Latest / The Drive Straya Podcast / From the Road to the Rapids with Roddy Rees

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From the Road to the Rapids with Roddy Rees · The Drive Straya Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_01: G'day and welcome to Drive Stralia, the show where we chuck a swag in the back, crank the tunes, and chase the horizon from one end of this ridiculously beautiful country to the other.
0:11
SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Tony George.
0:13
SPEAKER_01: And if you're new here, well, here's the deal: this is a podcast about what we all love the most.
0:19
SPEAKER_01: That is Drive Stralia.
0:21
SPEAKER_01: We're going to get under the bonnet of Australia's drive market, take the engine apart, explore what makes it tick, and even shampoo the mud flaps and chat with the people and personalities who bring Australia's road trip experiences to life.
0:36
SPEAKER_01: From iconic drives and hidden gems to great places to stay and things to see and do, we'll share epic insider tips and a stack of stories and adventures from the road.
0:47
SPEAKER_01: Plus, we'll bring you inspiration and help guide you towards making your next Drive Australia road trip one to remember.
0:55
SPEAKER_01: And today's guest, well, they're an absolute ripper.
1:13
SPEAKER_01: This episode of the Drive Australia podcast, we're heading up to the tropical North Queensland, if you don't mind.
1:20
SPEAKER_01: The World Heritage Listed wet tropics of Queensland, because you just can't talk about Australian road trip culture without, of course, talking about the Cairns region.
1:31
SPEAKER_01: With rainforests that tumble down to the barrier reef and its vibrant and living cultural presence, tropical North Queensland is a place of not only stunning beauty, it's home also to ancient plants and animals, and at times the kind of humidity that hits you like a microwave cabbage the second you get out of your car.
1:50
SPEAKER_01: But the best part, well, for me, it is the adventurous journeys of discovery that this region offers to people, just like you and me.
1:59
SPEAKER_01: This region offers the very best in adventure tourism built to help people get out there and get into adventures they'll remember for a lifetime.
2:09
SPEAKER_01: Joining me today, we have the owner and director of the Cannes Adventure Group, Roddy Reese, a bloke who's spent years building experiences that take travelers to Tropical North on some of the most unforgettable experiences of their lives.
2:24
SPEAKER_01: Now I can tell you, Roddy is one of these blokes who talks with such passion about the landscape as if it's his family.
2:32
SPEAKER_01: And because, well, after this long for him, it basically is.
2:37
SPEAKER_01: We're going to get into how Roddy fell into adventure tourism in the first place, where he's going to describe some of the products that are offered to the great visitors to this region and a few of the stories that I guarantee are going to have you packing that car immediately and heading towards an adventure in the tropical north.
2:56
SPEAKER_01: So whether you're driving right now or stuck at a desk, dreaming of your next adventure, or genuinely planning on doing a lap of this great land, pull up a chair, get comfy in that car seat of yours because this chat, it's going to be a cracker.
3:12
SPEAKER_01: It is a very big welcome to Drive Australia to you, the man, the myth, the legend that is Roddy Reese.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: How are you, mate?
3:22
SPEAKER_01: I'm very well.
3:23
SPEAKER_01: Thanks very much for having me.
3:24
SPEAKER_01: Fantastic, mate.
3:25
SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much for your time.
3:27
SPEAKER_01: We know it's a busy time for you.
3:28
SPEAKER_01: Must be really flat out at the moment.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, look, always flat out, always things to do, never finished.
3:34
SPEAKER_00: But um more than happy to take a minute to to stop and talk to you and and all the fantastic listeners wherever they are around Australia.
3:40
SPEAKER_01: You're a beauty.
3:41
SPEAKER_01: Mate, all right, let's get right into it and go back right to the start.
3:46
SPEAKER_01: Now take me back to the beginning.
3:48
SPEAKER_01: Where did the Roddy Ree story begin?
3:52
SPEAKER_00: Uh well, in tourism or at Inception?
3:54
SPEAKER_00: Because I'm not gonna get my dad anymore.
3:56
SPEAKER_01: Well, inception is pretty deep, but anyway, we could go there if you want.
3:59
SPEAKER_01: But maybe after birth.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: So uh look, I I grew up in Cairns, mate.
4:04
SPEAKER_00: I'm a I'm a uh proud, passionate local.
4:07
SPEAKER_00: I went to Freshwater State School and um followed my dad out of government job, and we so we moved around Queensland a fair bit when I was a young fellow, got a taste of um of of Cairns and the beautiful lifestyle here, but also Mount Isa boarding school in Townsville, back to Cairns, bit of university in Rocky, back to Cairns, moved around a a fair bit.
4:27
SPEAKER_00: What's the El Mamato?
4:28
SPEAKER_00: The El Mamato.
4:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, as in uh JCU or where we No, CQU.
4:32
SPEAKER_01: CQU.
4:34
SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's my deal too.
4:35
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
4:35
SPEAKER_01: Very nicely.
4:37
SPEAKER_01: Go on.
4:37
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so um anyway, I I'd moved away like many people do after that.
4:42
SPEAKER_00: And um, I was actually living down in Melbourne and and um saw a ad in the paper, believe it or not.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: And uh and I thought, yeah, I'll I'll go back and do an adventure tourism job as a whitewater rafting job.
4:53
SPEAKER_00: I'd I'd been working at the ski fields down there for a few years and and I was getting to that age where I needed to grow up, but I but I thought, oh, this is too good to resist.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: Uh how old how old is this?
5:03
SPEAKER_00: Uh 27, 28, I think.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I was getting on.
5:07
SPEAKER_00: Probably probably needed to come home and start a family and get a career.
5:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
5:11
SPEAKER_00: But I thought I'll do one more year.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: So so I took a job um whitewater rafting, and um it all kind of began from there.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: I just in enjoyed the rivers and enjoyed tour guiding people and and it all kind of grew from that.
5:22
SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's fantastic.
5:23
SPEAKER_01: Look, um, so after your how long were you uh rafting for as a guide?
5:29
SPEAKER_00: Uh six years.
5:30
SPEAKER_01: Six years.
5:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, five or six years, yeah.
5:32
SPEAKER_01: You must have learnt lots during that time.
5:35
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, oh, a hell of a lot.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: Look, I I'm really passionate about the rivers here and um grew up fishing and exploring and hiking through these beautiful um rainforest creeks and and major rivers that we've got.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: And obviously, you know, the wet season, the rainy season, it's uh on full display.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: Nature's on show around here, epic waterfalls, um, awesome white water.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: And so that was just a part of growing up.
5:56
SPEAKER_00: So it felt pretty natural to me.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, rafted, fell in love with the with the industry, fell in love with um just showcasing places around North Queensland to um travelers, whether they be, you know, domestic friends, uh our friends from the southern states who who can't believe the water's warm when they get here in the winter.
