Willis's Walkabouts Newsletter 41, April 2009

We are on sale! It's maddening. While some trips are fully booked, several people may miss out on trips they booked months ago because we don't have the bookings to run them. Read on and check out some of the best deals we've ever offered.

In This Issue...
Special Offers

  • The Bungle Bungles: 18-25 April
    This was section two of the Bungles Osmond trip. There are four people booked. We can take two more.
    • Special Offer 1. The next three people who book will receive a 20% discount. No other discounts apply with this offer.
    • Special Offer 2. Fly to Darwin and we'll give you free transport to and from Kununurra.
  • Kakadu Circle No. 1: 3-24 May 2009
    Special Offer. This is still a small group. The next three people who book will receive a 20% discount. No other discounts apply with this offer.
    This is one of my personal favourites. As explained in the last newsletter we may or may not be able to offer it again.
  • Kimberley Highlights No. 1: 24 May - 20 June
    This is the ultimate taste of the best bushwalking that the Kimberley has to offer: five sections, any of which can be done on its own.
    We've now guaranteed departure on sections 3 to 5 for only three people. We lose money with only three but secions one and two are heavily booked so we'd rather lose money than cancel parts of an excellent trip that people had booked long ago.
    Special offer. We have so many people doing only sections one and two, that we will give a 25% discount to the next two people who book sections 3-5; 20% off on the full trip or sections 2-5. No other discounts apply with this offer.
  • Pilbara: Karijini National Park: 14-27 June
    Special Offer. The next four people who book section two on its own will receive a 25% discount. No other discounts apply with this offer. Section one is now full.
    Want more info?Two of our clients have written reports about their experiences on this trip.
  • Twin to Jim Jim Circle: 28 Jun - 11 Jul We almost cancelled this but we got a booking in late March. We need three more to run it.
    Special offer. We'll leave the 15% advance purchase discount open until 28 April. If we don't have the bookings we need to run the trip by then, it will be cancelled.
  • Kakadu Family Bushwalk No. 2: 5-11 July
    The family (parents and two children ages 7 & almost 9) who booked this trip did so months ago. We'd like to run it, but need at least two more people to do so. This trip will be easier than any of our other Kakadu trips so, if you want an especially easy & relaxed trip and don't mind walking with children, it could perfect.
    Special offer. The next three people who book will receive a 20% discount. No other discounts apply with this offer.
  • Bungle Bungles: 12-25 July
    This is the only Bungles trip where we fly in both directions. Two people booked this months ago. We need at least two more to run it.
    Special offer. We'll leave the 20% advance purchase discount open until 28 April. If we don't have the bookings we need by then, we'll have to cancel it.
The Biggest Special of All

The first section of our Gibb Gorges trip has been fully booked by a group providing their own transport. The second section has places available, but only if we bring a vehicle out from Kununurra. The Charnley Explorer which follows the Gibb trip will have to drive in both directions unless we can get a vehicle in beforehand.

These offers expire at close of business on 28 April.

Click here to see the PDF trip notes for the Munja-Bachsten walk.
Overseas Trips
More on the February Bushfires

Following the February bushfires, someone sent me the article "We have still not lived long enough" by Tom Griffiths. It's well worth a read.

Those who have walked with me know that I often talk about northern cypress, Callitris intratropica, as a fire sensitive species which shows the health of the ecosystem. Until I read the paper "Kimberley Callitris". I hadn't realised just how much had been lost. It's a long paper, but well worth at least a quickj browse for those who are interested in how we have changed the Kimberley environment.
Threatened NSW Parks

There is currently a review of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife act. The NSW government is seeking to open-up development and commercial opportunities. This will effectively shift the focus of parks from conservation to tourism and is likely to have significant implications for the preservation of cultural heritage values in these places.

Information about the proposed changes is available at:

If any of have concerns about these changes, please write to the NSW premier.

2009 -- July and Beyond

In addition to the trips mentioned in the Special Offer section, the following all have bookings but none are yet guaranteed departures. We'll leave the 20% Advance purchase discount open until 28 April on all of them.
Our New Website

I've been trying to get an improved website up and running for years. It hasn't been easy, but thanks to Tracey Dixon, one of our clients, we've finally got the beginnings of one. You can see the First Draft at our new website.

Although Tracey would have preferred to wait until the site was further developed, I thought it worth while to get some feedback sooner, rather than later. I would welcome your comments about the style and content and, above all, how I can re-word things to make it more easily found by search engines.

In making your comments, please bear in mind that this is still very much a draft, not designed to be found by search engines. When it finally goes live, it will have a different address. We'll keep the old site available for some time as well.

Click here to visit the first draft of our new website.
Special discounts -- combine them and save even more.

Book now and save! As in the past, if you are one of the first three people who quote this newsletter when booking any Australian trip within two weeks of when we sent it out, you will get an extra 10% discount on any trip where your total discounts are 10% or less. You'll get an extra 5% off if your total discounts are 15% or more.

Note 1. There has to be a limit. The maximum total discount on any trip is 35%.
Note 2. This offer does not apply to trips where the special offer specifies no other discounts apply.
Note 3. It's amazing how few people take advantage of this offer. You have to ask to get it.

News About This Newsletter

Once again, I've put in a lot of time updating the email newsletter list. I do my best, but I make mistakes. If I've made a mistake with your listing, please accept my apologies, let me know and I'll fix it for next time.

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Best wishes to all.
Russell Willis