Meet Your Guides
Tony Sharley
Managing Director/Guide
Tony grew up on the Murray River at Renmark. He is the creator of Murray River Trails, inspired by the magic of the Murray River and a career living and working on wetlands in Australia’s Murray Darling Basin and around the world.
Heather McNaughton
Guide
Heather's passion for travel, adventure and the outdoors is hard to hide. Her enthusiasm is shared through her interpretation of the environment and her past experiences living on Calperum Station (a property you walk through) making her very familiar with the landscape and its flora and fauna.
Cathy Schier
Guide
A childhood spent on, in and along the river and has enabled Cathy to develop a deep admiration for The Murray River and its environment and she is inspired by Aboriginal culture and learning on country.
Cathy joined the guiding team after thirty years as an education at TAFE and a librarian in special libraries like the Royal Zoological Society of SA.
Green Living Tip: Leave no trace, absolutely no trace. Leave only conversation with soft notes of music and laughter.
Andrew Walladge
Guide
Andrew's career specialising in Australian plants has taken him to many wild places including most of the floodplains across the Riverland.
The Murray River inspires Andrew daily with its constantly changing vegetation and wildlife. Canoeing, camping, walking, fishing, or any other river-based activity leaves him feeling refreshed.
Green Living Tip: Live simply and compost food scraps and garden waste.
Kym Manning
Guide
Born and bred Riverlander, Kym is an outdoorsy fella with a passion for water, wildlife and environment. A carpenter by trade, Kym is well known locally as the driver of the SA Carp Frenzy – an annual community fundraiser and carp removal initiative at Lake Bonney. Kym has also been instrumental in installing fish habitats for native fish at Lake Bonney and surrounding reaches of the Murray River.
Kym has also been involved in the release of 400,000 Murray Cod fingerlings locally, clearly a champion of native fish species in the Murray River.
Jo Chibnall
Guide
Mick mock
Guide
Growing up on the family farm in Red Hill in Victoria helped Mick to develop a deep appreciation for the outdoors and cultivate a harmonious relationship with nature. After participating in 9 week leadership development program, Mick pursued further education in outdoor recreation and leadership at University. Since graduating, Mick has relocated to the Riverland for his first season as a guide and is loving sharing his learnings with guests.
Sally Downard
Guide
Fiona Bennett
Guide
Sophie Hoffmann
Guide
Growing up in Renmark, Sophie has fond memories of being in the bush and river as a child, particularly on horseback. She enjoys learning about the environment and how it works and has a science background focused particularly on plant and soil biology. After spending the last fours years at university, Sophie has returned home to escape the hustle. She has a strong connection to water, and loves a swim in the Murray on a sunny day!
Green living tip: Growing your own vegetables and herbs! It is a good way to spend more time outdoors and fresh ingredients are always at your doorstep!
Di Cresp
Guide
A background in nursing, Di has deep roots in the Riverland, marrying a local man and raising three children on the Murray River. Di hung up the scrubs in January 2022 to try her hand at hosting guests on the Murray River. A place where she likes to do a bit of fishing, loves the peace and tranquility of the meandering Murray.
Green Living Tip: install solar panels, rainwater for our home, and recycle as much as possible.
Carola Nilsson
Guide
Cathy Ross
Guide
Josh Roberts
Guide
Originally from Adelaide, Josh is relatively new to the Riverland but has developed a love of the serenity and peace that the river has to offer. Trained in music performance, Josh's creative side never left and this shows in his ability to guide and cook. His love for the river lies in early morning fog and fires roaring late into the night, maybe a dip or two.
Green living tip: chuck your coffee grounds into your garden soil when you're finished sipping your cup, you'll be amazed at what it can do for your plants!
Kaila Willis
Guide
Hailing from British Columbia, Canada, Kaila has swapped Pacific Salmon for Murray Cod and has fallen for the Murray River completely. Kaila loves the opportunities for adventure Australia offers and loves sharing them with our guests.
Sam Sharley
Sales and Marketing Manager/Guide
Sam's life has always involved the Murray River, hiking, camping, fishing and telling stories. A talented wordsmith and musician, he's recently returned from many years in Vancouver, ready to share the passion for his childhood backyard.
Lauren Ward
Operations Manager
Lauren knows every inch of Murray River Trails and has been a part of the team from day 1. Her role has grown from communications and guiding to managing the overall operation of tours, digital marketing and welcoming you, our guests to this incredible part of Australia.
The crew were so incredibly skilled and knowledgeable and everything so streamlined. They work so tirelessly so that we could have an incredible holiday as well as learning experience. Really appreciated all their efforts.
Join Our Guiding team
Guiding for Murray River Trails is a unique opportunity to work in an amazing part of South Australia and to meet interesting people from around Australia and overseas.
Murray River Trails guides are at the heart of the magical experience we offer.
Guiding is a challenging job and equally rewarding, requiring high levels of responsibility, great communication skills and passion for nature.
You must enjoy talking to people and be able to work in an open, cooperative team with your fellow guides to achieve high levels of guest satisfaction.
For more information about becoming a guide for Murray River Trails, please send your expression of interest and CV to info@murrayrivertrails.com.au
Please outline your experience and/or capability in the outdoor recreation industry and why you would like to join the Murray River Trails team.