6:15
SPEAKER_00: And I tell them this is as cold as it gets.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm freezing, but but they're all warm and um and or international guests coming as well, you know.
6:22
SPEAKER_00: There's a big there's a big drive market for European travellers as well.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: They do it in family groups and hire the camper vans and come up the coast.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: And and so I just really enjoyed um sharing um local knowledge and and then you know um watching those people experience uh nature and rivers through a really fun activity like rafting.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I just loved it so much.
6:44
SPEAKER_01: Married at that stage?
6:46
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, so single.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: Single bloke on the rafting.
6:49
SPEAKER_00: Single bloke on the rafting.
6:50
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
6:50
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
6:51
SPEAKER_00: Funny story.
6:51
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: My wife was a booking agent.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: Oh came on a Famil.
6:56
SPEAKER_01: Commission.
6:56
SPEAKER_00: Uh uh A FAMIL is like a familiarization to her so they can sell more to us.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
7:01
SPEAKER_00: Met her there and um went out for beers afterwards, just to company promotion, of course.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: And um and then the rest is history.
7:10
SPEAKER_00: We kind of fell in love and and I probably attribute the real journey to meeting her.
7:14
SPEAKER_00: She gave me a bit of a kick in the butt and to admit.
7:17
SPEAKER_01: So was it around this time that uh you your thoughts turned towards uh opening the Ken's Adventure Group?
7:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, that's right.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: So look, I was working for um Foaming Fury, which is one of the rafting products, and we had a Cape Tribulation company as well, a bus touring uh company.
7:34
SPEAKER_00: They met her and and she gave me a bit of a kick up the butt.
7:37
SPEAKER_00: And at the same time, I had a really interesting conversation with the owner.
7:41
SPEAKER_00: So um he was he'd known my parents when I was a kid.
7:45
SPEAKER_00: Kansas is a pretty small town, and he didn't say anything to me.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: I worked there for years, not knowing or joining the dots of who he was.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: And um, so we did that, and I felt a bit of a uh warmth and connection to him and probably speak out of school a little bit, and so um, but familiarity I felt to him.
8:02
SPEAKER_00: And so he asked me how the tour was one day, and I told him it was pretty crap and it could be better.
8:08
SPEAKER_00: And um, and he said, Well, do you think you could do it better?
8:11
SPEAKER_00: I said, Oh, absolutely, mate.
8:12
SPEAKER_00: And I gave him a list of all the things I thought could do better.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: And and he said, Well, why don't you buy it?
8:17
SPEAKER_00: And and I sort of was taken back a bit and thought, oh, okay, well, I wouldn't know how to do that.
8:22
SPEAKER_00: And off I went and it rattled around in my head for a little while.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: I came back to him later and said, How would how would one do that?
8:28
SPEAKER_00: How would you, how would you, what would be the process and the journey to to doing that?
8:32
SPEAKER_00: And so we started a conversation from there.
8:34
SPEAKER_00: It was about uh probably a year and a half, nearly two years later, by the time we actually got to the contract signing.
8:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
8:40
SPEAKER_00: But that it was born out of a bit of a smart aleck comment.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: And um, and then that's where the journey began, the ownership journey.
8:47
SPEAKER_01: So what what year are we talking there?
8:49
SPEAKER_00: Um so that was 2012 was the conversation.
8:52
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
8:53
SPEAKER_00: First of January 2014 was when I bought bought the first shares.
8:57
SPEAKER_00: And then we did a short partnership together and um a bit of a learning journey.
9:01
SPEAKER_00: And then um pretty much straight away um acquisition and invention and expansion was was in my mind as a business plan.
9:10
SPEAKER_01: So was the was the study through university um help that process for you as well?
9:15
SPEAKER_01: I mean, what what did you study at?
9:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, no, nothing against CQU, fantastic university, but didn't help at all.
9:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: Um because Well, there goes another sponsor, but go on because it was in a different field.
9:28
SPEAKER_00: I actually studied aquatic resource management, which is fish farming.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: And um, but then always had been drawn back to tourism because uh, you know, uh Kansas is such a a lovely town, it's a great place and people here on holidays and they're happy and they're they're relaxed and and so you know when you when you look at industries to work in, why wouldn't you work in an industry where people are happy all the time?
9:50
SPEAKER_00: Makes you happy, it makes work feel like it's not a chore.
9:53
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
9:54
SPEAKER_01: No, very true, very true.
9:56
SPEAKER_01: Look, um having a look last night through I think it was the Ostrade website in preparation for today, and some of the figures from when you say 2014 all the way through, the growth in adventure tourism, not only through this region but throughout Australia, is quite phenomenal.
10:16
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think we're talking around about 47% growth between on the OSTrade website it mentioned 2013 to 2023.
10:26
SPEAKER_01: Um, you you've lived and breathed that.
10:29
SPEAKER_01: Is that something that that tourists are really demanding now to really have an adventure on their holidays?
10:36
SPEAKER_01: How do you find that?
10:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
10:38
SPEAKER_00: I I think adventure tourism has has has grown and it's had long roots and long foundations.
10:44
SPEAKER_00: And some of the companies that we bought have a long history in this region, you know, some of them 40 years plus.
10:50
SPEAKER_00: And um and so they're well established in in international markets and well established in their operations.
10:55
SPEAKER_00: So there's been a a desire from people to experience this kind of tourism um for a long time.
11:00
SPEAKER_00: But I think um the the change in in policy settings around working holiday makers was a big impact on that.
11:08
SPEAKER_00: When the Australian government opened the borders to help workforce shortages and let working holidaymakers in, they could work down south and travel up north.
11:17
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
11:17
SPEAKER_00: And that brought a lot of young people over here.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: And obviously they're attracted to activities like whitewater rafting and you know, bungee jumping and skydiving and all this sort of stuff.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: So you had those halcyon days of that of that traditional youth market.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I think also um the rise of social media and um the way young kids interact with social media, imagery becomes so important in marketing.
11:41
SPEAKER_00: And so when you have amazing imagery of the reef and of adventure tourism, I think it sparks people's interest in wanting to do stuff.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: They go, oh wow, that looks like a lot of fun.
11:52
SPEAKER_00: And I'm going on a holiday, and holidays are about fun, right?
11:54
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: So um I think it lends itself to opening up to all sorts of markets, saying, Yeah, I want to experience that thrill and spin and the of the jet boat or the the scream of a bungee jump.
12:07
SPEAKER_00: Not that we are bungee jumping, but just talking about the broader um adventure tourism space.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: And I think people are looking for for something that really ticks the box for them now.
