UltimateOz Gap Year Sydney

I knew I wanted to go to Australia, but was a little nervous travelling solo for a whole year. I chose to travel with UltimateOz because I really wanted to make a group of friends when I first got here, see the city right away, and have support with finding a job and housing.

I had heard good things about the package from people who had taken the tour before, and figured it would be a good way to adjust to life in Australia.

UltimateOz was awesome with helping me get situated in Australia! They set me up with a job service account (where I ended up finding my current job), housing, Australian SIM card, and a Tax File Number and bank account.

I really appreciated having all this help right off the bat, so I wasn't stuck trying to figure out the basics and wasting time and money!

What is your favorite travel memory?

As much as I love the city life, it's good to get away from it all from time to time. Having travelled quite a bit, it's actually not that easy to find places where you can fully switch off.

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to spend my birthday on a little island hidden in the maze of Halong Bay. We were having a bonfire at the beach on the one side of the island when one of the guys told us to go across to the other side where literally the entire beach was glowing bright green. You hear about fluorescent plankton, but actually seeing it for yourself is absolutely magical.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

I've started out as the nerdy German intern, but soon was responsible for cash outs and even helped with job interviews for new staff. After I had finished my studies in Berlin and properly moved over to Sydney, I was a tour guide, worked in admin & customer service, and was point of contact for overseas agents.

Today, I look after the marketing, the website, oversee our tours in Asia and get to work alongside the most amazing bunch of people. I've grown with every task and understand every angle of the business, which helps to appreciate the hard work everyone is doing.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

You need to believe in what you do and genuinely care for your customers. It's relatively easy to make something look amazing online or in a brochure.

Only if your customers have a great time and your own staff are your biggest ambassadors, you know you're on the right track.

Being happy coming to work and having an awesome team is super important. I'm proud to say I'm working with some of biggest nutters you can imagine, but wouldn't want to miss them for the world. Our office chat might very well be the least relevant, yet most hilarious company group conversation out there.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

I've been on every single program we offer. In fact, I was part of putting some of them together and help to make sure the experience for customers is the best it can possibly be. I am especially proud of Ultimate Vietnam and Ultimate Thailand. Both tours take you to places away from the main tourist tracks you'd thought only exist in movies.