Never in a million years did Tash and Meryl – disability support workers and best friends from Queensland – think they would be on television.
But when the opportunity presented itself to apply for the latest season of Travel Guides, they leapt at the chance!
“We saw the ad pop up and we just stuck my phone on the window and away we went – we recorded ourselves being the fools that we are. Then we got a phone call back, and here we are!” Tash tells Woman’s Day.
YING AND YANG
The women met at a bowling alley four years ago while working with disabled clients who were on the same team. They struck up an instant friendship despite their age gap – Tash is 37, while Meryl’s a young and vibrant 71. They’ve since gone into business together and make for one hilarious on-air pairing!
Perhaps surprisingly, it’s adventurous Meryl who brings slightly more reserved Tash out of her shell and encourages her to step out of her comfort zone.
“I’m a bit more chickens**t,” Tash admits. “But I’ll definitely cheer Meryl on. Even though she’s older than me, you would think she’s younger than me in personality. If you’d have met me five years ago, I’m definitely not the person I am today and I have to thank Meryl for that.”
“Yeah, she acts like the mother, I act like the kid!” Meryl agrees.
It’s this fun dynamic that viewers will get to witness for themselves on this week’s episode of Travel Guides, as the pair embark on a road trip through outback Queensland – from Mount Isa to Longreach.
Though Meryl has called the Gold Coast home for 63 years and mum-of-two Tash – who originally hails from Dunedin, New Zealand – has lived there for 15 years, it’s new territory for both women who, up until now, have barely ventured further than Sydney.
“I didn’t even know that Mount Isa was in Queensland!” Tash admits with a laugh. “It was a great experience for me because I didn’t realise I wasn’t leaving Queensland!”
From gold mining to a rodeo, cruising down the Thomson River on a paddleboat and dunny racing at the Outback Festival in Winton, the pair threw themselves into everything on offer with gusto. Meryl even signed a waiver to ride a mechanical bull at a pub that the operator himself, 20 years her junior, admitted he wouldn’t do – though sadly that was on a day off from filming!
“I’m 71 and my life is just starting!” Meryl declares. “We’re here for a good time, not a long time!”
READY FOR THE SPOTLIGHT
While there are understandably some nerves about seeing themselves on TV for the first time, the pair are planning a viewing party with their friends and family to watch their debut.
“Yeah, we’re going to have an outback party!” Meryl beams. “I’m so excited. Tash keeps making excuses, saying, ‘I think I just want to watch it in the bedroom on my own,’ and I’m going, ‘No, no, no, you’re going to the party!’”
“So now I have to get dressed up as a cowgirl,” Tash bemoans.
So would they recommend the experience to anyone else thinking of signing up for the show in the future?
“Absolutely!” Tash says. “It’s completely an out-of-body experience – but it’s so cool.”
“It really was,” adds Meryl. “I’d say do it, absolutely. No matter how old you are. Look at me!”
Travel Guides airs Monday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine
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