12:15
SPEAKER_01: All right.
12:16
SPEAKER_01: Speaking of which, now I'm gonna put myself uh right in the shoes of a traveler to Cannes and looking through the website, and I'll tell you what, Cannes Adventure Group website, it's a cracker, really is very clear.
12:29
SPEAKER_01: Um, can you run us through?
12:31
SPEAKER_01: I think there's nine products that I saw last night.
12:34
SPEAKER_01: Can you run me through?
12:36
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm sure there's a lot of different age groups, a lot of um uh, you know, health conditions, uh, et cetera, and wants and needs and desires to do in the tropical north.
12:49
SPEAKER_01: Can you run me through some of your products, Roddy?
12:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
12:52
SPEAKER_00: You we'll probably end the podcast with me still talking because I am passionate about these products.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: Um but look, we we have a uh slogan at the business Adventures for Everyone, and we really buy into that and we really believe that everyone should have the opportunity to do a venture, uh, adventure tourism.
13:07
SPEAKER_00: But we also know that adventure is different for everybody, right?
13:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: So um so you have to have a pretty big product spread.
13:13
SPEAKER_00: Um, but also we want to create employment pathways for um for our staff to have personal but also professional development.
13:21
SPEAKER_00: So lots of tours equals them not getting bored and them being able to train and and get new feathers in their cap.
13:28
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but if I run the products, I mean we've got a couple of rafting companies.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: And and though that, you know, there's a pretty diverse mix within that rafting group.
13:36
SPEAKER_00: So we've got, you know, just out the back of Cairns here, 20 minutes away, um, is an amazing river called the Baron River, which is grade three on the International Rafting Federation scale.
13:46
SPEAKER_01: Can I can I just jump in there?
13:47
SPEAKER_01: Because I am an I've got to admit, I'm a newbie at rafting.
13:50
SPEAKER_01: And even with it with the night's research, I'm still not up with it.
13:54
SPEAKER_01: So just before we go into your products, just run me quickly through the grades.
13:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so International Rafting Federation sets one to six.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: Right.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: So everybody of water from one to six.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: So one's like water running down the gutter, right?
14:05
SPEAKER_00: Not very exciting.
14:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, six is Niagara Falls, 80% chance of serious injury or death.
14:10
SPEAKER_00: And every body of water fits somewhere in that one to five.
14:13
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
14:13
SPEAKER_00: So grade three um is right smack bang in the middle.
14:17
SPEAKER_00: So a great introductory rafting level.
14:19
SPEAKER_00: Plenty of water.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: That's the Baron River.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: That's the Baron River, yeah.
14:22
SPEAKER_00: Half day experience, um, great for people, time poor on their holiday.
14:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, it gets pretty busy up here in Kansas.
14:28
SPEAKER_00: There's a lot to do.
14:29
SPEAKER_00: There's a smorgasbord of tours and activities, and people usually have a long list.
14:32
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
14:33
SPEAKER_00: So half day tour lets you do two things in the day or have a relax, you know, around the campsite or at your hotel or whatever.
14:39
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: Um, and do an afternoon.
14:40
SPEAKER_00: Uh, also a bit cheaper and uh uh introductory level.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: If you want to go full full blown top of the international standard best rivers in the world, yeah, top five rafting rivers in the world is located.
14:53
SPEAKER_00: Australia's number one rafting river, just down the road in Tully.
14:56
SPEAKER_03: Oh wow.
14:57
SPEAKER_00: If you're driving, you can stop in Mission Beach, beautiful little um coastal town down there on the Cassie Coast or Tully.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: Um, or we do daily departures from Cairns as well.
15:05
SPEAKER_00: So that's grade four, five river.
15:07
SPEAKER_01: So you can actually offer uh transport down there.
15:09
SPEAKER_01: I mean most most of our most of our listeners will be have their own transport.
15:13
SPEAKER_01: And they can drive down.
15:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they can self-drive as well.
15:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're happy for them to drive themselves, or if they want to park up and set up, we can pick them up and take them there from Cairns or Tully or Mission Beach.
15:23
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: Um, but that's a full-blown rafting experience.
15:26
SPEAKER_00: This is, you know, anywhere on the international list, it's either number four or five on the list.
15:31
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, it's a a full day, um, high intensity, and uh and absolutely adrenaline pumping, proper property.
15:42
SPEAKER_01: People just shifting in their seats now, listening to this, wetting their lips to get into that.
15:46
SPEAKER_01: So that's the Tully River.
15:47
SPEAKER_01: So that is that the most energetic one and the most adventurous that you're offering.
15:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
15:52
SPEAKER_00: It's Australia's biggest whitewater rafting um river and experience.
15:55
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
15:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, so that'd be the the top of the echelon.
15:58
SPEAKER_00: But look, a lot of the listeners might be traveling with um with families, or they might be not licking their lips about rafting and thinking that sounds terrifying.
16:06
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
16:07
SPEAKER_00: And so we actually have a uh another whitewater experience, river tubing, which is one of our other brands.
16:11
SPEAKER_00: And and this was born from um inception of what we used to do with our friends, you know, moving back here after living down south.
16:19
SPEAKER_00: A lot of friends would come up and visit.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: And the activity I'd do, and my wife and I would do with people on the weekends is grab an old tie tube and float down some of the rainforest creeks.
16:28
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you'd have a beer and float along and get picked up at a car.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: It's like a it's a thing in Cairns, right?
16:33
SPEAKER_01: I'm thirsty just thinking about it.
16:35
SPEAKER_01: It's true.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: That is amazing.
16:37
SPEAKER_01: Now, look, I am an old Melbourne boy.
16:39
SPEAKER_01: Uh, when discussing with family of the podcast coming up and telling them who I was interviewing, one question kept coming up.
16:47
SPEAKER_01: Crocodiles.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: Crocodiles are a part of life in in uh in North Queensland.
16:51
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
16:52
SPEAKER_00: And I and I'm very conscious of the fact that people who grew up in North Queensland have a very different view than people who didn't grow up in North Queensland.
17:00
SPEAKER_00: Um so we're not nonchalant, we're not unsafety focused.
17:04
SPEAKER_00: Um we just understand crocodile behavior better.
17:06
SPEAKER_00: And so um to someone traveling into the region, swimming in swimming hole A or River A and River B might be two totally different things.
17:16
SPEAKER_00: But locals know, all right, it's perfectly safe to swim in River A, but don't go anywhere near the water to River B.
17:21
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
17:21
SPEAKER_00: Um, we're a commercial company and we run, you know, tens of thousands of people on these activities a year.
17:27
SPEAKER_00: We have no interest in creating unnecessary danger.
