to speak Australian”, did you watch it?! I really don’t know any American celebrities or how your political system works. Honestly, I probably don’t like your music, but I might give you access to the bus playlist in a few days’ time! And finally, no, not everything in Australia will kill you. We literally have no apex predators and we don’t carry guns.

We can do hard things if we choose to. If you’ve signed up to a group trip, you may as well choose it every day as you wake up. There is no one way to do life, and travel gives us a front seat to witness the multitude of ways that this is true. Who knows, maybe your trip will inspire you in a way you didn’t expect, you might make your new best friend or decide to come back on a working holiday visa. Why wouldn’t you?!!!

Everyone who chooses to travel does so for a different reason. That’s what makes it so beautiful. Some are on their first overseas trip; some are hitting their 80th country or 7th continent. But none of that really matters to me. We are all living this one beautiful life and for a short moment in time, we get to do it together. Some people you meet might inspire you to make big changes, some might make you laugh until your belly hurts, others may simply participate, remembering loved ones lost, or lives they once had.

I really believe that there’s an intuitive side to guiding, it’s not all about logistics. It’s not about memorising historical facts or just being a good storyteller. Anyone can show up on time, learn an itinerary, tick boxes or explain how the moon does actually rise and set in England. Yes, even if you try to tell me your teachers said it was always in the sky and you just “couldn’t see it in the daytime”. You are not from another planet.

I started guiding overseas many years ago. In a country where some guides can recite facts for hours without taking a breath, but can’t tell when someone is about to pass out from dehydration or when behaviour is becoming harassment. Knowledge matters, of course. Organisation and accuracy matter. I get that it’s an industry built on logistics, safety and customer satisfaction. Measurable skills are the easy part of guiding. But, anyone can tick a box.

For me, I love the human and intuitive side of the experience. The part that can’t always be captured in feedback scores or taught in training. It’s noticing when someone is anxious, lonely or overwhelmed before they say a word. It’s creating an environment where strangers feel included, safe and connected. It’s knowing when to speak, when to listen and when someone simply needs kindness rather than information.

I have never tried to be an expert. I’m simply sharing the Australia I love, and my lifestyle, in my own unique way, by creating connection and presence.

Life really is just a collection of connections and stories etched in our memories and created from our dreams. And, although I won’t be a tour guide forever, it’s an honour being able to help turn peoples dreams into memories.