Have You Heard Y.E.T? – January 2025
Happy New Year and welcome to the January edition of ‘Have You Heard Y.E.T?!’
This month’s newsletter features highlights from our January tours, we return to the Team Member Spotlight series with our newest team member (Chauffeur Guide Alex), and the destination of the month is the Great Ocean Road.
What’s happening at Your Exclusive Tours?
Welcome to 2025 everyone!! It certainly has been a busy summer period to date, combined with the Christmas and New Year celebrations. The YET Team has been all over marvelous Melbourne and regional destinations in Victoria, which never cease to amaze us as guides and our guests alike find themselves in awe of our beautiful city and state.
From multi-generational families to couples, to solo travelers and small groups, our guests have kept us on our toes, being very inquisitive, meeting iconic Australia wildlife, seeing a game of tennis or two at the Australian Open, and overall, wanting to understand what Melbourne and Victoria is all about.
One of the objectives in 2025 of Have You Heard YET?! is to continue to unpack and inform you of what Melbourne and Victoria is about. From its places, people, food, culture, and events, Victoria is “Every Bit Different”.
Some of our recent highlights have included:
Meeting a wombat and local fisherman who were gutting their fish and feeding the pelicans as our guests explored Phillip Island.
A casual day in the Yarra Valley with a classic pub meal, a wine tasting, and transfer back to Melbourne via helicopter.
As a family owned and operated business, quality assurance and control has been at the forefront through January with our Guest Relations Director – Carlie and Director of Operations – Tyson making surprise appearances whilst Mum and Dad are on tour.
Review of the Month
This month’s feature review is from one of our Wedding Transport services, led by Chauffeur Guides Rob and Jenny. We’re always honoured when a couple trust us with their special day and we work hard to add those extra little touches that David mentioned, such as taking the photo that he’s shared with us. We’d like to congratulate the Corbetts and we thank David for leaving his review.
Destination of the Month – The Great Ocean Road
Did you know the Great Ocean Road was built primarily from private funding? Or that the Australian slang idiom “You’ve got Buckley’s chance” originated on the Great Ocean Road? Those are just two of the little tidbits that we add to the customer experience when people explore the road with us. The Great Ocean Road is every bit as unique and different as YET itself, and that makes it one of our favourite destinations.
In summer, mile after mile of coast showcases every shade of blue thanks to our long hours of sunlight. The sand on the beaches is warm underfoot and the rainforest areas a welcome haven of cool, dappled shade. Ice creams and milk shakes are often the snacks of choice as we wind our way from town to town, soaking up the Australian sun, and then relaxing in the cool of our airconditioned luxury vehicles.
In winter, the water turns to a blue-grey, offset with white caps as the winds churn the waves as far as the eye can see and the rainforest areas become a shelter from the costal winds for plants and animals. Sumptuous coffees and hot chocolates become the favoured snacks, with the award-winning Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie often a favourite location.
The contrasts from coastal scrub, to rainforest, to open farmland and bush within such a relatively short range creates a stunning biodiversity, with new vistas to explore around every turn.
A day on the Great Ocean Road showcases a never-ending range of what makes Victoria special, and for that reason, we love to share it with our guests. You can find out more about our Great Ocean Road experiences, including our Express and Sunset options here.
Team member spotlight – Alex Dalla-Riva
We’re making a special return to our ‘Team Member Spotlight’ series to help introduce our newest team member, Chauffer Guide Alex. We turned the spotlight on him to get to know him a little better.
- What is your role at Your Exclusive Tours?
Chauffeur / Tour Guide.
- If you weren’t part of the Your Exclusive Tours team, what other job would you like to attempt?
I would like to work in the Australian embassy as a diplomat or as a translator. - Tell us something about yourself that we don’t know
I can play the bagpipes and learnt for 6 years. I also speak near-fluent Chinese and have learnt for 14 years. - What’s your favourite quote?
“Give yourself a little grace. There’s no figuring it out, there’s just enjoying the process.”
Stay tuned for more news in our next edition of ‘Have you heard Y.E.T?!’ and in the meantime, if you haven’t yet subscribed, you can do so here: