Guide Profiles
This is a space for you to share what you do in your job and why you love being a guide! You'll learn from other guides about the variety of fantastic places to work around Australia and their take on the job. You can share your profile as well.
The guides below have kindly shared their inner most guiding secrets with us. Thank you all!
The guides below have kindly shared their inner most guiding secrets with us. Thank you all!
Lachlan McKee
Current Position (Jan 2013): Tour Guide and 4wd Trainer
With: Heading Bush Outback Tours, and have also worked for companies like APT and Outback Spirit.
How long have you been a tour guide?
Over 10 years now.
Where else have you worked as a guide?
Purnululu, Kimberley WA, Uluru, Kings Canyon, Alice Springs, West Macdonnell ranges NT, Coober Pedy, outback SA, Oodnadatta track, Flinders Ranges, Adelaide to Darwin.
What do you enjoy most about your current job?
Going to the Flinders Ranges it’s like a second home, and meeting some of the friends that I have made in the places I go.
What is one of your most treasured memories as a tour guide?
Meeting so many great people from all over Australia and from so many other countries, including the people that you meet at the places that you go to, or stay at, they are like the regular friends that you see each trip. The other thing is taking people out of the comfort zones, out where there is no phone reception, no internet and just sitting and listening to the sounds of the outback...the quiet.
If there is one thing you could tell other guides/potential guides about the job, what would it be?
Guiding is not just a job you do, it is about the passion of wanting to know all that you can find out about an area and be passionate enough to want to pass that on to others. I have worked in many different areas and taken time out from touring every now and then, but it is in my blood...it’s my passion. I just always keep coming back, wanting to learn about a new area and pass that information on. You have to have a interest and that is what you carry with you in guiding, mine is geology and history. Australia is one of the most unique landforms and ancient rocks it is my pleasure to take people to these places and explain how long before humans came to this planet these rocks were formed..it’s great!
Guiding has given me the opportunity to see so many great places here and meet some fantastic people. I wouldn’t change that for anything. I have tried other jobs but nothing gets me so passionate and so interested as guiding does.
With: Heading Bush Outback Tours, and have also worked for companies like APT and Outback Spirit.
How long have you been a tour guide?
Over 10 years now.
Where else have you worked as a guide?
Purnululu, Kimberley WA, Uluru, Kings Canyon, Alice Springs, West Macdonnell ranges NT, Coober Pedy, outback SA, Oodnadatta track, Flinders Ranges, Adelaide to Darwin.
What do you enjoy most about your current job?
Going to the Flinders Ranges it’s like a second home, and meeting some of the friends that I have made in the places I go.
What is one of your most treasured memories as a tour guide?
Meeting so many great people from all over Australia and from so many other countries, including the people that you meet at the places that you go to, or stay at, they are like the regular friends that you see each trip. The other thing is taking people out of the comfort zones, out where there is no phone reception, no internet and just sitting and listening to the sounds of the outback...the quiet.
If there is one thing you could tell other guides/potential guides about the job, what would it be?
Guiding is not just a job you do, it is about the passion of wanting to know all that you can find out about an area and be passionate enough to want to pass that on to others. I have worked in many different areas and taken time out from touring every now and then, but it is in my blood...it’s my passion. I just always keep coming back, wanting to learn about a new area and pass that information on. You have to have a interest and that is what you carry with you in guiding, mine is geology and history. Australia is one of the most unique landforms and ancient rocks it is my pleasure to take people to these places and explain how long before humans came to this planet these rocks were formed..it’s great!
Guiding has given me the opportunity to see so many great places here and meet some fantastic people. I wouldn’t change that for anything. I have tried other jobs but nothing gets me so passionate and so interested as guiding does.
Wade Kelle
Current Position (Jan 2013): Wildlife Keeper
With: Hartley's Crocodile Adventures
How long have you been a tour guide?
Around nine years.
Where else have you worked as a guide?
I've worked in a few places. My first job as a guide was at Katherine Gorge with Nitmiluk Tours but since then I have worked for Discovery Ecotours at Yulara, Emirates Airlines Walgan Valley Resort, I was a Tourism and Visitor Services Ranger in Kakadu National Park, and the Tour Operations Manager at Yellow Waters in Kakadu; amongst a few other special locations.
What do you enjoy most about your current job?
Wildlife education and working in very close contact with animals - doing crocodile shows, snake shows and taipan shows. Elapids and crocodiles - I love being able to teach people about them.
What is one of your most treasured memories as a tour guide?
It's a hard one, but any time the sun rises or sets over Uluru - it's a part of our country that will just get etched in your sole forever.
If there is one thing you could tell other guides about being a tour guide, what would it be?
When you start to learn the intricate parts of the country - the geology, the wildlife, the traditional aspects - it becomes a totally different country to what you once thought. We think we know our wonderful country but there is just so much more out there to learn and to teach others. And there is no better way to do than as a guide!
With: Hartley's Crocodile Adventures
How long have you been a tour guide?
Around nine years.
Where else have you worked as a guide?
I've worked in a few places. My first job as a guide was at Katherine Gorge with Nitmiluk Tours but since then I have worked for Discovery Ecotours at Yulara, Emirates Airlines Walgan Valley Resort, I was a Tourism and Visitor Services Ranger in Kakadu National Park, and the Tour Operations Manager at Yellow Waters in Kakadu; amongst a few other special locations.
