Paul "Borstal" Ellis

There's not much about me I can tell you, as you've probably read my profile at Barney's Den. However, the nickname 'Borstal' was given to me by Craig & Gary during a 1986 walk in the Blue Mountains near Sydney (See photo "Borstal Boy Goes Bush" on main page) With the crewcut, stomach, knife and boots, they reckoned I looked like an escapee from a Borstal - which was a prison in England for juvenile delinquents - the nickname stuck for many years. The photo above was taken during a one-day walk at Abrahams Bosom near Jervis Bay NSW - and features Gossangs Tunnel, a long thin cave that runs through the main cliffline.

Gary "Squeak" Williams

Gary Williams is co-founder of the Wombats. Together he and I formed the club in 1979 as a base to follow our shared interests. Eventually this was reduced to just bushwalking. Gary got his nickname due to a throat complaint that gave his vocal chords a permanent high pitched quality and the poor devil has been the butt of all our jokes over the years, but to his credit, he takes it all very well and gives plenty back. The photo above was taken during the 1999 Budawangs trek and shows Gary ascending the conglomerate slope from the Canowie Plains onto Corang Plateau.

Craig "Pete Bogg" Rayner

Craig Rayner is our bushwalking "Guru". He does not spend so much time in the outdoor these days due to work and music commitments, but many years ago he was responsible for getting the Wombats away from the car camping scene and into serious wilderness bushwalking. If there is an easy and a hard way to do something during a bushwalk, Craig would always take the latter option, with his usual cry of "Makes it more fun". Craig got his nickname after a cartoon we placed in our newsletter that featured him in a not too complimentary situation. Pete Bogg comes from the term "Peat Bog". This picture was taken of Craig during a walk in Boderee National Park on the shores of Jervis Bay NSW.

Dave "Turtle" Aldridge

Dave Aldridge has been one of my longest-serving friends. We met while working in the same office in 1975. Dave used to be a cub leader "Akela" and it was only natural he would take to bushwalking. He does prefer the one-day walks, though has joined us on several of the big treks, including the 1999 Budawangs trip. The nickname "Turtle" was given to him by his cub group and I believe it has something to do with his long neck and lack of hair. The photo above was taken during a one-day walk along the shoreline of Jervis Bay

Vicki "Vickster" Meaker

Vicki is my daughter. She has followed my love of bushwalking with some enthusiasm, and has now done quite a number of full-pack overnight walks after many years serving her apprenticeship of one day walks. She looks forward to going on many more, including wilderness trips, especially in the Budawangs and Royal National Park.  The nickname "Vickster" was given to her by a schoolfriend. The photo above was taken on the trip to Tianjara Camp in mid 2004.

Darryn "Dazzler" Fuller

Darryn Fuller is one of our newer members. A friend of mine who like me, plays a lot of tennis. He actually got his nickname for his "Dazzling" play on the tennis courts and as it was close in text to his real name, Dazzler was a natural nickname for him. Darryn is another who prefers the one-day walks to the more adventurous full-pack wilderness trips, but we are always trying to convince him to join us on these longer treks, maybe he will in the near future. The photo was taken during his first ever bushwalk at Mount Bushwalker in the Budawangs.

Kynie "George" Evison

Kynie is a fellow member of the Shoalhaven Bushwalkers, a previous 'President' of the club and one of my regular hiking companions. Apparently the nickname 'George' was given to her by her husband Chris due to it being Kynie's maiden name. The photograph was taken during the Wilsons Promontory 4 day hike

Peter Farrell & Jock Findlayson - "The Two Amigos"

Peter & Jock are also fellow members of the Shoalhaven Bushwalkers. Peter often joins me for multi-day fullpack hikes, but Jock tends to prefer the one day walks these days. This old Scottish ex-miner has become a bit of a wimp when it comes to carrying a fully loaded rucksack. The club gave these two the nickname of 'Two Amigos' as they often join forces to lead club activities, most of which are extremely unforgettable events. The photograph above was taken during a day hike to McKenzie Station near Yalwal and Jock is showing Peter how to negotiate a route by following well placed coloured tapes

