Meet the Albany Tours team

Susan has called the Great Southern home for more than 38 years. She feels most at home near the ocean - walking the coastline, finding a quiet beach or bay, exploring a bush trail, or simply stopping to appreciate the wildness of the Southern Ocean.

She loves local food and wine, meeting the people who shape the region, and uncovering the stories that give a place meaning. Susan creates experiences across Albany, Denmark, Mount Barker and the Porongurups, bringing together landscapes, history, food, wine and local characters.

For Susan, the best tours feel less like sightseeing and more like sharing her home with a guest - inviting them to slow down, look a little closer and wander in the wild.

Joy moved to Albany ten years ago and loves its natural beauty, biodiversity, history, climate and relaxed way of life. Her work in gardening and guiding lets her share two things she genuinely cares about.

Guiding gives Joy the chance to show off the best of the Great Southern, from local food and wine to Noongar culture and traditional medicine. She especially enjoys meeting visitors from different backgrounds and countries.

Her favourite experience is the Mt Barker Grape Escape, where she can meet winemakers and keep broadening her knowledge of the region's wines.

Tim came to Albany as an artist in residence forty years ago and never left. He had always wanted a small town and scenery this good, so he stayed, tried to set up a glass workshop, and the opportunities followed.

If you asked what he does, Tim would say he is a teacher and a learner, in an office that is mostly outdoors. He favours The Gap Natural Wonders and Albany History Highlights, and likes that Icons of Albany brings both together.

He still remembers when Albany Tours was the Busy Blue Bus and the brochure promised "We'll show you more". He likes the good reviews and having his skills appreciated - and that sharing Albany's history and natural beauty is a privilege he gets paid for.

Ask Susan why she likes Albany and the answer comes easily: the clean air, the land formations, and the rock she can walk up from her back door for views of the city and the Southern Ocean - or floating in the Binalup/Middleton waters, looking out at islands and into the bush.

Then there is the history of the Menang people and the Europeans, and the inspiring, creative people here - landcarers, artists, writers, musicians. Albany is just the right size too: you cannot be anonymous.

Guiding has deepened Susan's connection with this piece of Western Australia and moved her out of her comfort zone. Her favourite is the walking tour, sharing stories as she strolls through the old part of town. Working for a local company, she feels she is contributing to the fabric of her city, and her colleagues' knowledge keeps inspiring her.