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Profile – Oar Inspiring Jenny & Reg Grundy

OAR-INSPIRING ROARING 40S KAYAKING:

THE SEA CHANGE THAT LED TO AN ADVENTURE TOURISM ICON BY EMMA HOPE

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AN oar-inspired sea change has seen Reg Grundy leave behind a career as a diesel mechanic in the mines and Jenny Grundy a highpowered government job in environmental management in Queensland for an opportunity in Tasmania’s adventure tourism sector.

“We decided that life and lifestyle was much more important than earning money,” says Jenny of the decision to relocate to the island state. She said the catalyst for their move to Hobart was so kayaking-mad, Tassie-born Reg could complete the TasTAFE outdoor guiding course. “We were living in Mackay at the time and the Hobart course had the best reputation so it was a bit of a no brainer.” A year or so later and with Reg qualified and thriving as a guide for Roaring 40s Kayaking the opportunity arose for the couple to buy the business. “The choice to move down here was to have the amazing Tassie wilderness at our doorstep. “I’m not sure when we moved that we envisaged buying a business, it was a lifestyle choice. But buying the business is a lifestyle choice too because it’s not 12 months a year. Which gives us the opportunity to have some fun in the downtime as well.” Roaring 40s Kayaking has been running since 1996, with the Grundys taking over in August 2013 and putting their stamp on the business, which has grown from strength to strength and won numerous awards. “We purchased the business whereas most people in the industry start their own business.” Jenny said they seriously considered starting from scratch but were drawn to the appeal of having a client base and forward bookings from day one. But from the first day they began making changes. “The previous owners were operating out of Kettering and the first thing we did was move it into Hobart. “One thing I’m quite proud of is that we’ve changed the products from when we purchased the business. We have everything from beginners through to expedition kayakers.” The Grundys offer everything from a 2.5 hour Hobart waterfront tour, which finishes with fish and chips delivered to your kayak, to day trips to Tinderbox and the Tasman Peninsula. The signature South West Wilderness tours remain with options of four or seven day expeditions. They also run six-day Flinders Island tours during February and March. The Grundys met over a badminton net. Jenny was playing for South Australia, where she was living at the time,

while Reg was representing Tasmania. “He ended up moving to South Australia and playing for them as well.” Jenny has represented Australia and she continues to win gold at National Masters competitions. Hard work is just one of the factors Jenny credits for Roaring 40s’ success. “Having a good product and having good staff and looking after the staff are so important. The staff are the frontline of our business and they provide these amazing experiences.” Some of the staff have been with them from day one and

they’ve built up to a team of 13 which includes Demleza Wall, a world championship bronze medalist slalom paddler. “One of the best parts of the job are the people. You meet some inspirational people. “You don’t have to stop doing this as you get older. One of our guests who stands out in my mind was an 83-year-old lady who did the three day South West trip. She brought her three kids along who are in their 60s.” Jenny joked that the lady set the pace and her kids had to keep up.

One of our guests who stands out in my mind was an 83-year-old lady who did the three day South West trip. She brought her three kids along who are in their 60s.

She said that while there have been many memorable clients over the years another woman she remembers fondly is one who had never kayaked before in her life and was terrified. “She was in her late 60s and was there with her husband and a couple of friends. The others were cyclists and they’d talked her into doing this trip and she couldn’t really keep up. But she just decided ‘I can do this’. And now we get postcards from her from all over the world doing kayaking trips. She’s found this adventure activity that she can do with her friends and keep up and she loves it.” Jenny said that winning silver at last year’s Australian Tourism Awards and back-to-back golds at the Tasmanian awards for adventure tourism was reaffirming and gave a boost to staff morale. “It also gives confidence to the people who book with us that we’re reputable.” Jenny said while they couldn’t be happier with how well the business is doing the sea change sometimes has them all out to sea. “One of the biggest challenges for Reg and I has been getting the work/life balance. “One of the things we were told when we bought the business and we haven’t done it is trying to get that break during summer. That’s been challenging. It’s hard when it’s your business and you’re passionate about it and you want everything to be perfect, to actually just step away and let someone else take over. They might do it slightly differently and that’s OK. But it’s our baby so it’s hard to let go.”

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