My first taste for travel came at the age of 6 months when I did my first round the world trip, visiting places that I can’t remember such as Disneyland and Buckingham Palace. At the age of 10 I then went back to the UK and France for my first memorable experiences of international travel. From the Jorvik Viking Museum in York, to the palaces of the Loire, I was hooked on travel.
In my early twenties I then headed out for a planned 12 months of working holiday, only to stay for nearly four years travelling and working my way around Europe, North America and Central America. Experiences such as making wine in Beaujolais and Sonoma Valley, serving pizzas in Pistoia, painting houses in Sweden and ski seasons across Canada, Italy and France were truly memorable and instilled my love of travel and engaging with local communities and cultures.
On returning to Australia I took up a job as a travel consultant with Flight Centre. Within twelve months I opened a new branch for them in North Adelaide before launching the Group Travel division for Flight Centre in SA and NT. With this role I created and managed corporate tours and events for companies including News Corp, DMG Radio, Adelaide Football Club and the state government. I also looked after a host of group trips for schools and universities as well as continued to manage my repeat and referral leisure clients and small corporates. Throughout my seven years with Flight Centre I was fortunate to travel extensively throughout Asia and the Pacific and across to Europe, including hosting groups on the Eastern & Orient Express, trekking Kokoda and Sandakan, and testing out a range of stunning hotels, resorts and golf courses along the way.
After seven successful years I then moved to Bordeaux, France. On the back of taking a group to the Tour de France in 2010, I saw an opportunity to develop a business in Europe taking people to experience the best of regional France and Western Europe and all the great food, wine and culture that it has to offer.
Since 2011 I have been creating and hosting groups across Europe, including to the Tour de France more than ten times. The tours design are custom built in conjunction with my clients focused on providing guests with unique experiences that they typically wouldn’t come across in their own travels. From Balsamic tastings with a local family outside Modena, to dinners at a 450 year old family owned cider house in the Basque country, cycling some of the great roads of Europe, and staying in boutique accommodation, each program is individually designed to meet my client and their guests interests.
In recent years I have also worked for Visit Victoria, delivering three years of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and White Night events in Geelong and Bendigo. As part of the Cadel Race I managed the 350 pro-riders and team staff, including contracting of the teams, flights, accommodation, meals, bike transportation, local experiences and more.
My passion remains for sharing the world with my clients and designing travel and event experiences to meet their needs, from individuals and couples needing help with flights and accommodation to high end corporate groups looking to drive customer engagement and business growth.
I look forward to speaking with you to see how I can assist with your next travel or event experience.
My travels have taken my to 40+ countries and counting and I have lived for over ten years overseas, including France, Italy, UK, Canada and the USA.
Some memorable experiences include backpacking on my own for three months through Central America, hiking through China, PNG and Borneo, and driving a Pontiac Firebird through California, Nevada, Utah and Mexico.
More recently I have lived in Bordeaux for six years where I developed my own tour business, hosting corporate and leisure groups to all the major cycling races in Europe, the Rugby World Cup, marathons in NY, London, Paris and Berlin and the World Triathlon Championships in Mexico, as well as creating and hosting food and wine and cultural tours across Europe.
I’m now sharing the world with my young family, with my kids who are now 2 and 4 having travelled to Europe 3 times each and visited seven countries each and counting.
Europe: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia and beyond.
Having lived in France for 6 years and run my own tour business across Western Europe for the last 10 years, it is hard to go past the history, culture, food and landscapes of this incredible part of the world.
The Mountains: Ski, ride or hike.
As someone that has worked ski seasons across Canada, Italy and France and run cycling tours across the Pyrenees, Alps and Dolomites, I have a great love for the mountains. If I had to choose one range it would be the Dolomites. The scenery is unmatched, combine it with fantastic food and a diversity of offering to suit everyone from self-drivers to avid hikers, this is a must visit destination.
Asia:
For a great break close to home or an incredible stopover on the way to Europe, Asia has so much to offer. The people, the food, the hotels, and the experiences, it’s hard to know where to start. I’ve had the good fortunate of trekking through PNG, Malaysia and China, relaxing in resorts in Thailand, exploring Vietnam and hosting corporate groups through across the region. Every place is unique and every time you visit is different.
HGTE offers a full range of travel and event services for leisure and corporate clients and groups, including itinerary and program development, flights, accommodation, tours & cruise, conferencing, custom experiences and more.
Our custom cycling tours are built on 15 years of experience delivering tours in Europe and the local knowledge of our team based in Italy, France and Spain. All our tours are bespoke to meet our guests’ needs and interests and deliver once in a lifetime experiences both on and off the bike.
HGTE has a dedicated team of local guides based year round in Europe. The team assist with program design and are there to host our private groups and help immerse them in the incredible culture and history of the region.
