Our Guides
RUSSELL WILLIS
Russell Willis came to Darwin in early 1974 and immediately fell in love with the Top End bush. Within a few months, he was helping found the Darwin Bushwalking Club. As first club president, he helped pioneer many of the routes local bushwalkers use today.
Wishing to share his experience with a wider group of people, Russell started Willis's Walkabouts as a one man, one vehicle operation in Kakadu and the Kimberley in 1986. A year later, there were two guides and two vehicles. The business continued to grow and new areas were added. There is so much to share about Russell, his wealth of experience and knowledge we have a page with further information including some articles written about him...
CASSIE NEWNES
Cassie has been walking, sleeping in and exploring untracked, remote landscapes since 1993. She has been working in incredibly remote sections of the Kimberley and Kakadu Escarpment since 2004, when she first started guiding trips for Willis's Walkabouts. She continues to guide as well as co-managing the office and logistics with Russell Willis.
Cassie enjoys supporting people to explore remote, untracked and magnificent landscapes while living simply and carrying everything they need for days to weeks at a time. She actively supports the group as a cohesive community while also looking for ways to offer people space and freedom to unwind from the demands of the modern world and engage with the natural environment in their own way.
She has been privileged to work in a number of cross-cultural environments learning from traditional custodians about their experiences, perspective and culture. She holds deep respect for elders and traditional care of the land both from the past, the present and emerging.
Cassie has attained a Bachelor in Natural Resource Management and Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Cert Four in Outdoor Recreation, Wilderness First Aid and Search and Rescue qualifications. This, combined with extensive time spent in untracked and ancient landscapes, 18 years experience guiding a diverse range of people, supports her in offering people a safe, yet adventurous and unforgettable experience that has people coming back again and again.
Her passion for ancient landscapes and depth of knowledge makes for a truly immersive experience.
JOHN & MARDI BARNES
John and Mardi both grew up loving the outdoors, keenly exploring interesting landscapes. They regularly lead off-track wilderness walks with their outdoor club, sharing the enjoyment of the amazing locations, beautiful flora and fascinating fauna with others. They’re actively involved in NSW Rogaining enjoying the exploratory nature of course setting along with the challenges of navigating through the 24hr events. Their Wilderness First Aid certificates are kept up to date with their active involvement with Bush Search and Rescue in NSW.
Mardi spent several months cycling and camping across the diverse landscape of Canada while John prefers the one-wheel variety winning prizes at the NSW Royal Easter Show on his unicycle. John and Mardi both loved meandering around the coastal island treasures while kayaking across Bass Strait. Their most memorable Kimberly trip was to cycle into the Bungle Bungles in the tremendous wet season of 2011. The group didn’t get too far into Purnululu National Park on pushbikes. Making the most of being in the Kimberley at this extraordinary time they relocated to exploring the Osmond Range enjoying the overflowing river systems, stunning gorges and impressive waterfalls. With Highway No. 1 still closed to cars, they spent the night cycling under a blanket of stars with a brilliant moon to be ready for their morning flight back home.
When they are not enjoying the outdoors, John’s a Physicist and Mardi's a Healthcare worker.
Mardi spent several months cycling and camping across the diverse landscape of Canada while John prefers the one-wheel variety winning prizes at the NSW Royal Easter Show on his unicycle. John and Mardi both loved meandering around the coastal island treasures while kayaking across Bass Strait. Their most memorable Kimberly trip was to cycle into the Bungle Bungles in the tremendous wet season of 2011. The group didn’t get too far into Purnululu National Park on pushbikes. Making the most of being in the Kimberley at this extraordinary time they relocated to exploring the Osmond Range enjoying the overflowing river systems, stunning gorges and impressive waterfalls. With Highway No. 1 still closed to cars, they spent the night cycling under a blanket of stars with a brilliant moon to be ready for their morning flight back home.
When they are not enjoying the outdoors, John’s a Physicist and Mardi's a Healthcare worker.
CASSIDY GERKEN
Cassidy was born in Darwin and has grown up camping, bushwalking, and swimming all over the Northern Territory. After studying a Bachelor of Music ‘down south’, Cassidy returned to Darwin in 2021, and has since led walks in Kakadu, the Kimberley, the Pilbara, and Central Australia. He loves the flora, fauna, and landscapes of Northern Australia, and has a particular interest in reptiles and birds-of-prey.
