Meet Our Tour Hosts
Ben Dolphin
After living and working overseas for three and half years, Ben found his passion for globetrotting across the UK, USA, Europe, Asia and India. As owner of the business, he draws on his 20 years of navigating the five continents and looks forward to adding the last two. Recent years have seen Ben experience the food and history of Vietnam and Cambodia, the culture of Europe, the natural wonder of the Canadian Rockies, and getting off beaten track in Australia’s top end. As a professional photographer, he also brings a unique experience to his groups by helping them capture their travel memories forever.
Tahnee Smith
Tahnee has worked in the travel industry for 12 years and is the Team Leader of our specialised groups department, Hosted Journeys. She takes pride in researching and designing new, unique and interesting itineraries for our valued Hosted Journeys clients. Having ticked off all 7 continents, travelled to nearly 50 countries and lived abroad in both Austria and Canada, you could say Tahnee caught the travel bug early in life and now suffers from a severe case of “Wanderlust”! Unforgettable moments include kayaking in Antarctica, spotting the Big Five in Africa, sky diving in Hawaii, celebrating New Years Eve at Time Square and snorkelling the Blue Hole in Belize.
Roz Nielsen
One of our most experienced consultants with over 27 years experience in the industry, Roz has travelled to all seven continents! Her most favourite regions of the world include France, Italy, Peru, Galapagos and Africa but without doubt one of her most stand out experiences would have to be Antarctica! She has recently revisited Africa again and this time it was Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Jill Johansen
Jill is one of our most experienced consultants with over 40 years experience in the industry. During this time, Jill has seen many changes but the one constant is her dedication to her clients having spent a lifetime delivering unique travel experiences. Some of Jill’s most memorable travel experiences are arriving for a dinner by sea plane in Vancouver, crossing the Arctic Circle, experiencing the beauty & majesty of Canada & Alaska, soaking up the sun in Santorini & Monte Carlo, safari'ing in Africa & experiencing the glitz & glamour of Los Angeles.
Kaye Lewis
Kaye has worked in the travel industry for 30 years, starting as the book keeper, then consulting and taking trips for the last 26 years, both overseas and within Australia. Kaye’s passion is theatre and domestic travel and Kaye organises groups each year which incorporate theatre shows – she started off by taking three groups away each year and since she’s retired has slowed down to six groups a year!! A few of Kaye’s most memorable travel experiences are visiting Canada, she loved Paris and the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed a Mississippi river cruise with the highlight being visiting Graceland. In Australia, Kaye’s favourites are Kangaroo Island and Ayers Rock.
Danae Mauger
With 13 years experience in the travel industry, Danae has visited over a dozen countries, some of these multiple times, as well as having travelled extensively throughout Australia. Danae specialises in special events, corporate sporting groups & corporate travel, as well as school groups. Her travel hightlights include staying on a private game reserve in South Africa, driving between San Francisco & Los Angeles in the United States, visiting beautiful Vancouver in Canada and walking the Overland Track in Tasmania.
Jenna Serginson
With over 12 years experience in the travel industry Jenna has always loved to travel, living overseas from a young age. Jenna has visited 25 countries spanning five continents with a passion for the South Pacific, Asia and Africa. Jenna’s photo book is full of highlights include exploring Thailand, spotting the ‘Big 5’ on safari across Africa, watching the sun rise over the Taj Mahal in India & celebrating Oktoberfest in Germany!
Alan Cooney
Alan has been in the travel industry for 10 years and his favourite travel experiences include cruising the rivers of Europe, visiting Eastern Europe, namely Romania & Bulgaria & cruising the Mississippi on board the American Queen. He has also escorted Hosted Journeys to Canada & Alaska, Britain & Ireland, Japan, Egypt & Jordan, China, Kenya & Tanzania, Norfolk Island, Scandinavia and to the Carnival of Flowers.
Danielle Cook
Danielle has been in the travel industry for seven years and has visted 16 countries. Some of her favourite travel destinations include Europe, Canada & New Zealand. Danielle has hosted eight groups on various Australian journeys, with some highlights learning the convict history of Norfolk Island, cruising on the Murray River & exploring the centre of Australia on the iconic Ghan Expedition.
