David joins the Navigate Expeditions team after a lifetime in the outdoors!
He made his own canoe as a boy and says that from then on the Australian bush and rivers became his office.
A long career as a District Fisheries Officer took him all over New South Wales and ultimately to the South Coast in the early 1980s, where he proudly and loudly proclaimed that he had arrived! David has never left …. well, except for sea kayaking expeditions!
He gained his Senior Sea Kayaking Instructor rating and has taught, paddled and lectured all over Australia and New Zealand. He designed and manufactured his own sea kayak, which is now paddled all over the world.
David guided school students on coastal sea kayaking expeditions for many years. He likes to be up close but not too personal with wildlife! On a Great Barrier Reef paddling expedition, his companion was attacked by a large saltwater crocodile. David wrestled the crocodile to save his friend’s life, an action which earned him a Bravery Medal.
“I’m a people person,” says David! “I just love talking to people and showing them our stunning South Coast rivers and bush.”
THAT, he says, is the essential South Coast! David says you’ve got to breathe our coast in! If he’s not paddling or bushwalking, you’ll most likely find him on one of our deserted beaches or a river bank with a steaming hot mug of tea in his hands!