Sharon Leeson
Director of East Burwood Travel since 2013. Sharon has over 25 years of Travel experience – in Australia and New Zealand. After years consulting with major travel agencies like Traveland and American Express, Sharon worked at Air New Zealand head office in Auckland, New Zealand.
Travelled to: USA, Hawaii, Canada, Alaska, UK and Europe, South Africa, Maldives, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Bali, Fiji, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Australia and South America.
Favourite or unique destination: Favourite places are Vancouver and Hawaii, my top experience was canoeing down the Zambezi River & canoeing through ice to an Alaskan Glacier.
Brian Leeson
Travel is in his blood!!! Over the last 35 years, Brian has gained experience with Venture Holidays, Creative Holidays and most recently the General Manager of Trafalgar Tours and Uniworld River Cruise based in Auckland New Zealand. He escorted his first group tour in 1981 and has not looked back!
Travelled to: Too many places to name
Favourite or unique destination: Loved Lucerne and Paris but the most interesting place i’ve been to would be Town Square in Marrakesh, Morrocco
Perfect type of holiday: A nice beach destination, even though I am not a fan of the sand I love the sound of waves. Somewhere in Fiji or Maui.
Claire Duband
Member of East Burwood Travel since the beginning…1983
Travelled to: Most of the world including South America, Europe Africa, Australasia, Canada, UK and America
Favourite or unique destination: The places i won’t forget in a hurry are Easter Island, Great Wall of China, Aitutaki, Iguassu Falls and Victoria Falls.
Perfect type of holiday: Somewhere adventurous with plenty of walking trails and sightseeing
Travel tip: Plan well in advance, research destination well, pack light and take a drink bottle on the aircraft.
Diane Miller
Member of East Burwood Travel since 1993
Travelled to: Most of the world
Favourite or unique destination: My two favourite places were South America and Russia
Perfect type of holiday: Somewhere relaxing with a few sightseeing tours.
Travel tip: When packing you should lay out what you think you want to take, then cut it in half.
Megan Costello
Member of East Burwood Travel since 1989
Travelled to: Europe, America, Canada, Africa and Australasia and Mauritius
Favourite or unique destination: Egypt and Nepal
Perfect type of holiday: Anywhere relaxing for the whole family
Travel tip: Research where you are going so you get the most out of your holiday and won’t feel like you’ve missed anything when you return home..
Margaret Costello
Member of East Burwood Travel: Over 30 years now, although i have been in the industry since 1980
Travelled to: Most of the world
Favourite or unique destination: Iguassu Falls, Taj Mahal
Perfect type of holiday: Somewhere full of culture
Travel tip: When packing use the travel pods! Makes things easy to find
Rebecca Lingam
Member of East Burwood Travel since 2016 and 14 years in the travel industry – since 2005.
Travelled to: 40 countries and still counting…
Favourite or unique destination: Kenya – where I spent my birthday sitting around a campfire in the Masai Mara with the Masai Warriors, who baked me a birthday cake!
Perfect type of holiday: A combination of history, culture, adventure, trying the local cuisine and meeting the local people
Travel tip: Book as much in advance as you can, to take advantage of special offers and early bird flight deals
Alison Lund
Member of East Burwood Travel since February 2018. Alison has been in the travel industry for over 30 years, having worked for airlines, wholesalers, independent as well as chain travel agencies and some tour escorting.
Travelled to: Europe extensively, United States including Hawaii, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangkok and Hong Kong, Kenya, Tanzania, Morocco, Australia and cruises to the Pacific. Some of my favourite memories: camping in the Serengeti, hiking in Switzerland, fog in Venice, a local running of the bulls in southern France, the fisherman at Inle Lake in Myanmar, the Trans Siberian Railway across Russia. Perfect type of holiday: Amazing scenery, history or sights and meeting the locals.
Travel tip: save time and money by organising your accommodation and sightseeing before you go so you can spend your holiday enjoying the sights and relaxing and not waste time organising things when you are there.
Jacqueline Belcourt
Member of East Burwood Travel since 2001
Travelled to: Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bali, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Europe, Dubai, Oman, America
Favourite or unique destination: The most eye-opening experience was hiring a car with my husband and driving from Dubai to Oman, a cultural experience I won’t forget in a hurry!
Perfect type of holiday: Anywhere tropical
Travel tip: Make plans before you go so that you don’t waste time on your holiday trying to figure out what to do each day.
Alison Rizzi
Member of East Burwood Travel since 2010
Travelled to: New Zealand, China and Europe immensely.
Favourite or unique destination: Morocco definitely stood out
Perfect type of holiday: Adventurous and cultural, I love learning new things!
Travel tip: Remember you are in someone else’s country, Respect their culture and customs.