Meet the team
Each group of ten walkers is hosted by two staff at the lodge and two guides on the walks.
Their warm personalities, knowledge of the natural environment and ability to ensure guests feel at ease are fundamental to making this experience one to remember.
Our team of caring, intelligent and enthusiastic individuals includes environmental scientists, doctors to be, artists and outdoor adventurers. This makes for a unique and professional walking adventure that would be difficult to find elsewhere. They are supported by our wonderful team of local drivers and office personal, who are involved with every aspect of the walk and ensure all runs smoothly.
Joan
| Founder |
When asked what her favourite thing about Friendly Beaches is, Joan says “the beauty of the white sand, and the fact that when you wander down there, there’s never another person in sight”.
The Freycinet Experience Walk is a passion project of Joan’s. A great lover of a Friendly Beaches ocean swim and long-time Tasmanian eco-tourism pioneer, Joan has always been a strong proponent for, and protector of, Tasmania’s vulnerable wild places. From its inception twenty-eight years ago, and to this day, Joan’s aim for the Freycinet Experience has remained “to share Friendly Beaches‘ beauty with others, and help to ensure it remains as is for generations to come”. Outside of her love for the Freycinet Peninsula and protecting coastal habitats, Joan is passionate about the arts. This is reflected in the diverse collection of artworks from prominent Tasmanian artists on display at the Friendly Beaches Lodge; the result of over twenty years collecting!
We hope that you feel as welcomed by Joan’s vision and hospitality as we do!
Zoe
| Operations Manager |
For Zoe, the Freycinet Peninsula is home.
Growing up in Tasmania, summers were spent fishing Great Oyster Bay for flathead, snorkelling at Honeymoon Bay, body boarding at Friendly Beaches and collecting crabs along the rocky outcrops of Richardson’s Beach. Zoe delights in the opportunity to share the Peninsula’s beauty with others and is always happy to work with you to find the perfect itinerary and identify the time of year to travel that fits best with your interests! Zoe loves the Freycinet Experience Team, their passion for the Peninsula, for conservation, and for working with each other, and is proud of Joan’s vision and the Freycinet Experience ethos – that of learning from and treading lightly on the world around us. Outside of her work with Freycinet Experience, Zoe loves to spend time in the garden spotting birds, planting vegetables and watching the trees change with the seasons.
Toby
| Lodge Host |
Toby is one of our brilliant Lodge Hosts and lives on site at the Friendly Beaches Lodge.
For Toby, the Freycinet Experience Walk presents an opportunity to meet people from all walks of life and introduce them to one of his favourite places in the world, the Freycinet Peninsula! An avid cook, Toby’s cooking endeavours range from professional cheese making to festival cheffing and everything in-between! Toby loves to share Tasmania’s incredible produce with others and uses the famous Friendly Beaches brunch as an opportunity to showcase some of Tasmania’s most sustainable and delectable offerings (any one for wallaby!?). Outside of the kitchen, Toby loves the serenity of the Friendly Beaches and enjoys long walks on deserted beaches, spending time amidst the Peninsula’s incredible fauna and flora, swimming and snorkelling in the ocean and climbing at Freycinet’s Whitewater Wall.
Noona
| Lodge Host |
Noona’s cooking comes from the heart.
As one of our wonderful lodge hosting team, Noona lives on site at the Friendly Beaches Lodge and spends her days experimenting with ingredients to discover new ways of showcasing Tasmania’s amazing produce. Noona’s favourite meals to prepare are the afternoon teas that greet our guests at the end of a day’s adventuring; wattle seed shortbreads and sponge cakes being a particular favourite! Noona loves the Peninsula for it’s white sand beaches and inviting waters, as well as the diverse array of feathered and furry visitors who frequent the Friendly Beaches Lodge! Following fresh Tasmanian Devil tracks along the beach and viewing white-bellied sea eagles and dolphins from the lodge decks with a cup of tea in hand is a particular highlight!
For Noona, living onsite brings the opportunity to connect with community: the locals, the producers, and the travellers. Noona is only too happy to share a hand-made jar of pickles or relishes with a new friend and is often found pottering in the community gardens of our neighbouring town, Bicheno.
Luke
| Nature Guide |
Luke is our resident Marine Biologist and loves any opportunity to connect our guests to the Peninsula’s incredible coastal habitats.
For Luke, intertidal zones and rock pools are of special interest, the inhabitants of which are some of the most specialised and wonderous on Earth. He enjoys taking a moment to appreciate the Peninsula’s incredibly beautiful, and often overlooked, marine invertebrates and has many a tale to share while wandering the shores of Wineglass Bay! Luke loves to spend time on Tasmania’s East Coast and shares that ‘it is a privilege to work on the Peninsula regularly and become in tune with the environment and its subtle seasonal changes’. Outside of guiding, Luke will always make time to connect with friends, be it indoors, sharing a local Tasmanian brew, or in the outdoors climbing, canoeing or surfing – anything that keeps him outdoors!