What do you enjoy most about your current job?
Wildlife education and working in very close contact with animals - doing crocodile shows, snake shows and taipan shows. Elapids and crocodiles - I love being able to teach people about them.
What is one of your most treasured memories as a tour guide?
It's a hard one, but any time the sun rises or sets over Uluru - it's a part of our country that will just get etched in your sole forever.
If there is one thing you could tell other guides about being a tour guide, what would it be?
When you start to learn the intricate parts of the country - the geology, the wildlife, the traditional aspects - it becomes a totally different country to what you once thought. We think we know our wonderful country but there is just so much more out there to learn and to teach others. And there is no better way to do than as a guide!
Mark Essenhigh
Current Position (Dec 2012): Owner Operator
With: Off-Road Adventure Safaris
How long have you been a tour guide?
I took my first formal tour in 1988 - so only a few years!
Where else have you worked as a guide?
I started my own outdoor recreation based tour company in 1988; and various other locations including Mount Seaview Safaris
and Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island.
What do you enjoy most about your current job?
The people, the people and...the people. People are trusting me with their holiday and are putting their trust and their hard earned money in me. With that comes a huge responsibility to deliver their dream.
What is one of your most treasured memories as a tour guide?
While I was on Fraser Island I remember a British guy saying to me at the end of a tour, "I am a documentary junkie, and for the last few days I have felt like I have been a part of a documentary instead of watching one from the outside"!
If there is one thing you could tell other guides about the job, what would it be?
Anybody can give people a tour and do some commentary, but it takes a lot more effort if you want to give them an experience! If you can create one defining moment in the tour then the memory of that will stay with them for ever - the hard part is that each persons defining moment is different.
With: Off-Road Adventure Safaris
How long have you been a tour guide?
I took my first formal tour in 1988 - so only a few years!
Where else have you worked as a guide?
I started my own outdoor recreation based tour company in 1988; and various other locations including Mount Seaview Safaris
and Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island.
What do you enjoy most about your current job?
The people, the people and...the people. People are trusting me with their holiday and are putting their trust and their hard earned money in me. With that comes a huge responsibility to deliver their dream.
What is one of your most treasured memories as a tour guide?
While I was on Fraser Island I remember a British guy saying to me at the end of a tour, "I am a documentary junkie, and for the last few days I have felt like I have been a part of a documentary instead of watching one from the outside"!
If there is one thing you could tell other guides about the job, what would it be?
Anybody can give people a tour and do some commentary, but it takes a lot more effort if you want to give them an experience! If you can create one defining moment in the tour then the memory of that will stay with them for ever - the hard part is that each persons defining moment is different.
Trish Sloan
Current Position (Nov 2012): Laboratory and Tour Manager
With: Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum, Winton, Queensland
How long have you been a tour guide?
Since 2002, but with AAOD since 2008.
Where else have you worked as a guide?
I worked for Outback Aussie Tours in Longreach, Queensland, from 2002 to 2006. This was my ticket into tourism and established my passion for the job, the outback and people. It gave me the variety of doing day tours, multi-day tours and the more remote experience of guiding at the Dinosaur Stampede at Lark Quarry Conservation Park.
What do you enjoy most about your current job?
I love the fact that I have been able to grow within the organisation, from being the only guide to now managing a team of six. I still get out and do tours but I am really passionate about passing my skills on to other guides and having the best product we could possibly have. It's just a bonus that we work with dinosaur bones all day!!
What is one of your most treasured memories as a tour guide?
Riding a horse through the Canadian Rockies and realising how lucky I am to have this job. It was one of those "I'm going to do this for the rest of my life" moments and was as picturesque as you could ever get.
If there is one thing you could tell other guides about the job, what would it be?
Enjoy the job, love what you're doing! If you don't you will never make a great tour guide. It is such a privilege to share the knowledge we have learned and the backyard we see everyday - you need to remember to enjoy it every time you do it!
With: Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum, Winton, Queensland
How long have you been a tour guide?
Since 2002, but with AAOD since 2008.
Where else have you worked as a guide?
I worked for Outback Aussie Tours in Longreach, Queensland, from 2002 to 2006. This was my ticket into tourism and established my passion for the job, the outback and people. It gave me the variety of doing day tours, multi-day tours and the more remote experience of guiding at the Dinosaur Stampede at Lark Quarry Conservation Park.
What do you enjoy most about your current job?
I love the fact that I have been able to grow within the organisation, from being the only guide to now managing a team of six. I still get out and do tours but I am really passionate about passing my skills on to other guides and having the best product we could possibly have. It's just a bonus that we work with dinosaur bones all day!!
What is one of your most treasured memories as a tour guide?
Riding a horse through the Canadian Rockies and realising how lucky I am to have this job. It was one of those "I'm going to do this for the rest of my life" moments and was as picturesque as you could ever get.
If there is one thing you could tell other guides about the job, what would it be?
Enjoy the job, love what you're doing! If you don't you will never make a great tour guide. It is such a privilege to share the knowledge we have learned and the backyard we see everyday - you need to remember to enjoy it every time you do it!
