Janelle Cook

Janelle Cook, General Manager After setting off from her home town of Sydney, Australia with big plans to travel the world, Janelle spent 5 years at her first stop, Tokyo, working for Mitsui Bank where she met her American husband Peter, who ran a pharmaceutical company - they liked to tell people he was dealing drugs and she was laundering money.

Peter and Janelle flipped a coin and decided that they would spend their working years in the US and retire in Australia. Seattle seemed a good fit for their love of the outdoors; indeed Janelle has 'knocked off' Mt Rainier. Janelle went to work for Abel Tasman Tours, left for some years during which time she had her daughter Alexandra then, happily, returned 'home' to Abel Tasman.

Playing host to her many houseguests, in Japan and the US, has left Janelle with the firm belief that the success of a trip is in the planning. It's all well and good to just arrive on foreign soil, says Janelle, but if you don't want to hear that the festival ended yesterday, or the tour sold out weeks ago, or the hotel is booked solid for the next month, use a travel specialist and do your advance preparation; it pays off in spades.