Ticketing Assistant to Senior Tour Guide

I am a senior tour guide at Hobbiton Movie Set and my main responsibilities are getting to go around this beautiful office, showing people around and hopefully making dreams come true for all the mega fans.

One thing that inspired me to work in the Tourism industry was definitely my father. He used to work for KiwiRail and just hearing his stories about travel around New Zealand and what he got to see made me very jealous. I was like "I want to do that as my job". I applied to Hobbiton Movie Set just to try something new. I actually applied to be a ticketing and shop assistant - which I didn't want to be at the time (haha) - but thanks to our shop manager, who encouraged HR to interview me as a Tour Guide, I've since been here for six years.

Meeting people, getting to geek out and share my passion for Lord of the Rings with countless people coming through our gates, and learning more about interacting with and respecting other cultures. I've had the chance to learn how to do a range of other roles here in Hobbiton as well - I know how to make the beef in our Beef & Ale pies.

The diversity. I get to interact with different people from all around the world, different cultures, different walks of life... no two days are ever the same, it's always changing. I get to learn different languages - I can confidently say hello, how are you, thank you, goodbye in about 20 different languages.

Getting to see my own backyard. I've got to go down to Queenstown, do trips to Milford Sound - 8th wonder of the world - drive people there and see their breath taken faces. I never got to travel New Zealand when I was younger, so actually getting to do that as a job feels like I'm being paid to complete my bucket list. Also, here in Hobbiton I've got to meet people I've looked up to on TV and get to tour them around and talk to them like I've known them for years.

I get my vehicle prepped, load up the bus, drive people down to the site, tell some stories and even terrible jokes - the Kiwis will get it, sometimes the Aussies, but the international crowd have no idea what a bad sheep joke is and I get a deadpan audience… Awkward. I get to take them around Hobbiton, share experiences and expand people's knowledge, serve them in the pub, then say goodbye and know that I've made friends and helped make memories that people will get to cherish for the rest of their lives.

I would love to, in some way, leave my imprint in Tourism in a way that my friends and family can look back on and be like "Hey that was Sonny, he helped put New Zealand on the map". I'd love to explore sales, marketing and events because it's still interacting with people and getting to travel - I think I'd feel like a caged animal if I were stuck in the office all the time.

Take that leap! Jump, because you never know what great experience is waiting for you. If you love ever-changing and endless opportunities in a career, Tourism is the industry to get into. You've always got something to learn, something to do and you can only go upwards.