The LifeTrail Story

Listening to Intuition

The times in my life when I have experienced the most joy have been when I trusted my intuition and followed the path that felt right. Life flows more naturally when I make choices that align with who I am, rather than who I think I should be.

This way of living — listening inward and taking one step at a time — sits at the heart of LifeTrail.

The Bibbulmun Track – My Perspective

The Walk That Changed Everything

The concept for what would eventually become LifeTrail began around two-thirds of the way through my two-month, 1000-km end-to-end hike of the Bibbulmun Track in 2016.

Western Australia is incredibly fortunate to have this world-class long-distance hiking trail from Kalamunda to Albany. For locals, it truly is like our backyard. We affectionately call it the Bibb. For me, it became a teacher.

The Bibbulmun Track is cared for by the Department of Parks and Wildlife and the extraordinary volunteers of the Bibbulmun Track Foundation. Their dedication keeps the trail among the best-maintained long-distance walks in the world. LifeTrail has always donated 3 % of teen hike bookings to the Foundation — a small way of giving back to something that gave me so much.

Without that two-month walk — and the guidance of the Waugal — LifeTrail simply would not exist.

Before LifeTrail

Before this life-changing experience, I never would have imagined starting a business. I didn’t feel confident enough, capable enough, or even worthy of it. Business ownership wasn’t something I aspired to — it wasn’t on my radar at all.

After returning to Perth and allowing time for recovery, I visited Business Foundations in Fremantle and enrolled in the NEIS small-business course. That decision felt tentative at first, but something inside me said to keep going.

The First Encouragement

I met my first Business Advisor, Carmelina, and explained my idea: combining my 12 years of mentoring experience with hiking, to support people living with disability and mental health challenges.

To me, it felt ambitious and uncertain. To her, it was obvious.

She simply said, “You must do it.”

I went on to complete the three-week induction with Dianna, who I now consider a close friend. That early encouragement mattered more than I realised at the time. For the next twelve months I was coached by Brian, who was very experienced, driven and positive.

Ground Work & Reality

While building the business, I worked seasonal jobs at Adventure World, followed by five years of Nightfill at Woolworths.

It wasn’t glamorous work, but it was steady, grounding, and deeply supportive — especially during the uncertainty of COVID-19. Those years taught me patience, humility, and resilience. LifeTrail grew slowly, alongside real life.

Didier Walks Is Born

Didier Walks officially began in June 2017 after I was accepted into the NEIS program. My daughter Kaitlyn, who was 14 at the time, designed the original Didier Walks logo — a detail I still treasure.

I became a registered commercial hiking operator through the Department of Parks and Wildlife and Tourism WA, laying the foundations to guide others safely and responsibly on Country.

Teen Hikes & Duke of Edinburgh

The idea to guide teens on Duke of Edinburgh International Award hikes came toward the end of my Bibbulmun walk, after a conversation with another hiker. I hadn’t heard of the Award before, but when I learned about the Adventurous Journey component, it made perfect sense.

In early 2018, a friend named Louise and I guided our first group of teens on a five-day stretch of the Bibbulmun Track from Brookton Highway to North Bannister. It was challenging, meaningful, and incredibly successful.

  Duke Of Edinburgh International Award

NDIS — A Complicated Path

In 2018, I explored becoming a registered NDIS provider to formally support people with disability and mental health challenges through hiking and mentoring.

Although I was accepted, I later withdrew my application. The high cost of annual independent auditing — combined with hiking being classified as “high risk” — made it financially unsustainable. My existing hiking licence, experience, and risk systems were not recognised in the process.

It was frustrating, but it also clarified something important: the system doesn’t always understand lived experience.

Growth, Support & Community

By 2019, I was exploring the idea of employing an assistant guide for teen hikes. That search led to an unexpected connection with Julie from Colorado at a local gig of all places, who became an excellent co-guide until mid-2022. Later, my sister Miriam joined in supporting hikes, when Julie returned home.

These collaborations reminded me that LifeTrail was never meant to be a solo journey.

COVID & Staying the Course

COVID-19 hit teen hikes hard. Social distancing rules, school restrictions, and park closures made multi-day hikes especially difficult.

One piece of advice from an education-sector COVID expert suggested carrying witches’ hats to separate teens at campsites — an idea so impractical it gave me a much-needed laugh during a stressful time.

Despite the setbacks, I stayed committed to the work.

Naturbility & Trusting the Need

Even as teen and NDIS hikes slowed, I continued supporting people living with anxiety and depression to step gently beyond their comfort zones and into nature.

I created Naturbility, a program designed specifically for this community, and shared it through NDIS Facebook groups where I was already an active member. Slowly, people began reaching out.

Returning to Mentoring

In February 2022, a Support Coordinator contacted me about mentoring someone toward employment and life goals.

I hadn’t planned on returning to mentoring — but after some reflection, I said yes.

Within a month, I was mentoring three people. I quickly realised how much I loved this work, and before long, most of my mentoring referrals came through word of mouth alone.

From Life Paths to LifeTrail

The same Support Coordinator pointed out that people were becoming confused between mentoring and hiking under Didier Walks.

I created Life Paths, to handle the Mentoring side of my business with a simple one-page website, but later discovered another organisation using the same name. The entire business then became LifeTrail — a name that finally felt complete and true to the journey of all my services.

Denmark: Coming Home

During my hike, I fell in love with Denmark — a small, creative south-coast town that the Bibbulmun Track passes through.

In late 2024, my partner Wendy and I began imagining a life there. After multiple research trips, conversations with locals, and property visits, we found our place: five acres with fruit trees, a vegetable garden, and towering karri trees.

And so, Hello Denmark.

As I write this in December 2025, LifeTrail continues on its NDIS and Duke of Edinburgh journey. With strong local and industry encouragement, I am now also offering wellness hiking through Tourism WA, guided by a deep personal belief in Hikefulness and the quiet power of walking with intention.

  Meet Didier

  Visit LifeTrail Private Day Hikes