Day Twenty - Wind, Wine and Tour Leading

What a windy day! A very wicked wind swirled in all directions all day. Squalls of rain came across every so often. There were many pockets of sunshine but always that wind. I didn't go to the beach today - mainly coz I just couldn't be bothered!

I did drive to Matakana for supplies, it was a reasonably relaxed experience although they were low on a bit of stock. I got the last decent box of tissues (no point in small 1-ply rubbish!) Needed a loo paper top up.
Another woman and I probably got a bit too close in the wine aisle. She highly recommended the Hunting Lodge "Lustrous" Chardonnay she'd tried last week. I popped a bottle in my trolley.
I recommended the Hunting Lodge "Silky" Pinot Noir I'd tried last week. She popped one in her trolley.
"I'll feel embarrassed going up to the checkout with all these bottles," she said. It didn't look like she had THAT many!  "Ditto," I said, while discretely covering a couple up with a block of chocolate!

Lustrous and Silky wine!

Today's beach photo is taken from the estuary on the other side of the causeway, looking across towards Omaha and the hills behind, on my essential return journey from Matakana. Often there are horses being ridden around this area, at low tide. And on a windy day like today there would normally be hoards of kite-surfers out. Not these days.

Omaha Beach photo of the day - from the estuary over the causeway

Today I'd been invited to be guest speaker at the Manukau Sunrise Rotary Club's online Zoom meeting - talking about something I love but can't do right now - The Life of a Tour Leader. (See Share-Note of the Day for more about this).
Brett's no longer with the Club (after nearly 30 years in Rotary he figured he'd done his time) but we still receive their Bulletin and keep in touch as we've done all sorts of things together over the years. From disco dancing to Abba prancing. From Santa shenanigans to Gold Coast sands to Waiheke wonders. From theatre to music and charitable actions. And so many sumptuous meals, hosted at homes and out and about. Always such a fun and fabulous crew to do stuff with!

Kisa, Bulletin editor, who jacked me up as speaker today, is currently in Japan (her husband is Japanese). She's lived here and there over many years and, at time of lockdown, is in Japan.
She commented that things are pretty dire over there, with disagreements and confusion, as numbers escalate. A state of emergency was declared but there is no strict lockdown like NZ. Stay very safe Kisa.

The "mask promotion" email I received today (I've received such emails almost every other day since November 2019) contained a selection of, not masks, but neck scarves ... to match the "fashion" masks they sent me the other day. (See day 16). The whole thing is getting more and more zany and a whole new matchy-matchy fashion line is emerging!

How ironic it is that, after 20 years of masks, I close up shop in November ... and suddenly and immediately a different type of mask is not only a necessity, it seems to be all the rage!!!  The whole world is suddenly wearing masks ... and I'm done with them, haha! Kinda not funny, but definitely ironic.

SHARE-NOTE OF THE DAY:
The Life of a Tour Leader

Firstly … travel has always been in my DNA and I’m a Kiwi at heart - but also a passionate Europhile.

So how did I become a tour leader? It’s a question I often get asked.

I was at Omaha, New Year, 2018, raining all day long. I set about reading all the NZ Herald Travel magazines and Vivas etc that I’d piled to read at some point. Perfect.

I don’t usually read the ads in the back of the Travel section but that day I read them all.

Lots of ads for “escorted tours”, group tours with a tour leader etc. Not only did I wonder who those tours leaders were, and how they got into it, I thought “I could do that”. (I did have a raft of experience that made me think that!)

I began researching the various travel companies who offered escorted tours.

Many were big tour operators dealing in large groups on a mass tourism scale with itineraries that sounded horrific (one night in each place, early morning bags outside the door, all day in a coach type of trips, tour guides up-selling excursions etc). No! They have their place, and indeed I did one around Europe years ago and loved it, but one thing was for sure, I did not want to be a tour leader/guide on that type of trip.

Other operators offered adventure tours for adrenalin junkies – that’s not me.

A couple of niche travel companies stood out with appeal, one in particular called Maher Tours. They didn’t advertise in the Travel section but I came across them online while researching.

Aimed at small groups of “mature travellers, young at heart” and with well-constructed, unusual and very comprehensive itineraries that were top end and offered something a bit different, they grabbed my attention.

I sent them an email, they replied almost immediately saying they’d be interested to talk with me. I had a long conversation with Andy, the owner and he flew me down to Wellington the following week to meet him and the team. Got the tick. They now work out of Wanaka by the way, and of course work has fallen over. 

Next minute, I’m signed up to lead the Queensland trip in August! Great, a nice gentle intro ... more on that later ...

So what made me want to be a tour leader – or think I could be one?

Some people couldn’t think of anything worse than taking a bunch of old people around the world. I just love it!

Bear in mind a tour leader is not a guide. Local guides are engaged to share information. The tour leader role is to make sure everyone is happy, everything is going smoothly and to deal with things if they’re not.