17:29
SPEAKER_00: So we don't raft where crocodiles are.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
17:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no.
17:33
SPEAKER_01: Uh you had me interested with the uh the tubing down the river.
17:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:38
SPEAKER_01: Is that in Cairns or Yeah, so it's uh just south of Cairns.
17:41
SPEAKER_00: Um so we've got a bunch of rivers that we use.
17:44
SPEAKER_00: Um we just pick the best conditions on the day and tailor that to the group.
17:48
SPEAKER_00: But there's a couple favorites.
17:49
SPEAKER_00: So the Little Mulgrave and the Mulgrave River.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: Uh beautiful rainforest streams, quite shallow, small rapids.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: They're called gravel race rapids.
17:57
SPEAKER_00: So um, if you think about rafting, you think about a big drop of water, like a well, we don't call it a cliff face, but some of the listeners may think a big a big drop.
18:06
SPEAKER_00: There's none of that on the tubing there, like little um uh undulating sort of uh gravel race.
18:12
SPEAKER_00: It's hard to put into words.
18:13
SPEAKER_00: Um, but suitable for five-year-olds.
18:15
SPEAKER_00: That should give you an example of the the level of intensity of the tubing.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: So suitable for all ages.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: It's actually our most diverse tour.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: So when we look at our demographic split, the tubing has a wider nationality and age split than any other tour.
18:29
SPEAKER_00: And it's be one of our most popular tours.
18:31
SPEAKER_00: It's it's it's one of our cheaper experiences.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: And so I think over the last 12 months, with the cost of living pressure, and you know, some of the listeners listening today would be emptying their wallet at the fuel bowser when they should be emptying it in the towns and on experiences.
18:47
SPEAKER_00: But um, you know, this is a great way to still get out and do an activity without a big price tag.
18:52
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, um, fantastic way to view the rainforest as well.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: Flat, calm sections where you can lie on the tube, look up, listen to birds, um, you know, rainforest canopies.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: I mean, rainforest creeks are truly, truly special.
19:05
SPEAKER_00: They are beautiful places.
19:06
SPEAKER_01: So you paint a wonderful picture, Audie, that's for sure.
19:10
SPEAKER_01: Mate, also um, for people that are staying in town, uh just looking through your website um in the last couple of days, you've you've got attractions almost right on their hotel doorstep, have you not?
19:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
19:21
SPEAKER_00: Look, we do we do uh pick up and drop off from from right from hotels every day.
19:26
SPEAKER_00: Um we have some walking tours that you can do in Cairns here, um, but we also have traditional bus touring as well.
19:33
SPEAKER_00: Um now I know people driving might think, well, why would I want to drive myself to have a look at that?
19:38
SPEAKER_00: Um and so I think we should talk about the Daintry specifically, um, because the Daintree National Park um is the only place in the world where two World Heritage listed sites share a border.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: And this is a uh supremely important place to the ecology of the planet.
19:53
SPEAKER_00: And you can drive up there in your car and you'd have a good day, you'd see some nice stuff.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: But the experience would is super enhanced by going with a company.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: And I would really, when we talk about insider tips and tricks, I would say some places you can drive yourself into and it's just as good.
20:10
SPEAKER_00: The daintry is a bit different.
20:11
SPEAKER_00: Right.
20:12
SPEAKER_00: The information that you get and the training that goes into the guides and what you're learning about when you're up there is what puts it on another level.
20:20
SPEAKER_00: And and don't take my word for it, jump on and have a look at the reviews, and you'll see that same story and thread again and again.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: It's about the guide, their passion for the area.
20:29
SPEAKER_00: I guided up there myself, and you can just keep learning information that's interesting, that's engaging, and over the years just keep adding to it.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: There's so much um, you know, really fascinating things to talk about in the Daintree.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: We do a wonderful um cultural experience up there as well.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: So um, insider tip would be take a tour to Daintree.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
20:51
SPEAKER_00: I do like to promote my own products, but if we talk about the waterfall circuit, that's one you could drive yourself to.
20:57
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: We do a tour there, and my marketing person would be throwing some daggers at me right now.
21:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, that that'd be my inside tip.
21:06
SPEAKER_00: If you're gonna look at these two regions to to travel to and and have a look at, and you want to drive to one of them, drive to the waterfall circuit, swim, have a great time.
21:14
SPEAKER_00: But then Daintree, definitely get on on one of the great companies.
21:17
SPEAKER_00: There's a bunch of great companies up here that do fantastic, fantastic tours up there and a really, really special place.
21:23
SPEAKER_01: Great.
21:24
SPEAKER_01: Look, uh, it was a nice segue as well because uh my next thoughts that I wanted your response to was uh just having a look on Google and on uh Trustpilot and and others, the the reviews on there are outstanding through people.
21:39
SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's a really, really high uh trust rate through there.
21:43
SPEAKER_01: I'm just wondering, Roddy, what is the secret source to having that many people experience your product and have that reaction on social media?
21:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a great question.
21:56
SPEAKER_00: That didn't come about uh easily or without a lot of Effort.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: I think first of all, my staff is amazing.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: And whether we talk about frontline guides who are customer facing operations managers, reservations people, marketing people, executives, there's a big team, but we all buy in on a particular dream and a particular focus.
22:21
SPEAKER_00: And that's around our mission statement, which is that everyone should be able to have a happy holiday memory.
22:26
SPEAKER_00: That's the core of it.
22:27
SPEAKER_00: It's fluffy and a bit nicer than that.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: But at its core, happy holiday memory should be available to everyone.
22:33
SPEAKER_00: And our slogan, Adventures for Everyone, pretty much says who we are and what makes us tick as a business.
22:38
SPEAKER_00: So we're very customer focused.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: Keep the group sizes as small as you can.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: Make sure that individuals have a booking experience from start to finish where they know they're valued.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: And then the biggest part and the biggest secret source is the staff themselves, the guides.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
22:57
SPEAKER_00: So the guides genuinely have to be people people.
23:00
SPEAKER_00: They have to be passionate about the natural landscape.
23:04
SPEAKER_00: And they've got to enjoy showing off the landscape.
23:07
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: So that's what we we invest a lot of time and a lot of money into training programs, into finding the value match people, and into making sure that our employees are like happy.
23:20
SPEAKER_00: Like if they're happy and they enjoy doing what they're doing, then they're going to go out and have a fat time and an awesome experience with the customers.
23:28
SPEAKER_00: So that's a key focus for us all the time.
23:31
SPEAKER_01: I'm also thinking that I mean, as a guide, I worked on reef boats when I first lived in Cairns many, many years ago as an entertainer and absolutely loved it.
23:43
SPEAKER_01: And the the key comment from everybody was, Oh my God, how how do you get a job like this?