Gary "Gazza" Dowling

Gazza rarely joins us for walks these days. He still resides in Sydney and rarely gets the chance to visit The Borstal, let alone go on any bushwalks. However, many years ago the Wombats could not get on a walk without having the intrepid Gazza tagging along. Maybe he will return to bushwalking one day. The photo was taken several years ago during a walk at St Georges Basin

Pam Harcombe

Pam is another Shoalhaven Bushwalker who has joined me on the occasional multi-day fullpack walk and many one day hikes, and it's these latter walks that Pam really prefers and excels at the harder off-track and exploratory events. She has proved to be a capable leader of many club walks. The photograph above was taken near the top of a rock tor below the Little Forest Plateau cliff line in  October 2008

Brett & Karen "Beserk Twat & Deviant Star" Davis

I have tried to get Brett & Karen interested in joining the Wombats for a couple of years now and became successful in mid 2002. Both are busy committee members of the Shoalhaven Bushwalkers and spend most of their spare recreation time bushwalking or indulging in other outdoor activities, even going as far as interstate and overseas. They also spent 3 years cycle touring around Australia during the mid 1990's. Brett has taken Craig's job of becoming my bushwalking 'guru' and has managed to talk me into areas my bad head for heights would normally never have allowed. Apart from being excellent bushwalkers, this pair are accomplished navigators and have an almost inexhaustible knowledge of Australian birdlife and the Southern night sky. The nicknames came from an anagram of Brett's name and Karen's maiden name. The photograph above is taken on the summit of Cradle Mountain in Tasmania during the mid 1990's.

Sandra Kelley

Another ex-President of the Shoalhaven Bushwalkers. Sandra and I have been walking together for many years within the club and over recent years Sandra has joined me for many multi-day fullpack walks including the Royal Coast Walk, Wilsons Promontory and the Budawangs. Kynie & Sandra can often be found doing the same walk on the Shoalhaven Bushwalkers program. The photograph above was taken on the summit of Mount Oberon in Wilsons Promontory National Park.

Max "Whatnot" Wharton

Max Wharton is a new member and another fellow tennis player who has taken a keen interest in bushwalking. Max is pictured here at the start of the Griffins Trail near Kangaroo Valley which was Max's first overnight walk as a Wombat Member. The nickname 'Whatnot' came about after my word processor's 'Spell Checker' queried Max's surname and gave Whatnot as a possible correction (Certainly better than the 'Cat Burglar' isn't it Max?)

Cyril "The Squirrel" Crutch

Cyril is yet another member of the Shoalhaven Bushwalkers I enjoy walking with, mostly one day walks in the local area and his favourite track appears to be the Abrahams Bosom Track near Currarong. I don't know who gave him the nickname 'Squirrel' (Maybe Jock) but I think he wishes to remain Anonymous. The photograph above was taken on a recent walk at Abrahams Bosom.

Colin McCormack

Colin is one of those rarities in my bushwalking circle of friends in such that we first got in contact through this very website. As such I haven't had much chance to walk with Colin, but hopefully that will change in the near future. Colin lives in northern Sydney and does most of his hiking along the Great North Walk and Newnes areas.

Tony "ARSe" Simmonds

Another fellow member of the Shoalhaven Bushwalkers. Tony leads many of the 'on-track' walks for the club but has joined me for the occasional private walk outside the club. The nickname 'ARSe' comes from the initials of his full name - Anthony Robert Simmonds. The photograph above was taken during a walk in Currambene State Forest where we discovered a marked trail with these SCUM signs. We later found out that S.C.U.M. stands for South Coast United Mountainbikers, not due to the fact that Tony is a scumbag.

Christine Huddle

Another fellow Shoalhaven Bushwalker and Milton NPA member, Chris has been joining me for not only club walks, but a large number of private walks since late 2008. A very keen walker, like all expatriate New Zealanders, Chris does a large number of overseas hikes. The photograph above was taken during a coastal walk from Kiama to Gerringong on the NSW South Coast.

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