Meet the Team ~ Peter ~ Tour Guide
Your role within Australian Coastal Safaris and your background
Tour Guide.
My background;
I've been in education as a teacher for 28 years in various locations around SA. Eventually I ended up here in Port Lincoln, teaching Outdoor Education. At some point Lunch (David Doudle) approached me to see if I wanted to be a tour guide...and the rest is history...
Why do you guide?
The personal & communication side of tour guiding is my favourite. I enjoy meeting new people and learning from them. Making good conversation while on tour is important to me - finding out where people are from, their backgrounds, and what they aspire to do in the future. I've learned a lot from guests on my tours, and I hope they've learnt just as much from me!
What's your favourite animal experience on tour?
The most powerful and impressive creature I've ever seen on tour would have to be the Great White Shark - which is one of the main reasons people first come to Port Lincoln (and then they realise how much MORE we have here, and they usually come back to continue exploring!). My favourite moment on tour was getting eye-to-eye with a Great White Shark. I was told to look for a blue ring in their eye (their eyes are actually blue, not black as they seem) - and being that close I definitely saw it! It's definitely something you don't forget in a hurry!
When you’re not guiding tours, what are you doing?
I have a small boutique vineyard (Coomunga Wines) and block of land 20km NW of Port Lincoln which I run and make wine (and tend to the rest of the land when I'm not making wine - that's a whole job in itself!), and try to incorporate the wine and vineyard into tourism as much as possible. I also like to do yoga (my wife's a yoga teacher!), going out for lunch, and visiting our beautiful shack at Coffin Bay where I can truly relax and watch the world go by.
What’s your favourite place to go on the Lower Eyre Peninsula?
Hard question - there's a lot of very good places. My area - Coomunga - is a favourite, it's a wetland area with lots of bird life and animals. I also love Coffin Bay, Lincoln National Park sand dunes and coastline (seeing whales there in winter is spectacular!), and Whalers Way. But I'd have to say my absolute favourite place might have to be Kuta Rocks in the Lincoln National Park.
Top tip for travellers visiting this region
Hard question again, depends on your interest. Eat as much seafood as possible - it's the freshest most delicious seafood you're going to get anywhere. Try to match it with some of the local wines (especially Coomunga Wines...). Travel as much and as far as you can inland and coastal - you could DIY (but make sure to speak to someone about where to go), or jump on a tour with us of course - we know it all.
Join Peter on a tour
Want to join Peter on tour? Reach out and say hi - let us know where you want to go!