SPEND SOME TIME WITH WOLLONDILLY TOURS
Meet dynamic duo Brent and Jasmine, local residents and owners of Wollondilly Tours.
Discover why they turned their passion for Wollondilly and all it has to offer into a successful tourism business.
Let's start with a little bit about you:
Brent: At the age of 16, I spent a year as a Rotary Exchange Student in Germany, this ignited my passion for travel, to experience different cultures and learn new languages. After spending the next decade working in various sales, business development and management roles, I decided to take a trip back to Europe which led me to securing a role as a Topdeck Tour Guide throughout Europe and The UK, providing guided driving and walking tours in nearly every major capital city/town on the continent. Upon my return to Oz, I’ve held management roles in a number of tourism based businesses (Skydiving & Industrial Tourism). I was born, raised and I'm still living in Wollondilly with a young family – with a passion for fitness, fun, unique experiences and community.
Jasmine: I am born and bred in Wollondilly! I have always played sport locally including netball, swimming and even lawn bowls. I love sports and am actually quite competitive! I started my career working for my family’s electrical contracting business, and this really showed me the importance of supporting local businesses and having a strong sense of community. Since then, I have worked for a range of local businesses within Wollondilly, in a few different fields including law, real estate and local government. I now have a family of my own and continue to live right here in the beautiful Wollondilly Shire. I still play netball locally, and now also coach my daughter’s netball team, and I love doing fun activities with family and friends.
And a little bit about your business?
Our business story only began about 2 years ago. Being born, bred, and living here in the Dilly, we started the conversation over a family BBQ about all the fascinating history, landmarks, and attractions right here on our doorstep in the Wollondilly without a one-stop shop providing experiences in collaboration with a variety of different attractions and guided tours.
Originally we kicked off the business providing transport services locally (shuttles, parties, local events), but after some time identified this wasn’t our passion area. This left us thinking…what’s next? Our creative minds were in overdrive with the possibilities and opportunities in the tourism space, and with our collective professional experiences and passion for our local area, our attitude was that nothing is a silly idea if it’s new, fun, different and unique!
We now offer a number of local packaged tours for groups, guided walking tours for public bookings and speciality events such as scavenger hunts, amazing race type experiences and dapple in hosting the occasional music gig. Our business is unique, we strive to collaborate together with as many local businesses as we can and to provide fun, informative and memorable tours and experiences here in the Dilly. Our customer base ranges from kids as young as 3 for our themed scavenger hunts to senior and community transport groups for our guided bus tours and anyone in between. We do what we love and call it work! Showcasing our backyard, being proud of our Shire and sharing our passion for our local area.
What are your proudest business achievements?
In our short time we have brought over 500 visitors to the Wollondilly Shire, have formed partnerships with a number of local businesses and venues and had numerous opportunities to showcase our brand at both local and state networking events in the tourism space.
What makes your business successful?
Providing our customers with enjoyable and memorable experiences – seeing our customers smile, laugh, interact, and share their own stories and memories of the Wollondilly.
What were you doing 10 years ago?
Brent: I had just arrived back from living in London for 2 years and finished up my time as a European Tour Guide and got a job as a Dropzone Manager in the Skydiving industry.
Jasmine: I was working for Wollondilly Shire Council and just about to start a family of my own.
What is your favourite Dilly town and why?
Brent: Picton – it’s picturesque, quirky, and has an amazing colonial charm. Don’t mind the pubs either.
Jasmine: Thirlmere – it’s quiet and quant and my hometown
What is a must see or do in Wollondilly and why?
Brent: The history and the mystery of the Picton After Dark Tour – because Picton is said to be one of the most haunted towns in Australia.
Jasmine: Experience one of the many serene bushwalk in The Wollondilly Shire – the natural beauty of the flora, fauna, and waterways.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Brent: Being a major tourism provider in the Wollondilly Shire and surrounds to the local, domestic and international travel markets.
Jasmine: Running a very successful local tourism business bringing lots and lots of visitors to our beautiful Shire!
Complete this sentence. Most people wouldn’t know that we…
Are brother and sister – not a married couple!
And just for fun…what was your first job?
Brent: My first job was as a kitchen hand/dish pig at the Picton Golf Club.
Jasmine: My very first job was at the kebab shop in Thirlmere.
