I guess another reason for guides to consider their clients is that older birders possibly have more money to spend on tours, and may therefore be spreading the word about a particular guide, so it is to their financial advantage to be considerate. Probably most clients would rather have good views of a few birds, than brief glances at a greater number! Sonja On 25/10/2013, at 12:40 PM, Denise Goodfellow <goodfellow@bigpond.com.au> wrote: > Hi Tony > > I recall you raising this once before, and thank you for going into details. > > Bo Beolens gave a fascinating talk at the recent Wildlife Tourism Australia > workshop on a related issue (see in title), that of disabled birders and > “six foot” guides. > > Some of the statements from respondents to my PhD study mention similar > problems. Some women complained about being out with such guides who could > see a bird from their particular vantage point and grew angry that their > clients couldn’t. One lady whom I know personally, returned from a trip on > the point of exhaustion, ridden by the guide all the way to “keep up”. Her > husband was furious. Another woman trying to keep up with the guide and two > other clients who were racing ahead, fell and hurt herself so badly she had > to be helicoptered out. > > One response to this sort of guiding, and again you raise this issue in your > comment on “return business”, is that couples in particular, seem more > likely to do further trips with either a local guide or by themselves. Why > couples? Well ,often one spouse is a more serious birder. But if he (and > it’s generally a male) sees their spouse, a less serious lister, for > example, is not enjoying themselves, then often they won’t use that firm > again. > > Bo compared the issue to pink stilettos and boots. Not all can wear the > former or the latter! There needs to be a range of guides and experiences. > > Denise > > > On 25/10/13 10:26 AM, “Tony Russell” <pratincole08@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Interesting that you have raised this Denise. I have been out with some >> guides , well known ones too, who seem to have no concern about or >> understanding of their clients limitations. Some of them race around at a >> pace difficult for others to keep up with and if the guide notices at all >> can become impatient and often instruct people to “keep up”, not realising >> that this can be impossible for them. >> Others can command elderly people to “get down on the ground” ( to look >> under bushes), as though they were teenagers, and not acknowledging that >> this can also often be an impossible requirement, and that getting up again >> is usually a worse ordeal than getting down. I can recall two different >> guides who did this to people on trips I’ve been on. It puts one off from >> ever using those guides again or recommending anyone else to. Some guides >> unrealistically expect clients to be as physically active as they are. Some >> people may dismiss these problems as unimportant but a responsible guide >> should develop ways of showing consideration for their older clients and >> maybe generating some return business. >> >> Tony, the aging crock. >> >> —–Original Message—– >> From: birding-aus-bounces@lists.vicnet.net.au >> [mailto:birding-aus-bounces@lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of Denise >> Goodfellow >> Sent: Friday, 25 October 2013 10:19 AM >> To: Birding Aus >> Cc: mark.lepla@hotmail.com; Peter Wood; Ronda Green BSc(Hons); Robyn Stark; >> fionamccaul@live.com.au; Maree Kerr; Kev >> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Hot weather and birders >> >> Recently the issue of tourism and hot weather was raised on Radio National. >> >> Quite often I’ve been in the field with other guides who’ve either taken >> people out in very hot, humid weather or who said they would have no >> problems doing so. One was a bus driver (who’d just started guiding as >> well) who, if he’d had his way, would have taken a group of American >> university students on a hike around the Kakadu sandstone in such weather. >> The professor in charge agreed with him and it was only after I (their >> guide/lecturer) refused to go that he backed down. >> >> On another occasion a senior lady showed obvious signs of heat stress after >> a long hike, but the guide appeared not to notice. >> >> This issue is even more urgent now, with more hot days (we’ve probably had a >> record number of fire ban days this Dry Season). >> >> So please, if you’re a visiting birder raise this issue with your guide or >> operator. >> >> Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow >> PO Box 71, Darwin River, >> NT 0841 >> 043 8650 835 >> >> PhD candidate, SCU >> Vice-chair, Wildlife Tourism Australia >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> =============================== >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >> send the message: >> unsubscribe >> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au >> >> http://birding-aus.org >> =============================== >> > > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org ===============================
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