Owner and Operator
Age: 32
Where's home?
You can never EVER forget where your from – In my case Manchester, UK. BUTtttttttt for now and for the foreseeable future my Home is Byron Bay Babbbbbbbbby.
Languages spoken:
English & je parle petit pe francis (only after a few Bevies – DEL BOi Style ahahah)
Time spent in Australia and NZ:
Since Nov 2011!
A little about me:
The standard end of Uni – I don’t know what to DO with my life story resulted in me shopping around for flights and hitting the Open Road with Big Ryan (my college buddy & absolute Banter Man)… what was a few month adventures has become a lifestyle that I didn’t think even existed.
I get just as much a Buzz Creating Epic adventures for travellers than I do going on them myself. I’m still partial to a good old roadie and cruise in the van from Byron on surf trips – in search of waves, sunsets and open beaches!
Why is Aussie / NZ so special...
To start with Aussie Land is MASSIVE – not many peeps have been around the full circuit (and I myself wasn’t at all planning on) but the Roadie can become addictive and it certainly did for me!
I hit the road and travelled 25,913 Km’s the diversity between the tropical beach towns on the East Coast to the West Coast which feels like the end of the world got me hooked straight away. The people I met along the way – live by the chilled & relaxed lifestyle that takes you a while to get used to – but now have become totally accustomed too.
Rambling on so much I almost forgot about the little sibling AKA NZ – I planned to go there for 2 months well I ended up staying 2 years. Everything is accessible and not too far away – get ya self out of Auckland and there is literally not a person in site! There are too many moments to mention but Free Camping for a week with my Bruv-Ski {AKA Jakey Boi} next to a snow capped mountain, clear blue ocean and dolphins has to be up there. NZ has it ALL.
Favourite spot in Australia/NZ:
BYRON BAY Babbbbbbbbby (to live and stay for an extended time) however – if it’s just a visit then Uluru is MAJESTICAL {had to use the spell checker on that one}. Not gona lie after the 6 full days it took me to drive to the centre of Oz and see the red centre – I almost shed a tear.
NZ – Raglan is the ONE… perfect & laid back vibes it’s just UNREAL alsooooo – Big up Tim & Suz – they’ve made ‘Raglan BackPackers’ their own. In 6 and a bit years of travelling you can imagine how many hostels I’ve stayed at. This one is in a league of its own. The town itself is amazing but the hostel makes it.
Backpacker tips:
Put down the phone – chat to the person next to you – don’t take every moment for granted and be as open as possible – you just don’t know what the next person will bring into your life – Special Mention to Mollie Bylett – The Blog on how we met is COMING!
Funny travel story/or best moment in Australia:
Location NZ: A rainy night in a camp kitchen kick started a game of Rock Paper Scissors – the winner got the last Biscuit. The game after that we ran out of choccy biccies so we proceeded to bet on who would cut one anothers hair with a dodgy pair of clippers >>> safe to say I lost!
Type of traveller:
Chilled out & cruising along. Happy go Lucky. More Happy than Lucky ; )
From our RatPackers
Really helpful and overall great experience. Thanks George!!
George was super helpful, getting us organised for our trip to NZ and sorting us out a great deal for our home on wheels :) Very much appreciate the support given we left it a little late... Thank you!
Great service, Sam was so helpful and made planning a holiday a breeze!
Can't thank Ben @Ratpack Travel enough for the turnaround on my campervan booking - and on short notice too! Outstanding customer centricity and quality banter with the knowledge to match Should be a go to for anyone wishing to travel this way
Ben couldn’t have been more helpful in assisting with this booking. He was responsive and patient whilst we changed details and dates. I’d highly recommend rat pack and Ben. Thanks guys!
Anna was super attentive and helpful during the planning process. She made it as easy as it possibly could be!
Just rent a car through this company. James has been really helpful and patient ! I recommend a 100 %
Had trouble booking a campervan in nz and finding a good price, James made the process extremely easy and was willing to answer any questions we had in great detail would highly recommend James to anyone struggling to find a campervan in New Zealand. He even got us a discount!
Gregg did a great job of navigating through my questions in helping us secure the right vehicle for our trip to New Zeland! I don't have time to search and get quotes from 5 different companies all with different add ons and prices. Gregg with Ratpack did all the work and even negotiated a better price then going direct. Pretty much covered the additional cost of insurance! So dont waste your time searching the net for the right rental! Get time back to plan your adventure and let Ratpack get you there!
Sammy was super helpful in helping me find exactly what I was looking for! He checked in with me every so often and was patient with me while I organised dates. Also gave some great advice relating to my travels! Thankyou:))
My booking experience with James was exception. excellence in customer service second to none!
Chris is a star! Even with the time difference, RatPack manage to keep track of our demands through whatsapp, with days apart. We also have an incredible support to find us a solution with our dates that at first didn't match van availability, and score for us a great deal on top of that. Highly recommended!
Ryan got me a really good deal and was very helpful over the phone, would 100% recommend him and ratpack
James was super helpful! Thanks so much!
Ryan helped me book my 4 week trip to NZ, all sorted over 1 simple phone call. Very polite and extremely helpful. Highly recommend.
