Tell us about yourself and your Aurora journey
I’ve dedicated almost a decade of my life to Aurora, and it has been a journey of coming full circle. I spent seven years in the Sydney head office as an Expedition Team Coordinator, transitioning to a hybrid role in 2022 as I started training to become an expedition guide. By 2024, I launched my own travel business and became a full-time tour guide in Australia, remaining a trusted member of Aurora’s Expedition Team at the same time. Today, I work as a snorkel guide and zodiac driver in Antarctica, and a Tour Manager during the European small-ship cruising season.
My story began in Kraków, Poland, where I worked as a tour guide for nearly ten years. When I moved to Sydney in 2015 to join my Australian husband, I knew I wanted to stay in tourism, but I didn't think I could become a guide in a new country right away. I started in sales & reservations for a small, high end, sustainable Australian travel company, but I was looking for more growth. That’s when a recruiter told me about Aurora Expeditions, saying, “It’s a little bit out there, but you have nothing to lose”. I applied, and, as it turned out, it’s changed my life in ways that I could have never imagined.
What first drew you to Aurora?
The reason I applied was Greg Mortimer himself. While researching the company, I realised I had recently seen an exhibition at the Australian Museum titled Australia’s 50 Greatest Explorers - curated, as I later learned, by Aurora’s own one & only Howard Whelan (an experienced and well-respected Expedition Leader and writer). Greg was featured for his first Everest climb. In Poland, we have a deep, proud tradition of Himalayan first ascents, and his story moved me.
When I joined the office, the company was expanding, and my role as Expedition Team Coordinator gave me complete freedom to create new processes and solutions that did not exist in the past, and I am a person that enjoys freedom and flexibility; I like to take initiative and offer efficiency-focused solutions. But my true "drive" was the expedition team. These adventurers and professional guides reminded me of my life in Europe and reignited my dream to go back to my roots and reclaim the job I love so much: being a professional guide.
What’s a moment with Aurora that has stayed with you?
I will never forget my first voyage to Antarctica in December 2018. That year had been an emotional rollercoaster; I had married in August, only to lose my mother suddenly a week later. Plans were made for me to join a Christmas and New Year’s voyage on the "good old" Polar Pioneer, and Aurora generously offered I took my husband with me. I was in a state of deep shock and grief, and I couldn't stomach a "normal" Christmas. I needed to be as far away as possible to process it all in the quiet.
Antarctica was the perfect setting, and it was a love-at-first-sight experience. The enthusiasm and excitement of the expedition team (who had been there before) was contagious. Crossing a difficult Drake Passage felt like "earning" the destination. On Christmas Eve, we organised camping for guests on a small islet. It was cold and uncomfortable, but we waited until midnight to wish “Merry Christmas” to each other, and precisely at midnight, a humpback whale and her calf began circling the islet. It was transcendental and spiritual; for the first time in a long time, I felt at peace.
Who or what has had the biggest impact on your Aurora journey?
Aurora is where I made lifetime friendships. It saw me through the most emotional stages of my adult life, helping me accept my emigration and feel at home in Australia. My three best friends (Skye, Liv, and Chris, this is about you, if you’re reading this!) - all came from Aurora. Even meeting the "Tasmanian hub" of guides made me realise you can find like-minded, intellectually stimulating people anywhere in the world, if you are open to it. Living far away from Europe, on a different continent became so much easier for me thanks to all these special people.
And, of course, Greg Mortimer himself. Meeting the person I admired all those years ago in the Australian Museum, learning from him, being inspired by him – it’s something I will cherish forever. Years ago, at an annual operations meeting in Sydney, he listened to one of my presentations and asked, “Have you ever considered joining the expedition team? A future expedition leader, perhaps?”. It was the biggest professional compliment I’ve ever received and gave me the courage to pursue this career path.
When did you feel most proud to be part of this journey?
The recent launch of the Douglas Mawson in Sydney was a massive moment for me. Seeing the ship docked in front of the Sydney Opera House felt like a collision of my two worlds. It combined Aurora’s professional journey with my personal journey of becoming Australian. I’m proud that Aurora remains an Australian-owned company I hope it will stay true to its adventurous spirit and egalitarian, relaxed, Australian vibe.
In one sentence: What does Aurora mean to you?
Aurora is an inseparable part of my journey of becoming Australian, turning my childhood passions into a career that gives me the courage to follow my own path and the platform to grow from a beginner into an experienced expedition guide.