Background:

I spent much the latter part of the 1980s organising conferences for the Europe Region of an international NGO, based in London. Getting people from all over Europe, and the world, to a place in Europe, or the world, was second nature. Not always easy, especially when it came to Eastern Europe. It was one component of a wonderfully diverse job, and I loved it. 

I met people from all over the world, all professions, all cultures. I dealt with the good and bad of just about everything you can imagine when it comes to travel and people ...

Managing everything was full-on, and I loved it, no matter what or where. Suffice to say, I dealt with some very interesting stuff along the way …

Whether it was a chaotic hotel in Greece (Fawlty Towers style), crazy entry to Bulgaria or double booked flights out of Tblissi (don’t even ask), an ill German professor, an elderly Czech politician or a delightful Danish doctor … I dealt with it all and loved every moment.

Valuable experience useful for a Tour Leader to have:

Obviously, first and foremost, you need to be travel savvy !

Working with groups

I’ve worked in facilitation and personal development/coaching - all stuff that’s helpful for managing groups … and maintaining own sanity!

Being one step ahead

As a travel writer and creative, I’m always closely observing my surroundings, have an eye for detail, and look for what’s not necessarily obvious but is important. Looking ahead at the unseen. Vital.

Being people savvy

I’ve mostly worked with people and experiences, rather than product and profit. This includes many years working at the Blind Foundation and being involved with various disabilities. Believe it or not, I did have a registered blind man on one of my trips last year!

Broad interests

Having a broad range of interests is also good to keep conversation flowing easily. I’m always learning or teaching myself something new. Always happy to chat about anything – and learn more!

Essentials a Tour Leader definitely needs – in triple dose!:

·       Patience and compassion

·       Good planning skills

·       Be a troubleshooter, solution driven

·       Be flexible and unflappable.

So how does it work?

Each company is slightly different but generally, tour leading is not a job.  There's no salary. You get the trip of course (and with Maher that’s high end and all inclusive), most meals are included and there’s a daily per diem. So while it's a role, not a job, I look at it this way ... when I'm away, I’m not spending ridiculous money at the supermarket or on petrol and other daily expenses here in NZ. And believe me, everything in the rest of world is MUCH cheaper.

Being a Tour Leader is not a money-spinner, but it’s an experience-generator! And I’m all about the latter. Some of Maher’s tour leaders take 5 or 6 trips a year. Most trips are a month long. That’s quite a commitment. And not something you do lightly, especially when there's no salary. 

So my first trip with Maher … to Queensland …

Set off with great excitement, anticipation – and trepidation.

But what could possibly go wrong taking a group from Brisbane up to Cairns?

As it turned out – a LOT!

I had 2 ladies in hospital in different cities, and 2 ladies with dementia. There were a lot of challenges and I just about tore my hair out behind the scenes. But at the same time, I’ve never laughed so much.

So along with koalas and crocodiles and great scenery, I also saw multiple hospitals, clinics and pharmacies. I made a zillion phone calls. Most of the rest of the group didn’t know how hard I was paddling behind the scenes to manage everything - and that’s just as it should be. This was trouble-shooting to the max but it was not the norm. 

Maher couldn’t believe what I'd had to deal with. "It’s not normally like this Sally," they said. "We’ll understand if you never want to take another trip again as long as you live."

It didn’t put me off one bit! It just made me realise this is what I was born to do!

In April last year I led a Murray River trip – from Melbourne up to Mildura where we started the river cruise. Not the paddle steamer type but a day boat – staying in lovely country hotels in small towns along the way. Down to Adelaide and then back to Melbourne along the Gt Ocean Road. It was a fabulous trip with perfect weather and nothing went wrong on that one!

It was this trip that the blind guy was on. It added an extra layer of management for me, but luckily, I had years of experience with blind people so it wasn’t an issue. Good on him for getting out and travelling.

Last July 2019 I led the Russia, Baltic States trip, down through Poland, Danube Cruise …

It was an amazing trip. There were a few challenges for me to deal with: one lady broke her ankle on day 3 in Moscow and had to fly home; another lady did something to her knee and despite seeking treatment from clinics in Moscow, Warsaw, Hungary no one could work out what it was. She could barely walk at times, so I had to organise a walker for her to help her get around.

But, despite this, it was the most fantastic trip and nothing was compromised - which is what the tour leader must ensure! And let me say that the tour leader works very hard. Every hour of every day! Here's the link to my blog of that particular trip. 

https://russiabalticdanubetour.blogspot.com/

Group in Latvia

I was due to lead a trip to Spain and Portugal in July this year but … no-go of course.

I’d also set up my own Personal Travel Companion Service – to assist people who need support to continue travelling. Also no-go.

To be honest, I’m not sure what will happen as into the future regarding older people and travel. 

But when older people are ready to travel again, I’ll be ready to help them do it safely – and with many laughs!