23:48
SPEAKER_01: I asked the question to you, Roddy.
23:49
SPEAKER_01: There must be a thousand listeners out there that would love the opportunity to work in the adventure field in the far north.
23:57
SPEAKER_01: How do people go about it?
24:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, oh look, we we have uh positions advertised all the time, um, and we have applicants all the time.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: But but we do a really good job of picking out the value-matched employees, the people who have the right foundation.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: If they're if they're passionate, like those things I talked about, if they're passionate about enhancing other people's experience, we can teach you the rest.
24:22
SPEAKER_00: If they're customer focused and they and they want to learn about safety and they're invested in their own uh professional development, we bring them in.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: I'll tell you a good story off to the side.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: So in COVID, I did a lot of um, let's call it angry interviews on uh on Australian TV.
24:38
SPEAKER_00: I saw a couple.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: You saw a couple.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: It was a pretty tough time for for Cairns.
24:43
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, a visitor economy, borders closed, no one can get here.
24:46
SPEAKER_00: It's a it's a pretty dire situation.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: But I did an interview on the Today Show on New Year's Day.
24:53
SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure it was their biggest day of uh viewership.
24:56
SPEAKER_01: This would have been Carl before Tommy.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Carl was there, he was a little dusty, it was a fun interview.
25:03
SPEAKER_00: Uh we had some guides doing backflips off the boats in the background, and we did a bit of a fun interview that morning.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: And a lady watched it and and she told her daughter, You should go to Cairns and work for this company.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow.
25:14
SPEAKER_00: And that girl still works for us today.
25:15
SPEAKER_00: Ah, that's a good thing.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: She moved to Cairns, did a training course.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: She's had probably four or five different roles in the company, and here we are five years later, and she's still still working for us.
25:25
SPEAKER_00: And every day I look at her and go, Wow.
25:28
SPEAKER_00: Australia's a big place when you're setting off to drive on a holiday, but a small place when you really think about it.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: We're all so connected.
25:36
SPEAKER_01: It's true.
25:36
SPEAKER_01: That is a fantastic story, and it's quite obvious.
25:40
SPEAKER_01: Angry interviews do work sometimes, Roddy.
25:42
SPEAKER_01: Very nice work.
25:44
SPEAKER_01: Look, um uh some of the other things that I've noticed.
25:48
SPEAKER_01: Um, we're gonna slightly get away from your product now and and we're gonna deep dive into the the man himself, Roddy.
25:55
SPEAKER_01: All right.
25:56
SPEAKER_01: So I've noticed also going through the social media, and I uh I research my interviews, Roddy.
26:03
SPEAKER_01: Don't worry about that.
26:04
SPEAKER_01: You really live the life.
26:07
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you're you're an ad uh the owner and director of the Cannes Adventure Group, but your life is adventure looking at your off time as well.
26:16
SPEAKER_01: There's the uh the four-wheel drive, the camping trailer, like I've never seen before.
26:22
SPEAKER_01: Talk us through.
26:24
SPEAKER_01: Is that your happy place in life?
26:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 100%.
26:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, 100%.
26:29
SPEAKER_00: I I um remember growing up here as a young fella, and I remember sitting on boats, watching my dad and his mates laugh like crazy, um, learning about fish, coral, animals, ecosystems, just being super passionate about it.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: And when I left Cairns, that was the big thing that drew me home was the landscape here, was the reef just out there, the rainforest just over there, the savannah company, uh country just over the mountain, and my favorite place, Cape York, just up to the north.
27:02
SPEAKER_00: It's like the wild frontier, it's the last frontier in Australia, really.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, love, love fishing, snorkeling, riding quad bikes, not everyone's cup of tea, but hunting, feral animals only, um, on properties with permission.
27:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, hunting and um and just going out and camping and and enjoying and exploring, you know.
27:24
SPEAKER_00: And I and I've got three young kids and and they're starting to show a real interest in it, and that just warms my heart.
27:30
SPEAKER_00: I just I just love it.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that is the beauty of Cairns, right?
27:33
SPEAKER_00: Like I love Cairns because it's a great regional economy.
27:36
SPEAKER_00: It's a super friendly town.
27:38
SPEAKER_00: We've got people living here from all over the world with all sorts of different experiences, people from down south like yourself.
27:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, but then we're smack bang in the middle of this epic environment.
27:49
SPEAKER_00: There's just awesomeness, no matter which way you look.
27:52
SPEAKER_00: There's experiences in nature that are just spectacular to look at, fun to do, and yeah, I I couldn't think of anywhere else.
28:01
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
28:02
SPEAKER_01: Three kids, all young?
28:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, all young, under 10.
28:06
SPEAKER_01: Under 10.
28:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, all under 10.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: Good lord, you leave it a busy life.
28:10
SPEAKER_01: Um, so so the kids obviously are right into the outdoors as well.
28:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
28:16
SPEAKER_01: Um, and having a look at some of the um the uh the social media, I think it was a YouTube clip last night was just amazing.
28:24
SPEAKER_01: So watching some of the kids on the quad bikes.
28:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, awesome.
28:28
SPEAKER_01: Uh where, tell me where, I think it was a a yellow threadfish that you've caught somewhere.
28:33
SPEAKER_01: Where was that?
28:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:35
SPEAKER_00: Um, so you can catch threadfin, threadfin salmon or king salmon all up through Cape York.
28:40
SPEAKER_00: Um in the Gulf country on the western side is is the best place.
28:43
SPEAKER_00: Carumba.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: You drive out to Carumba, you can fish off the river and the beach there, catch threaddies by the tail in the flats if you want.
28:50
SPEAKER_00: Is that right?
28:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: Oh, goodness, man.
28:52
SPEAKER_00: You go watch out for crocs though.
28:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay.
28:54
SPEAKER_00: Up there, you're in crop country up there, definitely.
28:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, okay.
28:58
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, no, I love my fishing.
29:00
SPEAKER_00: Love reef fishing, um, overnight fishing out in the reef.
29:02
SPEAKER_00: That's what that's what really drives me.
29:04
SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah.
29:06
SPEAKER_01: Who are you generally taking?
29:07
SPEAKER_01: Are you going out in groups up around that region?
29:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I got a I got a mate from high school.
29:12
SPEAKER_00: We um we did a couple I did a couple years in Mackay as well.
29:15
SPEAKER_00: I forgot to mention from the list before, but finished high school after boarding school in Mackay.
29:20
SPEAKER_00: And um, yeah, mate of mine we've re-kindled, and he lives here, and we do a lot of trips together.
29:25
SPEAKER_00: I take staff on trips sometimes as well.
29:28
SPEAKER_00: Um there's a great I got a great young fellow working for me, Tom.
