Historian, tour leader, writer and lecturer on India, the Himalayan region, Japan and Taiwan.
Born and bred in Sydney Judy reluctantly agreed to undertake an overland trip from Nepal to Europe when she was 20 years old. It was a journey which was to dictate the direction of her life, although at the time of setting out, the India section of the trip was something to be tolerated en route to the familiar cultures and histories of Europe and Britain.
However, on emerging from the plane at Kathmandu airport on a crisp and golden winter afternoon in 1976 everything changed. “I can still clearly recall that moment – the smell of wood smoke, the musty mountain air, the images of the early evening in that medieval city. My life changed completely from that moment onwards”.
After months on the road through Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey, she finally reached Europe and spent months exploring its wonders. However, Judy’s one focus had now become getting back to India and Nepal. At the end of her travels she returned to Sydney, changed her university major to South Asian history and completed her degree. She then began work as a tour guide in Nepal and India, a role which offered her regular periods between treks and tours to indulge her passion for the people, histories, places and rich cultures of the great sub-continent.
After a decade spent living and working in the region Judy returned to Australia with her new husband Tashi Tenzing, grandson of Everest’s first summiteer Tenzing Norgay. They established a small travel concern in Sydney specialising in India and the Himalaya, which Judy runs to this day.
Judy has lectured at the Centre for Continuing Education at the University of Sydney and continues to offer talks through Academy Travel – historical and cultural courses on various aspects of India, Japan, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar, with a specific emphasis on textiles and history. She has also run highly successful academic tours for major companies in Australia and abroad, including Academy Travel and Renaissance Tours (for the Art Gallery of NSW)
In 2001 she published a best-selling book on the contribution of the Sherpas to the conquest of Mount Everest. The book – Tenzing and the Sherpas of Everest – has been translated into 7 languages and was published worldwide. She is currently working on two new works, which follow stories from the great subcontinent.
She has run corporate training courses for personnel of Australian industries moving into India and has offered cultural orientation programs for personnel of AUSAID for Australian government, as they are about to embark on assignment to the sub-continent.
To be able to weave one’s passion into one’s work and life is a blessing, and Judy works hard at sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for travel and learning with those who join her tours or attend her courses.
