WE ARE 10! ??

We can't believe it but yes, Off Piste Tours has just turned 10 years old. Last night we were all reflecting - and giggling - on what has been an incredible journey from product start up to one of South Australia's much loved 'wine & wildlife' touring adventures.

In December 2012 we set out to offer a new way to see the magnificent Fleurieu Peninsula by forging strong friendships with land owners, local stakeholders, growers, producers, wineries, council and key government agencies including South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC), Tourism Australia and Dpt. of Environment & Water (DEW).

At the time, personally, I had no idea how much work was needed to build the type of business and hurdles and challenges that I (we) encountered.

Off Piste Tours has been a true Fleurieu trailblazer and still to this day our exclusive access across First Nations country, ongoing permission to pass through farm gates, national parks and state forests pay homage and testimony to the intimate food + drink + nature product offering.

We will be forever grateful to those who have worked with us, allowed us to journey across their lands, tell their story and pay respects to the incredible support we have received throughout the business' decade of trade.

Even through the nine months of Covid hibernation we were truly overwhelmed by the amount of support that continued to flow in from worldwide trade, friends, family and very importantly our wonderful off-piste visitors - you are the best! :)

From humble beginnings our initial off-road itinerary was modest but highly entertaining. We started operation with a single tour vehicle, the classic 2010 Troopie with the infamous side-facing seating - gasp! After a hard fought year of delivery we were fortunate enough to gain the monumental support of Miranda Lang, EO of Fleurieu Peninsula Tourism, Hon. Leon Bignell, SA Tourism Minister (2013) and SATC's New Product Support Program dev team, Nick Jones, Craig Dunstan & Paul Mullen - a pivotal timeline moment.

With great respect visitors loved the product's dialled-back rawness grabbing the opportunity to adventure through the unknown heart of one of the world's greatest wine regions, McLaren Vale and South Australia's true treasure trove, the Fleurieu Peninsula. The ruggedness of the region, as we know as a local was beckoning discerning exploration.

Since then we have grown the tourism product, strengthened market foothold, upgraded tour vehicles and successfully delivered hundreds of adventure tours in the luxury market - a first for the region.

Off Piste Tours recently hit 10,000 visitors travelling from over 30 different countries including a wonderful family from French Guiana. Collectively, they spoke 9 languages! We still receive gifts, cards and annual messages from past customers from all around the world including our very first, Tara Naige.

After such a turbulent last couple of years our Aussie tourism + wine industry has seen a huge bounce back and visitor numbers are looking strong. Inbound numbers have been a little slow but forward bookings are creating a lot of excitement amongst our team and family.

While on that subject and Christmas on our doorstep I wanted to thank my wonderful partner Imogen Czulowski for her culinary magic, my wonderful mum, Lorraine for opening up the family homestead (circa 1888) for lunches, trade worldwide and Team Off Piste for weaving the magic. We would be completely lost at sea without you all and are so grateful for your hard work, professionalism and overall support.

From all of us here in McLaren Vale we wish you a wonderful Christmas and a safe and sterling festive break. Looking forward to catching up in 2023.

Warmest regards,

Ben & Mo