29:31
SPEAKER_00: He's only 22, and I thought I was a pretty good fisherman.
29:34
SPEAKER_00: I brought this kid along.
29:36
SPEAKER_00: Holy hell.
29:36
SPEAKER_00: He's taught me so much about fishing.
29:38
SPEAKER_00: And and now, you know, years later, he's got himself a little boat and he's got a uh a Ute, and him and his girlfriend did a lap around Australia, worked all the way.
29:48
SPEAKER_00: He's he's all into the into the drive holiday camping and hunting and fishing as well.
29:53
SPEAKER_00: So wow.
29:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a mix.
29:55
SPEAKER_00: I go with the family a lot as well, take the kids up.
29:57
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
29:57
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, other places as well around Australia.
30:00
SPEAKER_01: I mean, um, just recently I've got to admit that uh my wife and I I'd always wanted to drive the nullable.
30:07
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I just was desperate at it, and I've had the time in the last few months to be able to do something about it and went on the trip and it was just unbelievable.
30:18
SPEAKER_01: Is there a time that you go to in your mind where you've been you've travelled somewhere, you know, that sunset is just right, the the open fire crackling away.
30:29
SPEAKER_01: Uh where where do you go mind-wise to your your happiest place?
30:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, look, the happiest place is definitely Cape York, but if I go outside of Queensland and think nationally, which a lot of their listeners will be heading to.
30:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and so many spectacular places to choose from.
30:48
SPEAKER_00: But I traveled Western Australia in 2003 with my sister in a Daihatsu charade, three-cylinder Daihatsu charade.
30:56
SPEAKER_00: As you do.
30:57
SPEAKER_00: With all of our stuff.
30:59
SPEAKER_00: She's living in Perth, I was living in Melbourne.
31:01
SPEAKER_00: We got across and we did a trip together with with hermit crabs as well.
31:05
SPEAKER_00: Hermit crabs in the back, um, severely under-equipped for this trip.
31:11
SPEAKER_00: Um financially and equipment-wise.
31:16
SPEAKER_00: But but we got up around um Coral Bay and and it was just some really fond memories.
31:22
SPEAKER_00: We had some really great times there and and uh really blew my mind in terms of of reef and coastline.
31:29
SPEAKER_00: I thought I'd seen it all living here, can't get any better than Cairns.
31:32
SPEAKER_00: But I think Ningaloo really, really puts us to the puts us to the test of it.
31:38
SPEAKER_01: Which which leads us to gotta be a Roddy Reese bucket list, doesn't there?
31:43
SPEAKER_01: I mean, where and and doesn't matter where, because remember this is a national show.
31:47
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
31:48
SPEAKER_01: So where's where's needs ticking on the bucket list?
31:53
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
31:53
SPEAKER_00: So I say I did the lap, but it didn't go to Tasmania.
31:57
SPEAKER_00: And I lived in Melbourne and I never caught the spirit of what's it called?
32:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, spirit of spirit of Tasmania.
32:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that'd be it.
32:03
SPEAKER_00: It's a sensible name, isn't it?
32:05
SPEAKER_00: Um never took that over there.
32:07
SPEAKER_00: And um and one of my daughters is studying Australian places at school at the moment, and she's flat-out hassling me about Cradle Mountain.
32:15
SPEAKER_00: And so I think uh Tasmania is on the list.
32:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, there's some rafting down there as well to go have a look at.
32:21
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, some great, great uh rafting places down there in the King River and the the Franklin.
32:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, I think Tasmania is up there.
32:29
SPEAKER_00: I want to go and and see what that's all about and see what's like.
32:32
SPEAKER_01: Wow, fantastic.
32:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's gotta be gotta be soon.
32:35
SPEAKER_01: There is something about just being away.
32:38
SPEAKER_01: There really is.
32:39
SPEAKER_01: Um now look, I had I noted last night uh when I was doing the research, I did find a fantastic quote um that I'll try and run you through.
32:50
SPEAKER_01: Now, um it's a quote from a girl called Julia Quinn, which is the pen name, believe it or not, of an American author.
32:57
SPEAKER_01: Uh, she wrote the best-selling Bridgetan, you know, on Netflix.
33:00
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
33:00
SPEAKER_01: Or whatever she wrote that.
33:02
SPEAKER_01: Um, you ready for this one?
33:03
SPEAKER_01: Here we go.
33:04
SPEAKER_01: Soak this in.
33:06
SPEAKER_01: In every life, there is a turning point, a moment so tremendous, so sharp and clear that one feels as if one's been hit in the chest, all the breath knocked out, and one knows, absolutely knows, without the merest hint of a shadow of a doubt, that one's life will never be the same.
33:26
SPEAKER_01: Has there been a moment like that for you?
33:30
SPEAKER_01: And take your time answering it.
33:31
SPEAKER_01: It's a it's a deep one.
33:33
SPEAKER_01: The one that you you just can't go back from that changes you.
33:39
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think I got two, but I'm gonna merge them together.
33:42
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
33:42
SPEAKER_00: Because you said one.
33:45
SPEAKER_00: So I think seeing my kids born and realizing that my dad would never get to see my kids.
33:53
SPEAKER_00: And probably that understanding of that I'm still, even to this day, trying to make him proud, even though he's not here to see.
34:03
SPEAKER_00: But I think having kids changes you a lot.
34:09
SPEAKER_00: There's been not been a lot of spearfishing since my kids were born, whereas I was an avid spearfisher when I was younger.
34:14
SPEAKER_01: Right.
34:15
SPEAKER_01: So a lot a lot more conscious.
34:16
SPEAKER_00: A little bit more risk-averse.
34:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, a little bit and really understanding the the the longness of the future when it's just yourself.
34:25
SPEAKER_00: But you know, I'm sure many of the the listeners have been, you know, um echoing the sentiment, kids change you forever.
34:32
SPEAKER_00: And I think it's all about my kids now and about the future and about the legacy.
34:35
SPEAKER_00: And and that's why, you know, not to spin it around to cancer venture group stuff, but business is a big part of what we do.
34:43
SPEAKER_00: But we are super passionate about um, you know, environmental protection.
34:47
SPEAKER_00: We won, we've won a heap of awards.
34:49
SPEAKER_00: Our guides are passionate about it.
34:50
SPEAKER_00: It's at the core of what we do.
34:52
SPEAKER_00: And I always think about my kids when I'm thinking about why do we need to protect these places?
34:57
SPEAKER_00: We need to protect them for the next generation so they can experience the same things that we are, and and future generations can come on holidays and they can come and experience these great places, and they'll want to.
35:08
SPEAKER_00: So I think um kids make you change your perspective on everything.