John Cooney
John has been in the travel industry for over 30 years, as the original owner of the business. He has travelled to all seven continents and over 70 countries. John enjoys sharing his favourite parts of the world with travellers on our Hosted Journeys including canal barging through the Burgundy Region in France and enjoying Tuscany in Italy. John has taken his family on a round the world trip for nine months, spending time throughout Asia and Europe.
Annabel Dolphin
Started travelling overseas at the age of 22, Annabel has recently joined the team as a owner of the business. There is nothing more inspiring then making people happy through shared travel experiences. She loves sharing her passion for the people, history and culture of the places she visits. From New York, London, Cambodia, Vietnam, Poland, Finland, Italy, France, Scotland and Singapore are just a few of her favourite travel destinations.
Matthew Perre
Matthew has worked in the industry in excess of 18 years and is a shareholder in Helloworld Travel Mackay & Mt Pleasant. As a well seasoned traveller, Matthew has visited all seven continents and one of his most frequented destinations is North America having been there over 30 times! Some unique travel experiences for Matthew includes cruising to Antarctica and the Arctic, trekking to the gorillas in Rwanda, seeing orangutans in Borneo & skiing numerous resorts across the globe. Another passion for Matthew is cruising and he has experienced dozens of ships, sailing to many parts of our world.
Stacey Cole
Stacey has been in the travel industry for over 15 years, beginning as a trainee with Harvey World Travel, before becoming a shareholder in the business in 2013. Stacey has visited over 45 countries, covering all seven continents, and her highlights include camping on the ice in Antarctica, dog sledding in Alaska, cruising the Panama Canal, seeing the Pyramids of Giza and the Big 5 in South Africa. Stacey now enjoys travelling with her son and they have experienced the USA, Canada & New Zealand together. He always asks, "Where to next Mum?".
Bonnie Davis
Bonnie has extensive travel experience having travelled to over 20 countries and growing up in Canada. Some of her favourite travel destinations include Nice in France, Prague in Czech Republic, Seoul in South Korea and Vancouver in Canada. Bonnie has hosted a group of train buffs on the Ghan Expedition from Darwin to Adelaide and most recently hosted a group through the Great Australian Outback.
Brooke Birnie
Brooke has been in the travel industry for over 8 years and is currently the Team leader of the Mt Pleasant store. She discovered her passion for travel as soon as she left high school and hasn’t looked back. Brooke’s Instagram feed is filled with photos from Ecuador, India, America, Mexico and 25 other countries and 5 continents. She loves getting out of the city and in amongst the locals and wildlife. However still calls New York her all time favourite destination. Her ultimate travel goal is to have her 7th continent ticked off by the age of 28. She fully believes in trying and testing all areas of the globe so she can create unforgettable memories for her customers from her first hand knowledge.
Johanna Wood
From a young age, travelling has always been a passion for Johanna. Being in the travel industry for the last 14 years has allowed her to explore many parts of the world across all 7 continents. Johanna really enjoys getting up close and personal with nature and her favourite travel experiences would have to be Expedition Cruising in Antarctica, as well as exploring Africa on safari in Zimbabwe and Botswana. She loves being able to share these experiences with her customers and as Team Leader of Helloworld Travel Hosted Journeys she loves being able to create customised itineraries for our customers to enjoy travelling as a small group with a professional Tour Host. Her next bucket list item is to trek the mountains of Rwanda to see the amazing mountain gorillas.
Corenne Jonas
Corenne recently led a Hosted Journey to Britain and Ireland and loves travelling with a group , enjoying shared experiences and connecting with new friends. Originally from New Zealand, she started travelling at an early age and has had the “Travel Bug” ever since. Some of her most memorable experiences have been arriving at Lake Louise Canada during a snow storm, visiting Glencoe in Scotland, cruising up the Mekong River and flying through the mountains into Queenstown, New Zealand. She is very fortunate to have travelled to the South Pacific, Bali, USA and Canada, Britain and Ireland, Cambodia, and Singapore and looks forward to many more adventures.