Our Tour Design Framework

Nature Trail is dedicated to offering its tours to private charters only after each proposed tour has successfully undergone our intensive design, planning and field trialling process, which collectively we term Nature Trail’s ‘Tour Design Framework’ ^©.

A sample of a Nature Trail ‘Tour Plan‘, being a combination of a digital record created initially on our computer, plus a printed record which we maintain, update/evolve and carry as a reference guide in a 2-binder A4 folder in our tour vehicle specific to each trip iteration of a given tour.

Each tour is unique and detailed in many respects for each tour we offer. This we outline below under the following tour design stages:

‘Tour Plan’
Iterative ‘Trip Plan’ (of the Tour)
‘Post-Trip Delivery Governance’

(1) ‘Tour Plan’

Our Tour Plan is the design of the uniquely specific tour and is consistently organised as a manual/directives and segmented into the following chapters:

TD01 Tour Plan Cover, Task List, Tour Outline
TD02 Recces + Practice Trips
TD03 Hike Plan and Variations
TD04 Transport Plan
TD05 Tour Risk Mitigation
TD06 Catering, Sites + Toilets
TD07 Equipment Kits
TD08 Briefings + Commentary
TD09 Trip Pax Manifests
TD10 Conditions Forecasts
TD11 Specific Tour Guidance
TD12 Tour Notice
TD13 Trip Prep Checklist
TD14 Trip Journals + Recordings
TD15 Post Trip Chores
TD16 Tour Budget
TD17 Governance Debrief
TD18 Tour Yarns
TD19 Tour Brochure
TD20 Applied Research

Each above chapter of the Tour Plan is dynamically updatable from journal records of each iterative trip of that tour conducted in order to ensure pragmatic accurate currency and relevance for the Trip Leader.

We shall elaborate on each of the above twenty tour design tasks on this webpage in due course.

(2) Iterative ‘Trip Plan’ (of the Tour)

Nature Trail prepares well ahead of each offered iterative trip of this Tour. Each trip of a given Tour presents unique special circumstances – different weather, hazards, risks, track conditions, tour guest preferemces/feedback/issues, different arrangements, route options, access, catering, etc. No one Tour Plan can be the presumed to be the same for each iterative trip of that tour.

(3) Post-Trip Delivery Governance

Nature Trail records a Trip Journal report of each Trip whilst delivered en route (scouted/practised/delivered) within a day or two after each iterative trip of a tour. This report includes ‘lessons learned’ feedback to help us fine-tune improve delivery quality governance of future trips for this Tour. It is a key component of Nature Trail’s Policies.

Our Tour Design Framework applies to every single Nature Trail tour offered ultimately as a private charter, only if a proposed tour passes our stringent pre-testing.

Once passed, each such tour is listed on Nature Trail’s website. This applies to all Nature Trail’s Hiking Tours, Trekking Tours and Road Tours, including those tours that involve a combination of each.

Our Tour Design Framework has been uniquely conceived from our applied education, training and experience involving multiple analyses of each proposed tour offering we consider well before it is assessed as being of suitable quality before we decide it to be offered to our tour guests.

1. TOUR PLAN EXPLAINED

Tour Scope: we decide upon proposed tour’s business fit with Nature Trail’s business purpose, territorial range, policies and operational capacities, tour type, tour mode, tour duration, routes, features, benefits, activities, added extras (e.g. catering), and pricing. We also seek to offer a new area in our tour mix to increase the variety and range of our tour offerings.
Geographic Area: select a specific area range for the tour and draft a Tour Title name
Facilities & Attractions: we identify on map accessible safe vistas (fenced lookouts), appealing vegetation, known and unknown attractions, and features of visitor interest, rest locations, weather shelters, we researched visitation arrangements, including sourcing expert site guides
Catering: options and timely toileting locations/scheduling
Tour Type: select a tour type or combination, and whether it is to be a scheduled public tour and/or available for exclusive private charter
Tour Mode: hiking (with road transfers), road touring, trekking, or a combination of these modes
Tour Duration: <3 hours, half day, full-day, 2-day, or multi-day options (at a safe easy hiking pace, driving speed, and allowing for generous delay buffers)
Route Plan: we select hiking tracks, legs and waypoints, track route patterns, track legs, waypoints, alternates and contingency planning, limit tour duration to avoid fatigue especially driving durations.
Transport Plan: we select road route segments, vehicle type(s), total road distance, refuel needs, logistics (best routes, access conditions, parking locations, car shuffle requirements.
Itinerary: road segments schedule: and rest/break locations, sunset timing, and duration buffers for delays
Target Market: Identify the ideal profile tour guest(s) for this tour design including special interests, minimal guest abilities (to track distance, grade, condition, obstacles, minimum pace, pack weight, touring attire, etc.)
Tour Equipment: we decide which equipment kit are appropriate including tour vehicle kits, remote communications, guest kit hire options
Accommodation: as applicable, with options, facilities, pricing researched and contacted
Tour Budgeting: we start with initial direct costs for the tour, and calculate breakeven costing and then price for competitive profitability
Compliance: we contact land owners to identify licensing and access permits and arrangements
Safety Briefings & Commentary: during field reconnoitre we identify best ‘dwell’ (enroute pause) locations to impart (1) contextual safety briefings and/or (2) interpretative commentary for likely relevant topics of guest interest. We research visitation arrangements, including sourcing expert local site guides
Tour Advertising: After all this, once we are satisfied with the tour design meeting all criteria, we then draft a tour brochure webpage on this website (unpublished) and list the tour on our internal Tour Database as a ‘Practice Tour’ (non-commercial)) version, to be reconnoitred before listing it commercially on Nature Trail’s website.

