busnews.com.au July 2019 ABC^45Queensland-based Roundabout Tours owners Clive and
Kathy Sandison are a living proof that success has no age
limit in the Australasian bus and coach game.BE T TER LATE
THAN NEVER
W
hile many
start
thinking
about
retirement
at the age of 60, Clive Sandison
had thrown himself into the deep
end taking over a bus company.
Fast forward 11 years, Sandison,
72, has grown the business into a
popular coach and tour operation
from one bus to a fleet of four,
domestically and abroad.
Based in Gympie, Roundabout
Tours does day and extended
tours, including charter and
school runs. It also offers
international tours to people
over the age of 50.
Sandison had spent 20 years
driving for Polleys Coaches
before the business opportunity
came up.
“I was a tour driver and a fill-
in school bus driver for Polleys
Coaches in Gympie when theprevious owner was retiring,”
Sandison said.
“He said to me there was a
company on the other side of river
called Roundabout Tours that
seems to be not operating.
“So I went over and had a look
and they had a little six-cylinder
Toyota coaster for sale and I
bought it.”
With three part-time drivers,
the husband and wife duo do 10
long-distance tours each year,
ranging up to 17 days long.
They also service seven primary
and high schools, carrying some
250 students each month.
With 450 customers on their
mailing list, the business has
grown through word of mouth.
“It was either make it bigger
or forget about it altogether,”
Sandison recalled.
“The decision was to make it
bigger and I think we’ve certainly
done that.WORDS RUZA ZIVKUSIC-AFTASI IMAGES NATHAN DUFF