35:12
SPEAKER_00: So that's my slap in the face moment.
35:14
SPEAKER_01: That's very true, and beautiful words, mate.
35:16
SPEAKER_01: Beautiful words.
35:16
SPEAKER_01: There is nothing quite like being a dad.
35:19
SPEAKER_01: I know that firsthand as well.
35:20
SPEAKER_01: Uh, all right.
35:22
SPEAKER_01: So we're starting to head towards the end of our little road trip this afternoon.
35:27
SPEAKER_01: But can I ask you what's next?
35:31
SPEAKER_00: Well, we actually have some Capital Works projects um coming up this year, um, early next year.
35:37
SPEAKER_00: So um there was a huge flood up here in 2023 after Cyclone Jasper, devastating huge infrastructure damage across the region.
35:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, and we had actually just signed a lease out at the Barren River to build a rafting centre.
35:50
SPEAKER_00: There was one there and we were just renovating it.
35:52
SPEAKER_00: That got um wiped out and subsequently needed to be demolished.
35:56
SPEAKER_00: So we are in partnership with the Queensland government are building um a rafting center, cafe training space.
36:03
SPEAKER_00: Um it's a full precinct out there.
36:06
SPEAKER_00: And uh, if anyone's driving along following the Queensland big icons on the way, um, there's a lot of big icons in Queensland, not all official, some official, some unofficial.
36:16
SPEAKER_00: Right.
36:16
SPEAKER_00: I know people are probably ticking them off the list.
36:18
SPEAKER_00: Big crab, big pineapple, big banana, frog on banana, big prawn.
36:22
SPEAKER_00: Big mower.
36:22
SPEAKER_00: Big mower, big mower on the sunshine, big easel out of um Emerald.
36:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, so many.
36:28
SPEAKER_00: So Queensland's newest big icon is gonna be the big paddles.
36:32
SPEAKER_00: The big paddles.
36:33
SPEAKER_00: Eight-meter high paddles.
36:34
SPEAKER_00: There's a long history of whitewater rafting on the Baron River, 40 years, three companies, hundreds of thousands of visitors took their first or their best whitewater rafting experience at the Barren River.
36:45
SPEAKER_00: And so we're gonna be building the big paddles out there, and and they'll be uh a Queensland big icon, and you can put on the list and you can drive up and tick those off.
36:53
SPEAKER_01: There you are, everyone.
36:54
SPEAKER_01: You heard it first.
36:55
SPEAKER_01: A Drive Stralia exclusive.
36:59
SPEAKER_01: So well done, the big paddles.
37:00
SPEAKER_01: We look forward to that.
37:01
SPEAKER_01: Mate, a couple of last questions for you.
37:04
SPEAKER_01: Number one.
37:05
SPEAKER_01: All right.
37:06
SPEAKER_01: So we're out, we're camping, it's sunset, we're all hungry.
37:11
SPEAKER_01: What is Roddy Reese going to cook for his favorite people in life?
37:16
SPEAKER_00: Fresh fish.
37:16
SPEAKER_00: Panko crumbed fresh fish.
37:19
SPEAKER_00: I'm salivating thinking about it.
37:22
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm uh what fish?
37:23
SPEAKER_00: Because if you're coming up here and people are angling and they're uh mangrove jack, top of the list.
37:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, if you're not getting out to the reef, so I'm thinking lamb-based fishing, so everyone can participate.
37:34
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
37:35
SPEAKER_00: Mangrove Jack, top of the list.
37:37
SPEAKER_00: And I call them uh estuary trout, but everyone else calls them cod.
37:44
SPEAKER_00: You've been chatting to marketing again.
37:46
SPEAKER_00: What was it?
37:47
SPEAKER_00: Esthery trout estery cod.
37:48
SPEAKER_00: Esthery trout.
37:50
SPEAKER_00: Because coral trout is one of the best eating fish around, but but fresh cod, um, panko crumbs with a bit few chips by the fire, a few laughs and a beer.
37:58
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
37:58
SPEAKER_00: Hang out.
37:59
SPEAKER_01: All right, now uh I've done some uh a little deep diving last night, and I hope I'm not gonna put you on the spot with this, but I'm always, always looking for a little tasty morsel of information about someone that I'm interviewing that they're not necessarily going to think that I know.
38:20
SPEAKER_01: Are we ready to go?
38:21
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
38:22
SPEAKER_01: You ready?
38:22
SPEAKER_01: I'm nervous.
38:23
SPEAKER_01: All right, so rumour has it around this town, Roddy Reese, I put to you, you are an expert baker of cakes.
38:33
SPEAKER_01: Is this correct?
38:36
SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't say expert.
38:37
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I wouldn't not not according to my intel, young man.
38:43
SPEAKER_00: Um funny story, quick one.
38:46
SPEAKER_00: I made a cake for my daughter on her first birthday.
38:49
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
38:49
SPEAKER_00: Uh I was pretty proud of myself.
38:51
SPEAKER_00: I said, I'll I'll make her one next year.
38:53
SPEAKER_00: And I showed the picture to my wife and my daughter's godmother, her friend, yeah.
38:57
SPEAKER_00: And they both burst out laughing and said, You can there's no way you can make that.
39:01
SPEAKER_00: Like you're dreaming too big.
39:03
SPEAKER_00: So I took it as a personal challenge.
39:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was like, let's go.
39:07
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
39:08
SPEAKER_00: So then this uh this conquest was formed of I will make these kids a cake every year until they're 18.
39:14
SPEAKER_00: It'll be our special time.
39:16
SPEAKER_00: And uh and I give them free open slather.
39:19
SPEAKER_00: They they look on the internet and they choose stuff that terrifies me.
39:21
SPEAKER_00: I sweat, I get scared, I research and then I make them these cakes.
39:25
SPEAKER_00: But um, so my daughters are 10 and uh eight.
39:29
SPEAKER_00: And this year they wanted to make the cakes with me, with their friends at the party.
39:34
SPEAKER_00: So it's actually going in a really special place.
39:36
SPEAKER_00: So I sat around this year in April at both of the kids' parties, and we made cakes with their friends all together and then ate them at the end.
39:43
SPEAKER_00: So I think it's a really special thing.
39:46
SPEAKER_00: I know when they become teenagers, they might not want to hang with dad so much, but each each year we'll be able to come back together and bake cakes together.
39:53
SPEAKER_01: Oh, mate, that is that is an amazing story.
39:56
SPEAKER_01: And by the way, I can hear uh a thousand chest slaps from wives around Australia thumping their husband in the driver's seat saying, Why can't you bake like him?
40:09
SPEAKER_01: So well done on that.
40:10
SPEAKER_01: Now, morsel number two.
