Page 39 - Tropic Magazine Issue 38

TROPIC • COVER STORY

True connection Q&A Do you have a pre or post trip routine?

How would you describe your Driving to work there are two songs I
guiding style?
Laurissa Mundraby’s voice echoes Personal, unique and authentic. tend to play which are Yidinji Descendents
through time as she shares her love for Only I can tell my story, standing in my and Everybody Dance by Normey Jay
land, sea, culture and her people. truth and sharing my people’s stories, featuring Miller Kid. I also dance to get
Laurissa is a tour guide with country and culture. my energy levels moving.
Mandingalbay Ancient Indigenous Tours,
taking guests through her ancestral Tell us about a particularly Favourite local cafe or restaurant
homelands east of Cairns, across memorable trip I’ve been to Dundee’s on the Waterfront
Trinity Inlet. Mandingalbay Yidinji Taking my aunties and uncles to the a few times and every time I’m
Country is managed by Traditional shell midden ground on the Mayi flabbergasted. Ochre’s beautiful as well,
Owners who are Rangers with the Bugan Trail and seeing their raw with loads of native ingredients I eat with
Djunbunji Land and Sea Program. The emotions - happiness, tears of joy, our Deadly Dinner.
knowledge they share on tours comes feeling overwhelmed that there’s
from ancient stories and their work tangible evidence that our old people Most famous guest
cataloguing flora, fauna and culturally were using that area for a long time. I really enjoyed the interaction with Costa
significant places. (Georgiadis) the garden fella.
He’s passionate about gardening and
If you weren’t a tour guide or ranger, the environment.
you would be ...
I’ve always been passionate about Dogs or cats?
education, social and emotional My favourite animal is the turtle – I work
wellbeing and I love mentoring as well, with sick and injured turtles as well.
especially the young generation and A willy wagtail is my messenger bird.
especially young girls.
Sharing our culture, our country and
our stories is a huge responsibility that
lies on my shoulder, so I’d still be doing
something around that. MORE: mandingalbay.com.au

Naturalist at heart Australia (Amethystine python), one of
the biggest spiders (Golden Orb), biggest
butterfly (Cairns Birdwing) and biggest
bird (Southern Cassowary).
As a guide with Billy Tea Safaris, Any day that I get all five is awesome.
Gavin Ibbet takes Australian and One of the best days I’ve had in the
international guests on day trips to the Daintree included seeing 11 cassowaries,
rainforest of the Daintree National Park a two metre Amethystine Python, big croc
and to the Chillagoe Mungana caves. on the Daintree River, giant Golden Orb
With experience dating back two decades and loads of butterflies.
and stretched across three states, he’s
worked on treetop ziplines in Victoria, If you weren’t a tour guide,
taken people fishing and on rock art tours you would be …
in Kakadu National Park and has hiked Gardening.
and mountain biked across the Atherton
Tablelands. Gavin is also a qualified Do you have a pre or post tour routine?
horticulturalist, arborist and zookeeper. Before I pick up clients each morning,
I play Now We Are Free, a song from the
Q&A soundtrack of The Gladiator. I think I
How would you describe your started playing it after we came out of the
guiding style? Covid lockdowns. Now I just do it all
Fun, casual but informative. I like my the time.
clients to enjoy the day and leave with
some new knowledge about the history, Favourite local cafe or restaurant
culture, wildlife and ecology of the places Thai Coins on Mulgrave Road.
that I show them. Amazing Thai food every time. Dogs or cats?
Most definitely dogs.
Tell us about a particularly Most famous guest
memorable trip Author Di Morrisey. I took her fishing for
I have my ‘Big five’ that I try to find in barramundi in Kakadu National Park. MORE: billytea.com.au
the Daintree: big croc, biggest snake in She caught 10, her husband caught one!

39 • tropicnow.com.au