The Owners
Tarkine Trails is locally owned by three Tasmanians, Rob Fairlie, Darvis (Mark Davis) and Simon Townsend.
Rob Fairlie
Rob is a founding member of Tarkine Trails and is responsible for the promotion and product development of the business. Rob has degrees in both Business and Science and remote area first aid certification several times over. He takes pride in contributing to a healthy, sustainable tourism industry that assists the protection of Tasmania’s wild places. Rob has walked throughout Australia and has had over 200 nights of experience in exploring the Tasmanian wilderness. During the winter, Rob works with kids at risk. His current backyard cricket test average is 14ish, but when he hits it, it stays hit… ouch.
Darvis (Mark Davis)
Born in Tasmania, Darvis is a founding member of Tarkine Trails and is responsible for marketing the business. Having spent nearly 300 nights in the Tarkine and with a passion for the place that’s hard to contain, he’s definitely the man for the job. In the event of a terrorist attack on the Tarkine, Darvis is qualified as an infantry soldier, albeit a seemingly passive one. He is a qualified track worker with Tasmania’s Parks and Wildlife Service and has trained with the State Emergency Service. For fun, he works in corporate training as an instructor and he looovves to play guitar. His current backyard cricket test average is 20-ish, but he’s currently the king of the super 10.
Simon Townsend
Simon moved to Tasmania 11 years ago and fell in love with Tasmania’s wilderness. He is a founding member of Tarkine Trails as well as a qualified Chartered Accountant, with over 10 years experience as a small business consultant. He is passionate about the product Tarkine Trails provides and is responsible for all things financial. In his spare time, (of which there isn’t much), he enjoys scooting around on his push bike, playing his guitar, sailing the high seas and practicing the Japanese purifying art of Mahikari. His current backyard cricket test average is 30ish… yep its all about numbers with accountants!
Testimonial
The opportunity to explore the Tarkine rain forest was a magical experience for me. I felt extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to walk through such a beautiful and ancient place. The crew from Tarkine Trails were extremely professional, providing great pre-trip support with regard to making sure we had the right gear, in addition to supplying fantastic meals, information about the rainforest’s flora and fauna, and in general making the 6 days as pleasurable as they could. I have been recommending their tour company to all my friends, and in fact, my travel companion and I will be making a presentation of our trip to our bush walking club.
Sharon Cunningham,
Medical research scientist
