How did you become involved in tour guiding?
I first considered tour guiding back in 1997 while working in Perth for a courier company. Then the momentum picked up and in 1999 I enrolled in a night school class in tour guiding. At the end of that year I was awarded a diploma. Having met Stephen Pahl through Toastmasters in 1999 was another link in the chain. In 2000, he led me to an opportunity in Tom Price, which I seized upon.

What is your occupation and where are you located?
My place of living is Tom Price, in the Pilbara of Western Australia. My work is quite diverse. Tour guiding takes place between April and October. During the remainder of the year I am driving buses commuting passengers between Tom Price and the airport outside Paraburdoo and delivering freight items to the town and the iron mine.

What does a general day at work involve?
With regard to tour guiding, a general day involves 10 ½ -11 hours of work. The actual tour is 9 hours. Driving distance of 280km is interspersed by stops at various gorges in the Karijini National Park. Some stops are short ones (15 minutes) checking out the beauty of gorges from viewing platforms. Other stops are long ones (1-2 hours), which involves descending gorges to appreciate their beauty from the bottom. The clients are provided with lunch made by one of the local hotels. An interpretive Visitor Centre is the venue for lunch and clients are given the opportunity to learn about the unique physical and cultural history of the Pilbara.

Where is your favourite 'spot' for Tour Guiding?
There are a lot of wonderful spots in the Karijini but the one that captures my attention is Handrail Pool at the bottom of Weano Gorge. It's that place where you need to have your wits about you while entering. One needs to know how to negotiate a very steep, almost vertical handrail in a zone that is about 1 metre in width. Also to reach Handrail Pool, one needs to climb down a 2.5 metre rock face using a rope. Sounds simple but many a person has come unstuck when using techniques that are not right. Swimming is glorious during the hotter months.

What do you never leave home without?
It may sound silly but common sense, that intangible commodity, is a must to take with you from home when one goes exploring the gorges. In other words respect the gorges and they will respect you.

What has been your best Tour Guiding experience?
To single out my best tour guiding experience is awfully difficult. There have been so many. European people are "gob smacked" when they see the gorges. Good tours are those when people appreciate bits of knowledge I share with them and for me to learn bits of knowledge from them.