Cassidy has a deep respect for Aboriginal knowledge and history of the areas we visit, and enjoys helping clients learn about the unique communities and culture of Northern Australia, and learning more himself.
Cassidy is highly attentive to safety in the bush, without compromising on the spirit of exploration and adventure which are characteristic of our walks. He is always willing to lend a hand in demanding situations, but is equally happy stepping back and letting clients push through challenging circumstances unassisted. It is extremely satisfying to watch and help people expand their skillset in Northern Australian environments. A competent first-aider with remote qualifications, Cassidy expands his skills and qualifications at every opportunity.
Providing good food is equally as important to Cassidy as any other aspect of a successful trip. He has worked, amongst other things, as a station cook in the Kimberley, and happily fills the role of Chef De Cuisine in the evenings.
Cassidy has a deep respect for Aboriginal knowledge and history of the areas we visit, and enjoys helping clients learn about the unique communities and culture of Northern Australia, and learning more himself.
Cassidy is highly attentive to safety in the bush, without compromising on the spirit of exploration and adventure which are characteristic of our walks. He is always willing to lend a hand in demanding situations, but is equally happy stepping back and letting clients push through challenging circumstances unassisted. It is extremely satisfying to watch and help people expand their skillset in Northern Australian environments. A competent first-aider with remote qualifications, Cassidy expands his skills and qualifications at every opportunity.
Providing good food is equally as important to Cassidy as any other aspect of a successful trip. He has worked, amongst other things, as a station cook in the Kimberley, and happily fills the role of Chef De Cuisine in the evenings.
DON BUTCHER
Don has a passion for northern Australia having lived and worked in the Top End over a 22 year period, with a strong connection for Kakadu working in several capacities, as a Seasonal Ranger, Willis Walk guide, recently running a special cultural tour for Animal Tracks Safaris In 2018 and 2019 dry seasons and running vehicle based camping and walking tours in the late 1990s.
He is a qualified science teacher with a Grad Dip in Outdoor & Environmental Education. He’s worked for
La Trobe University since 2007 leading Outdoor & Environmental Education students on numerous extended walks and canoe trips across NSW, SA and Victoria. He has also led numerous bush walks for Willis’s in Kakadu, the Kimberley, the Pilbara and Central Australia with a particular passion for Kakadu and the Pilbara.
Since 1991 Don has been involved with interpretation of the natural world in various professional capacities, including NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, Parks Tasmania, and Kakadu NP, La Trobe University and private tour companies. He’s passionate about connecting people to the natural world facilitating it’s observation and through the use of storytelling. Australian landscapes are well endowed with stories, along with his own own observation he uses stories from numerous sources, at times firmly grounded in academic research while many flow from the cultural landscapes of indigenous and settler Australia.
SEBASTIAN HERITIER
Sébastien was born an adventurer. He has crossed Australia 5 times on a pushbike over several years. He has traversed Tasmania solo on foot from North to South, rafting the Franklin River and walking along the South-West coast of Tasmania from Cape Sorell (Strahan) to Melaleuca. In the Kimberley his first expedition was crossing, on foot, from the King Leopold Ranges to the Lower Falls of the Mitchell River National Park.
His longest solo journey in total autonomy is 29 days, during this time he joined Mitchell's Lower Falls from King Cascade on the mouth of the Prince Regent River. He also explored the Charnley River caves and shelters on a long expedition that also took him to the Isdell and Calder rivers.
For Willis’s Walkabout, he has led numerous tours in the Kimberley, as well as Kakadu, Litchfield, Karijini National Parks, New Caledonia and recently Patagonia.
Sébastien is confident and comfortable in the wilderness, well organized and attentive to the environment. He is particularly attentive to the safety of his bushwalkers and regularly maintains his Remote First Aid qualifications. His French origins are experienced in his passionate cooking.
ROD COSTIGAN
Rod has been leading expeditions for Willis Walkabouts since 2012 in northern NT, the Centre, Kimberley, Pilbara, and Japan. He has also walked and skied extensively elsewhere in Australia, and in the Americas, Europe, Japan, New Zealand and Papua.
Fondest memories: Traversing the glaciated Peak Mandala in West Papua, one of the few outsiders to do so and probably the last before its glacier disappeared. Skiing the Rockies from Aspen to Vale. Kakadu walks with his wife and son. Autumn walks in the Japanese Alps. The Dolomites.
