Tracy grew up in Wagga, studied maths and geophysics, and answered a classified ad to become a tour leader in Egypt. She thought it might last a while. It took years.

She led tours across Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, India, Turkey and Eastern Europe — learning quickly that sometimes confidence mattered more than experience.

We cover getting lost in Moroccan medinas, a spike through her toe in Todra Gorge (and walking on it anyway), a midnight hospital visit in Casablanca, a train that quietly crossed into Belarus without visas, and hearing about 9/11 in fragments at a station in Varanasi.

Tracy is now an air traffic controller in Melbourne. Both careers started with ads in the paper.

Enjoy the ride.