Gariwerd/The Grampians is a special place. Its incredible cultural history and natural wonder create a magnetic pull that attracts a certain type of person to want to live and work in stewardship of such an awe-inspiring landscape.
The Grampians Peaks Walking Company strives to create genuine, informative, and meaningful experiences for our Grampians hiking guests. Central to achieving this are our world-class GPT walking guides, hosts, and support crew.
Guiding Principles: A Recipe
Finding and recruiting the right people to join our team is much like serving up the perfect home-cooked meal (on one of our Luxe tours!). There is a recipe, but it’s not like a recipe you will find in a book or online; it’s more like the recipe your grandmother has handed down through the generations. You know the one – it has never been written down and is just as much about science as it is about art, with measurements like “a little bit of this, but not too much”.
Our recipe for the perfect Grampians hiking team member starts with the basic ingredients of relevant qualifications, training, and experience, as well as the necessary licenses and accreditations – that’s the scientific part. All of our walking guides have earned qualifications in Outdoor Recreation and Guiding, Outdoor Leadership, and/or Outdoor Education. Each of them has earned remote-area First Aid licenses and is qualified to work with children. Meanwhile, our trustworthy hosts and support crew are equipped, prepared, and accomplished at transporting passengers and preparing delicious meals, on the trail and off, for our guests.
The second half of the ingredients list is where the art comes in. Our team is made up of genuine, gregarious, caring people, who are so much more than their qualifications. We draw staff from all walks of life who nevertheless have something very much in common: a strong personal connection to this place and an overwhelming desire to share its stories with others. Our guides embody humility, integrity, and respect. They are passionate about learning as they continue to explore, connect, and grow.
Once our ingredients – qualifications, experience, and character are perfectly balanced, the method now becomes important. Our team members, both new and existing, are provided with as many challenges as they are opportunities. We are committed to supporting them with the resources they need to enable them to constantly learn and grow, both professionally and personally.
Why do we need to follow a “guiding principles” recipe? Because it enables us to deliver a consistent experience for every single one of our guests. By consistent, we do not mean that every experience will be the same – far from it! Every journey along the Grampians Peaks Trail is walked in different shoes and no two walks are ever the same. Every walker experiences different weather, connects with different people, and immerses themselves in a landscape that is constantly evolving.
We strive for consistency so that every step taken by each one of our guests is done so with a feeling of safety and support. So that all our guests are, informed, engaged, and respected. This is our promise to you.