40:12
SPEAKER_01: Oh, geez.
40:13
SPEAKER_01: And this one, this one's a beauty.
40:14
SPEAKER_01: Roddy Roos, I'm gonna go there.
40:16
SPEAKER_01: Are you ready for it?
40:17
SPEAKER_03: I'm ready.
40:18
SPEAKER_01: Apparently, Roddy Reese, I put to you that you are an expert also at doing your daughter's hairstyles.
40:27
SPEAKER_01: Is this correct?
40:29
SPEAKER_01: Can you confirm or deny?
40:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I enjoy doing my daughter's hair for school.
40:34
SPEAKER_00: Um she's not so keen anymore because she's a little older and she thinks my styles are too out there and too funky.
40:40
SPEAKER_00: I reckon they've all got a 90s vibe to them.
40:43
SPEAKER_00: But she she's a she's a 2026 kind of girl.
40:47
SPEAKER_00: So she she says, no thanks, Dad.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: She obviously likes it anymore.
40:51
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, we did it, we did it for a fair while.
40:53
SPEAKER_00: It was a good bit of fun.
40:54
SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow, good stuff.
40:55
SPEAKER_01: Good bit of fun.
40:56
SPEAKER_01: I love my kids.
40:57
SPEAKER_01: All righty.
40:58
SPEAKER_01: Now, look, before we wrap up, I've got a little challenge for you, Roddy Reese.
41:03
SPEAKER_01: We've got three questions that I like to ask all of our guests, but there is an incentive on our table in front of us.
41:11
SPEAKER_01: I can tell you what, for each question that you get right out of the three questions, or not right, you just pass.
41:17
SPEAKER_01: You pass the Drive Australia podcast test.
41:21
SPEAKER_01: It is a Tim Tam for every question that passes the test.
41:26
SPEAKER_01: Are you in for it?
41:27
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
41:28
SPEAKER_01: Let's get it.
41:28
SPEAKER_01: Love a Tim Tam.
41:29
SPEAKER_01: It is the people's biscuit.
41:31
SPEAKER_01: It is all right.
41:31
SPEAKER_01: Let us move on.
41:33
SPEAKER_01: Question number one, Roddy.
41:35
SPEAKER_01: Other than your own backyard, what is your favorite Aussie destination and what makes it so special?
41:43
SPEAKER_00: I said it before, I think it's Coral Bay.
41:46
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
41:46
SPEAKER_00: Coral Bay, beautiful, small, friendly, excellent reef, great beaches, awesome wildlife.
41:52
SPEAKER_01: Turquoise water as well.
41:54
SPEAKER_00: Oh, the water.
41:55
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
41:56
SPEAKER_00: It is spectacular.
41:58
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
41:59
SPEAKER_01: Question number two.
42:01
SPEAKER_01: What Aussie destination is still sitting at the top of the Roddy Reese bucket list?
42:08
SPEAKER_00: There's a place in Cape York that's locked up by a mining lease.
42:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, we've spent a lot of time trying to get in there.
42:14
SPEAKER_01: Do we know who they are?
42:15
SPEAKER_00: Uh yes, we've spoken to the mining company.
42:17
SPEAKER_00: There's no access.
42:18
SPEAKER_00: We can't get in.
42:18
SPEAKER_01: Will they be listening now?
42:20
SPEAKER_00: Maybe.
42:20
SPEAKER_00: Their office is in Brisbane.
42:22
SPEAKER_00: Hundred years they've got on the lease, so I don't know that I'm going to make it to get there.
42:26
SPEAKER_00: Surely there should be some.
42:28
SPEAKER_00: But we live and dream, we hope.
42:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, maybe.
42:31
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, there's a couple places left in Cape York that are hard to get to, super remote, and they really float my boat, if you will.
42:40
SPEAKER_01: Fantastic.
42:40
SPEAKER_01: All righty.
42:41
SPEAKER_01: Now, the way I love to end an episode of our Drive Australia podcast is question number three, and this is for the third of the people's biscuit.
42:53
SPEAKER_01: Yay! Every great road trip needs, every great road trip needs a soundtrack.
43:00
SPEAKER_01: All right.
43:01
SPEAKER_01: So you've got your Spotify list ready to go.
43:04
SPEAKER_01: Roddy Rees, what is your ultimate road trip song?
43:09
SPEAKER_00: Oh, there's so many.
43:11
SPEAKER_00: And if you're traveling on the road for ages, you you move through lots of them, don't you?
43:15
SPEAKER_00: But one that comes back on the Spotify all the time is Come Said the Boy by Mondo Rock.
43:22
SPEAKER_00: Is that right?
43:22
SPEAKER_00: You're a Mondo Rock man.
43:23
SPEAKER_00: I'm not a Mondo Rock man, but I but I love this song.
43:26
SPEAKER_00: Oh, fantastic.
43:27
SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
43:27
SPEAKER_00: It's infiltrated Spotify playlist of lots of my friends as well.
43:31
SPEAKER_00: I hear it, I hear it pop up all the time after they've been camping with me.
43:35
SPEAKER_00: So do yourself a favor if you're driving along and you don't know it, download it, get some 80s vibes going, switch it on, look at something awesome, and drive into the sunset.
43:43
SPEAKER_01: You don't get better than Ross Wilson, the young man.
43:46
SPEAKER_01: All right, so there we go.
43:47
SPEAKER_01: Uh we we might even try and play that track as an outro, I think, Roddy, just to uh to help you get there along.
43:54
SPEAKER_01: Uh, folks, that's it for now.
43:57
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for joining us on the Drive Australia podcast, where we've sh shown you some epic tips and lots to do with Australian road trips.
44:06
SPEAKER_01: A big thanks to Roddy for sharing his stories.
44:08
SPEAKER_01: Thanks, mate, for coming along, all of your experiences, insider tips.
44:11
SPEAKER_01: And if you want the best adventure of your life, make sure you check out their website, cansadventure group.com.au.
44:19
SPEAKER_01: It is a beauty.
44:20
SPEAKER_01: They've got lots for you to do and see.
44:22
SPEAKER_01: Do yourselves a favor and get out there and make sure you check out their socials as well.
44:26
SPEAKER_01: There is some sensational photos and clips and reviews from others for tips.
44:31
SPEAKER_01: Join us again next episode, everyone, as we get back under the bonnet of Australia's Drive Market and chat with another great guest helping to make Aussie road trips even more memorable.
44:42
SPEAKER_01: And please don't forget to follow us on our socials as well, Drive Australia, and keep an eye out for the next episode of the Drive Australia podcast.
44:51
SPEAKER_01: I'm Tony George.
44:52
SPEAKER_01: Safe travels, and we'll catch you again just down the road.