Pete
| Nature Guide |
Pete is a storyteller and his genuine passion and enthusiasm for the Peninsula is contagious.
A treasure trove of knowledge and a long-standing member of the Freycinet family, Pete has guided on the East Coast of Tasmania for over a decade. Pete loves Freycinet for its varied landscapes and rich marine and birdlife, noting that the diversity of habitats on the Peninsula lends itself particularly well to birdwatching and appreciation. When Pete is not observing Freycinet’s bird life, he is on the lookout for whales, and will always take time to survey the landscape for opportunities to appreciate the local wildlife. For Pete, there could hardly be a more spectacular granite landscape anywhere in Australia and it is an absolute joy to walk through and share it with others. When Pete is not guiding, he enjoys sailing, canoeing and sharing time with his grandchildren. As a lover of birds, Pete also enjoys spending time in his garden which is brimming with bird-attracting natives and home to many endemic species!
Ella
| Nature Guide |
Ella is a keen wildlife enthusiast and our resident orchid expert!
For Ella, guiding on the Freycinet Peninsula brings the opportunity to follow and understand the lifecycle of our coastal wildflowers and marvel at their evolutionary adaptations. As she notes, ‘flying duck orchids are an impressive species that I haven't seen anywhere else, it is incredible to consider how they have evolved overtime to catch bugs to assist their pollination’. When Ella is not searching the coast’s varied bushland for hidden natives, she’s listening for the calls of local green rosellas, honeyeaters and thornbills. In her down time, you can find Ella camping, birding, climbing, slacklining, or, taking a moment in a sunbeam with a cup of tea.
Rob
| Nature Guide |
Rob is about people and connection and will always give his time to others.
He loves guiding for the opportunity to meet with and listen to our Freycinet Experience community and especially enjoys reliving the experience of connecting with the Peninsula for the first time again as guests are introduced to Freycinet’s incredible coastlines. For Rob, it is the moments spent watching groups come together and bond that are especially satisfying. He also enjoys sharing the diversity of life on the Peninsula and taking the time to look a little deeper, at the ecosystems functioning at the macro level. The joy of walking down from the lodge to an empty beach for a morning swim is a unique and special experience that leaves Rob feeling incredibly privileged to work as a guide on the Freycinet Peninsula.
Outside of guiding, Rob loves to hike and explore and is passionate about movement and assisting others to learn about how their bodies can move and function. Life learning is also important to Rob, and he will always have a book or three on the go and loves any new recommendations!
Celeste
| Nature Guide |
A born and bred Tasmanian, Celeste’s love of the Peninsula is infectious and began at an early age with summers collecting shells and exploring Freycinet’s granite slopes.
Celeste is an ocean child and loves any opportunity to spend time in the water and encourage others to do the same! For Celeste, guiding on the Freycinet Peninsula is an opportunity to learn and share learning experiences with others; it is a joy to learn from the environment, the history and stories of the Indigenous Tasmanian’s inhabiting the coastlines, the Tasman Ocean’s incredible marine life, and, of course, from the life experiences of the myriad of individuals that join our four-day adventures. Celeste also has a special interest in Tasmania’s Indigenous history and a deep respect for our First Nation’s culture. In her down time, you can find our bright and sunny Celeste wandering rock pools, sketching orchids, photographing Freycinet’s unique geology or playing out in the surf.
Danny
| Nature Guide |
Danny is one of the most kind-hearted humans you will meet! This is reflected in his warm and considered approach to wilderness guiding.
Danny loves helping others to achieve their goals and gets great joy from encouraging guests to the summit of Mt Graham and celebrating with them as they reach the welcoming waters of Wineglass Bay below. For Danny, the beauty of the Peninsula is in its most remote and untouched features, some of which remain as they have done for thousands of years. When he’s not up early sneaking in a Friendly Beaches run before a day on the track, Danny enjoys spending mornings with guests identifying endemic bird species and sharing their stories. Outside of the guiding world, Danny loves birdwatching and spending time with family in the outdoors.
Hesh
| Nature Guide |
Having grown up by the Ocean, for Hesh, the Freycinet Peninsula feels like home.
Hesh has connected strongly with the East Coast of Tasmania and gets deep satisfaction from instilling this sense of connection to place in others. Always keen for a swim, Hesh will be sure to have as many guests dipping their toes in our Friendly Beaches waters as possible. Hesh’s special interest is human history and he is an absolute wizz at finding a tale to suit every occasion. He marvels at the way humans of Tasmania have shaped the Peninsula, and in turn, how the Peninsula has shaped Tasmanian history. When Hesh is not guiding, he enjoys day hiking, cycling, spending time with his partner exploring the State, and, of course a good cuppa and a bickie.
Joan on the guides
Hear from Joan as she chats about the expertise, warmth and friendliness of our guides.