Less fond memories: Getting out again from Peak Mandala. Being ambushed on a walk in the Andes. Nights spent bracing tents against Tasmanian storms. In the foolishness of youth, liloing the Denison River in rain, hail and snow.
Related interests include rogaining and search and rescue. Rod was a prominent competitor and administrator during the early days of rogaining and at the time was an internationally recognised authority on the preparation of championship events. With Bush Search and Rescue Victoria, Rod has 40 years experience finding lost walkers and campers, and is a field organiser.
Rod has been made an honorary life member of the Melbourne University Mountaineering Club.
He has studied botany and genetics and holds a master’s degree in finance.
ANDY PEART
Andy loves the Top End bush and lives in Darwin and Jabiru, working part-time as a field officer for an Aboriginal language centre covering northern Kakadu National Park and West Arnhemland. He also is involved in environmental work and activism and sometimes leads walks for the Darwin Bushwalking Club. Previously he has worked as a bush teacher, trainer and land management facilitator, mainly in the Top End and Kimberley. Andy has been guiding on and off for Willis's Walkabouts since 2000.
PAUL BLATTMAN
First experiencing Willis’s Walkabouts in 2007 as a client on a Kimberley Highlights trip and again in 2010 on a trip to Mitchell Plateau, Paul enjoyed both trips so much he decided to become a Willis’s guide.
An active walk leader for the South Coast Bushwalking Club in NSW and a past president, Paul has led many day and overnight bushwalks in the Blue Mountains, Deua, Ettrema, Kosciuszko, Shoalhaven and Budawangs areas, the Illawarra Escarpment, Royal National Park, Litchfield and Nitmiluk and done several overnight walks in Tasmania and New Zealand.
Paul began guiding trips for Willis’s in 2010 and has since led many trips into Kakadu and various parts of the Kimberley, as well as trips in the Pilbara and the Red Centre.
Paul is passionate about sharing his experience of the landscapes, flora, fauna and other aspects of the natural world.
MEREL DALEBOUT
After undergraduate studies majoring in Botany, Merel completed her PhD in Ecology and Evolution in 2002, specializing in rare “beaked whales” (family Ziphiidae). She subsequently spent several years studying these enigmatic animals off the coast of eastern Canada before returning to Sydney, Australia in 2005 to continue her work on Southern Ocean cetaceans. After some years in the ivory towers of academia, she realised that her true passion lay in reconnecting people with nature. She subsequently moved to the Blue Mountains region west of Sydney and re-trained as a wilderness guide. There she became involved in rock climbing and canyoning, but ultimately focused on environmental education and trekking. She still continues to do scientific research as time allows and recently discovered a new beaked whale in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean (Dalebout et al. 2014).
Since 2013, Merel has worked as a lecturer, zodiac driver, and guide on small expedition ships around the world, from the polar regions to the tropics. When based in Australia, she works primarily as a bushwalking guide, leading group trips and developing new self-guided walking adventures. She has also led international trekking trips in Madagascar and Ethiopia. Merel combines her enthusiasm and passion for the world’s wild places with a burning curiosity to know all she can about them.
ANNETTE MILLER
Annette has been hiking and rock climbing for over 30 years in all states of Australia, as well as New Zealand, Europe and the USA. She has Remote First Aid qualifications and has trekked in Nepal (Mera Peak 6400m), the Indian Himalaya to 5500m, and Tanzania (Mt Kilimanjaro 5895m), and has completed mountaineering ascents of Mt Aspiring in New Zealand and Mt Blanc in France, at 4810m the highest mountain in Western Europe.
Getting out on multi day walks, carrying all supplies, is her passion and she enjoys introducing others to this wonderful experience and the sights, sounds and colours encountered. A guide for Willis‘s Walkabouts since 2015, she has led trips to numerous places in Kakadu, the Pilbara and the Kimberley, including the Bungle Bungles, Mitchell Plateau and Prince Regent National Park. She was also privileged to be an assistant guide on a trip to Patagonia in 2016.
Connecting with the ancient landscapes of the Top End is a wonderful experience. Annette wishes to acknowledge the Traditional Owners past, present and emerging of the lands on which she walks.
2019 All rights Reserved