2. (ITERATIVE) TRIP PLANS EXPLAINED

Following the completion of a Tour Design, we undertake detailed trip planning for a Practice Trip.

The following list is a summary outline of the Trip Planning tasks in sequential order. This allows us to evaluate whether this tour design in practice will be a quality and commercially viable tour service offering.

Trip Plan: using the Tour Design that has then been created on paper, we then plan an initial field reconnoitre of the entire proposed tour route on a given date – both the transport and the hiking, with mapping, rod rendezvous points and track waypoints
Conditions Forecasts: – we assess the weather forecasts, closures, any known or forecast bushfire risk
Trip Prep Checklist: responsibility of the trip leader and varies per tour type
Trip Journals and Recordings: as we travel, we record a trip journal of the tour specifications, schedule, track junctions, features, proposed rest locations with suggested dwell durations, accessible safe vistas (fenced lookouts), appealing vegetation, known and unknown attractions, and features of visitor interest, rest locations, weather shelters. We also take photos enroute.
Trip Notification: we submit a trip notification document to AMSA including the route plan, itinerary plan and group manifest
Briefings & Commentary: on reconnoitre we identify best dwell locations to impart (1) contextual safety briefings and (2) interpretative commentary for likely relevant topics of guest interest
Risk Analysis: on reconnoitre we also identify and journal and photograph enroute any hazards, obstacles and potential risks for less experienced/agile participants. We design risk mitigation measures and summarise all this in a Risk Analysis Report.
Hike Plan and Variations: we explore and beneficla route variations and side tracks, and adjust the itinerary
Applied Research: as a follow up to the reconnoitre we update our commentary with applied research
Every Tour is first Reconnoitred: Before offering a tour commercially, we first undertake a field reconnoitre a Practice Trip with our internal focus group ‘Friends of Nature Trail‘ at no charge in order that we trial, document, obtain participant feedback, finetune the tour offering, and ultimately we decide whether it meets all our criteria to be offered commercially.
Tour Publication: If the tour then meets all standards/criteria to be offered commercially, we then we list the Tour on Nature Trail’s website as a polished commercial tour offering.
Every Tour Trip is Pre-planned: For each subsequent commercial trip, we then undertake a similar Trip Planning regime as listed above.

3. TRIP DELIVERY GOVERNANCE

Nature Trail has a Trip Delivery Governance Policy that prescribes each trip of a tour be delivered commercially to a high standard that is consistent with set quality control criteria.

The following list is a summary outline of these tasks which are the criteria undertaken of our delegated Trip Leader on the actual day(s) of a given commercial version trip – before, during and after.

Pre-Trip Self-Assessment: conducted by the trip leader on the early morning prior to scheduled Trip Start: included fitness readiness of the Trip Leader, Tour Vehicle(s), Trip Equipment, conditions suitability, that there are no access closures, and that all tour prepayments have been received in full in advance of the trip;
Visual Screening of Tour Guests: good health and fitness, appropriate touring attire, kit and suitability at Group Meetup time ahead of the Tour Start;
Adherence to Tour Brochure and Trip Agreement: adhere to route plan and schedule including dwell duration limits at rest spots, avoid route deviations or splitting the tour guest group;
Group Field Leadership*: in a field/remote group leadership situation, focusing on small group dynamics, individual tour guest safety and wellbeing, avoiding group separation, delivery of timely and appropriate verbal communications and instructions, monitoring tour guest performance and conduct, fostering mutual respect and group cohesion, effective immediate management of interpersonal tensions and conflict, appropriate leadership style in time of incidents and emergencies;
Post Trip Chores: conducted by the trip leader after Trip Finish such as trip log update, unpacking disposables, rubbish disposal, equipment stowing, refuelling and detailing tour vehicle, clothes washing, devices recharged, writing up trip journal, scribing tour yarn on Nature Trail website, finetuning tour design, and tour budget, etc.;
Governance Debrief: – conducted by the trip leader at Trip Finish as part of our Quality Development Cycle Policy.;
Tour Yarns: tour write up on Nature Trail’s website which is scribed by the tour director;
Tour Brochure: this is fine-tuned and published as a post on this website.

For each commercial tour offered by Nature Trail a Tour Design Folder has been created with all the above information listed on this webpage included. Each folder is a dynamic record that is updated and refined after every trip of that tour. This is an output of Nature Trail’s Quality Development Cycle Policy.