Endless horizons: Life of a nomad
Where wanderlust meets work – we take a glimpse into how three Journey Beyond staff channel their roaming. Leith Graham, Loz Croft and Phil Woolastone share the nomadic drive that’s taken them all over the world and returned them to some of Australia’s most remote and beautiful locations.
Remote Reconnection
WORDS Leith Graham, Resort Manager - Sal Salis
I’ve always been a bit of a nomad. Maybe it was something to do with coming from a big family – I was the ninth of ten kids, and we grew up on a farm so we were taught to be pretty self-sufficient and independent from an early age. I was always happy to be out in the world.
I first travelled by myself to Japan to stay with family friends when I was 12. Learning how to integrate into a different culture and speak a different language was a pivotal experience for me. It helped form who I am today.
After school, I went to France for three years. When I came back, I didn’t want to live in a city anymore, so I got a job on a property in the Northern Territory and worked as a hunting guide for four years. I’ve now spent about 14 years working in remote parts of Australia including Seven Spirit Bay, Kakadu and the Kimberley. I got involved in managing remote lodges for Journey Beyond seven years ago and I’ve been at Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef for the past two years.
I really love the variety in my role. On any one day, I do so many different jobs. I might be a fishing guide or serving behind the bar, jumping on one of the boats or helping out with housekeeping. Sure, I might not be so mad about cleaning sewers and grease traps, but it’s all part of the diversity of the role – you have to be ready for anything.
I enjoy reading people and showing them new experiences. Witnessing the joy and excitement people experience when they come to this place is fantastic. The whale sharks are the biggest drawcard of course, but there’s also the loggerhead turtles, which you can swim with or watch hatch on the beach, and the humpback whales. When you’re out on the boat mid-season, you’re literally dodging the humpies as you go. It’s really something. And the setting is like nothing else.
The pace of the work is pretty relentless – we’re booked to capacity from March to September, so when we close up in mid-November, that’s my chance to have a break and enjoy this place with no guests around. Remote work suits me. I’m happy to be off my phone and away from wi-fi. I really encourage guests to do the same while they’re here, too. I call it reconnection, rather than disconnection. There aren’t too many places you can do that.
Follow Leith’s lead and take the opportunity to reconnect – visit Sal Salis for a luxury wilderness experience you’ll never forget.
“This kind of lifestyle makes you realise just how little you really need. Whatever you can pack into a car is more than enough.”
Living Lightly
WORDS Phil Woolastone, Marine and Nature Guide - Sal Salis
I grew up in Taree on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. I left when I was 18 and got an apprenticeship as a chef on the Gold Coast. Then, I spent the next 35 years cooking around the world, from two-hatted restaurants to ski resorts. One of the best things about being a chef is that it can take you anywhere.
I eventually came back to Australia and opened a restaurant in Sawtell in New South Wales. After six years, it was time to hit the road again. My partner Erin and I bought a camper, a car and a boat and set off to travel around Australia for two years.
In 2018, I started as a chef at Seven Spirit Bay and Erin managed front of house. When Covid hit, we spent another eight months travelling through western Queensland, then Leith Graham asked if I’d consider coming back on as a Marine and Nature Guide at Seven Spirit Bay. I already had such an affinity with that region – I’d fallen in love with it. There are still places where you can go and be the first person to step foot there in 10 years. So I thought, why not?
I love fishing, snorkelling and diving, so moving into this job felt right. It was a good change for me. I’d worked in kitchens for so long, but being a chef is a young man’s game.
And you don’t get much contact with guests as a chef. In this job, you’re front and centre. Fortunately, Leith trained me well and I keep learning new things every day.
One of the things I especially enjoy is experiencing the incremental changes you see over time and across the seasons. That’s part of living somewhere like that for a long time – you get to immerse yourself in it. And you witness incredible things.
Now, I work in the same position at Sal Salis. I’ve loved getting to know a different kind of marine environment and sharing it with our guests. You get very good at being able to read people and alleviate their nerves about being in the water so you can help them have an amazing experience.
Do I get homesick? Not really. We have a house at Agnes Waters but probably only spend a couple of months there every year. This kind of lifestyle makes you realise just how little you need. Whatever you can pack into a car is more than enough.
Indulge your wilderness wanderlust in luxury at Australia’s remote and rugged Top End with a visit to Seven Spirit Bay.
Life on the Rails
WORDS Loz Croft, bartender & assistant operational night manager, The Ghan, Indian Pacific, Great Southern
My eyes were first opened to the incredible world of travel when my parents took me to the UK as a teenager. At 21, I moved overseas with an open ticket and travelled for five years, living in the UK, America and Canada. I loved the freedom of living out of a suitcase.
When I got back, I figured my nomadic days were over but soon enough, I began to feel stuck and missed the freedom of my travelling years. At the end of Covid, I quit my job, rented out my home and moved to Belgium to help AFL Europe train a women’s football team.
It wasn’t easy. My marriage had broken down and adapting to a non-English speaking country was challenging and stressful. I ended up backpacking around Europe for a while waiting for Australia to re-open so I could come home.
Once I made it back, I lived with family and friends and took each day as it came. One day, I found myself speaking with a chef who worked on the trains and he suggested I apply for a position. It made perfect sense – I could live on the train and earn money while travelling.
I’ve now been living and working on the Ghan, the Indian Pacific and the Great Southern for two years, with a crew I think of as my family – there is so much generosity and kindness and we all have each other’s backs.
My wonderful girlfriend supports my unique lifestyle and chosen family and describes our weeks off as a cyclone filled with adventures, camping and spending time with friends I’ve met on the train.
I’ve also developed a passion for bartending and love carefully designing cocktails tailored for individual guests, some of whom have never tried a cocktail before. I believe the train is our home and when you invite people into your home, it’s important to greet them with love, respect and kindness and make their stay as comfortable as possible.
Working on these magnificent trains has reignited my love of adventure and staring out the window at the spectacular views is incredible. With encouragement from my supportive manager, I feel like I have a sense of clarity in my career direction that I’ve never had before. Getting to work on these world-famous trains with my best friends is quite simply, a dream.