The Uluru tour guide who’s up before sunrise

Getting out there to deliver a tour in front of strangers is 10 times easier than doing it in front of someone you work with. You’re worried about getting things wrong in front of someone you know!

About 18 months ago, when I’d been here 3½ years, I did a season in Europe for one of our sister companies, Contiki. It’s really different, as they are longer trips, but Contiki’s European training trip really sets the standard in all tourism.

1pm: Before I finish for the day, I have a few things to do for the recruitment side of my role. All our guides need to be enrolled in a program with Charles Darwin University, to provide their accreditation to guide in the national park.

It’s an online course, but we also do an intensive component where a lecturer from Charles Darwin comes to us. It is a transient role, so we rely heavily on people flying in for the busy season to cover gaps and I need to make sure the recruits are ready to go.

I’m 24 now, and because The Travel Corporation (which owns both Kings and Contiki) has a number of brands, I’m going to be able to chase the sun in my job.

I’ll spend six months as a crew trainer here in the Red Centre from November until the end of April, then I’ll head to Europe as a tour manager. I work under some fantastic people who are fully supportive of that type of thing. Plus there’s this invisible bungee cord that no matter how far you go across the other side of the world, it just drags you back here.

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