Hey, I'm Sammy

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 ; )

OUR TEAM

Meet our Experienced RatPack Team

  • Sammy

    British

    Owner and Operator

    You can never EVER forget where your from – In my case Manchester, UK. But for now and for...

  • Jules

    German

    Travel Guru

    Home is where my passport is… My roots lie in East Germany but I’ve spent most of my life on the...

  • Tyla

    Aussie

    Travel Guru

    Originally born in Zimbabwe, I moved to The Land of Oz when I was super young...

  • Mikey

    British

    Travel Guru

    I spent my time at home being king of the BBQ at Nandos flipping chicken before I decided that...

  • Holly

    British

    Social Media & Marketing

    About 2 years ago now, I headed off to Australia on my gap yahhh (really not a fan of that term...

  • Reuben

    British

    Travel Guru

    I first came to Oz on a 1-year working holiday and have settled here in Byron Bay... ...

  • Mike

    British

    Travel Guru

    I'm Mike (not to be mistaken for Mikey), like Mikey though I'm also from Manchester in the UK......

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