Julie Gabbott has guided Dragoman tours since September 2013, leading trips through South America, India, Nepal, West, East and Southern Africa, Central Asia and Mongolia.
She scooped the Wanderlust Guide of the Year accolade with a staggering 4,000 nominations. During her five years as a guide for Dragoman, we have consistently received excellent feedback on Julie?s tours. She certainly possesses the inherent qualities needed to be an award-winning leader ? passion, personality and perseverance ? in shedloads, while she?s gained other useful qualities via our rigorous training programme.
All Dragoman overland crew complete an in-depth assistance programme, with an initial one-week trial culminating in the all-important eight-week training schedule. Overland crew means challenging work and, whether you become a driver/mechanic or tour leader, the responsibilities and pressures on you ? both individually and as a team ? can test the best of us. It can also, of course, be the most rewarding and satisfying thing you?ve ever done. From camping in the wild Andes to spotting big game in Africa, no two days are ever the same. You will travel overland, leading your group across continents and to places rarely visited by tourists. All of our crew drive our overland trucks - if you?d like to see one for yourself, come to Destinations in London or Manchester. Even if you ultimately focus on becoming a dedicated tour leader, you will still need to obtain the correct licence and know your way around Dragoman?s custom-built trucks to ensure that you have the all-round knowledge and expertise to run our trips. You won?t find a garage around the corner in many of our destinations!
Once training is complete and leaders are out on the road, there are some important qualities essential to becoming a great overland tour leader and these are often closely aligned to those of a travel agent. Not only do you need to be incredibly sociable and enjoy meeting people, you need to go the extra mile to make their experience really special. A good leader needs to be constantly thinking ahead, planning every minute detail, not only for prearranged activities but also pre-empting what might go wrong. Sometimes it?s the things that the group are completely unaware of that are most important. A good crew leader, like a good agent, needs bags of patience, diplomacy, good communication and organisational skills and, of course, a great sense of humour which is essential when dealing with the most demanding clients!
