TRAVEL, FRIENDSHIP & OUR SECRET FEUD
THE TV HOSTS CELEBRATE 30 YEARS OF GETAWAY
For almost 30 years, travel show Getaway has enthralled viewers with its segments about exotic escapes, thrillseeking adventures and luxurious holidays.
In the process, it’s turned the show’s two longestrunning hosts Catriona Rowntree and David Reyne into household names – and made them the most envied people in the country!
So why do Catriona, 49 and David, 61, think Getaway is such an enduring hit?
“I suppose it’s a testament to the fact that Aussies just love to travel – whether it’s from their armchair or if they do it themselves,” says Catriona.
“It works on a couple of levels,” adds David. “It’s just fascinating viewing because you get these great travel images, but also get what
I call the ‘lifestyles of the rich and the famous’ effect, where people just sit there and watch us swanning around the world thinking, ‘You lucky, lucky bastards.’”
Both hosts are accustomed to being told they have the best job in Australia, with David recalling that he gets “stopped in the street all the time by people saying, ‘Get a real job!’”.
“I want to say that it’s damn hard work, but it’s not really – I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
But Catriona notes that the job probably isn’t as
“glamorous” as people might think it is.
“There’s nothing glamorous about the life of a travel reporter. I get dressed in the back of a car, I do all my own hair, makeup and my own wardrobe, so you’ve got to be multiskilled,” explains Catriona.
And while the show is all about going on holiday, David reveals the filming schedule is jam-packed from the moment they arrive at their featured destination.
“You hit the ground running wherever we go, because we want to get as much content as possible. You work very tirelessly while you’re there – but how hard can it be? You get to stand in front of some of the best sights in the world,” says David.
Catriona adds that there’s also an element of unpredictability that comes
with working on a travel show – and you quite often just have to roll with it!
“You lose things all the time,” says Catriona. “And I’ve had things happen like snakes coming into my room, or I’ve accidentally left a door to my room open and come back to find it’s filled with geckos!”
After all these years as co-hosts, David and Catriona have a huge amount of respect for one another’s work style – although they admit it can be months before they’re together in person as their assignments often send them in opposite directions around the globe.
“When we have done stories together, we have this uncanny ability to just slot into an easygoing conversation,” says David. “You can’t fake that.”
However, the pair explain there’s one source of ongoing rivalry between them – filming in the highly coveted destination of Japan.
“Davo always gets the best Japan trips – I’ve never been able to nab one,” says Catriona.
“That’s because they want to send her to the beach and dress her in a bikini – and they send me to a cold climate because of the exact opposite reason!” David says, laughing.