I have been doing this job for almost two years now and I enjoy it very much.
I Drive around New Zealand, going to beautiful locations and staying in new places everynight, sometimes I feel like a rock star on tour. But this isn't what I enjoy most about the job.
What I enjoy the most is meeting new people and seeing their faces when they see something new or experience something for the first time. It is such a wonderful moment when their face breaks into a smile, and you can see their eyes shine. No matter how tired I feel or even if I am having a bad day, the moment when I see somebody having a new experience always makes me feel better.
I see my job not so much as a guide or a teacher. I can show people lots of things and tell them about it, but really I think my job is about offering people an experience, a moment they will never forget. My job is to create a memory for them that will last a life time. And I feel privileged to be in a position where I can give somebody a moment that they will always carry with them.
Last month I took a 3 day tour to Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo. We had a good mixture of students, some from Taiwan, some from Japan and some from Korea.There was alot of excitment in the van as we left Christchurch, but everyone was a little quiet after we drove into stormy and dark weather. As we approched Lake Tekapo there was a lot of snow on the ground. Sami and David from Taiwwan quietly mentioned to me that they had never experienced snow before. As soon as it was safe to pull over we did, and Sami and David got out of the van
The look on their faces was one of pure joy and they knelt down and picked up handfuls of snow.
Sami told me that it was one of the most beautiful things she had seen, but she was surprised by how cold it was!! Needless to say she took close to 100 photos in the five minutes we were parked there.
The next day was another treat and under a clear blue sky we drove to a snow covered Mt Cook. I have lived most of my life in New Zealand, and spent a great part of that in the outdoors in some of the most beautiful places in the world, but even I was taken aback by how beautiful Mt Cook national park looked under the snow. Everything glistened in the bright sunshine.
We did two very nice walks, but the cold feet were worth it for the spectacular photos we made.
As we stood at the look out point gazing at Mt Cook I asked David from Taiwan if he knew what a snowman was. He said he had seen them on TV, but never in real life.
I pointed out that this was his chance. He was quiet for a second then he realised what I meant. It took him a couple of minutes to build his first (small) snowman. He was so happy and pleased, for him it was the definite highlight of the trip, that moment he will never forget. And a moment I will never forget either .
Davids first snowman,heres the photo to prove it.....
