Botanist & Nature Guide
Les Anwyl
“This forest has been feeding and healing people for thousands of years. Most visitors walk straight past the evidence.”
Les Anwyl
About Les Anwyl
Les has lived in Kuranda for decades, close to the forest and everything in it. His background spans botany and science education, and he brings both to every walk — whether that's reading a strangler fig, identifying a medicinal plant, or explaining why this particular patch of rainforest survived when others didn't.
He has a particular passion for bush foods and traditional plant knowledge, shaped by years of learning from Indigenous elders in remote parts of northern Australia. That knowledge doesn't come from a textbook.
Recognised with the Peter Doherty Award for Outstanding STEM Support at Kuranda District State College, Les brings the same rigour and enthusiasm to every nature walk he leads — combining deep ecological knowledge with the kind of local history and storytelling that only comes from really living somewhere.
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Botany & Science
Education background, Kuranda District State College
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Long-time Local
Decades living close to the Kuranda rainforest
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Bush Foods
Mentored by Indigenous elders in remote north Australia
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Award Winner
Peter Doherty Outstanding STEM Support Officer
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Storyteller
Local history, ecology, and Wet Tropics lore
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Private Groups
Select escorted walks for approved guests
Experiences with Les
Private botanical walks and nature experiences in the Wet Tropics.
Botanical Rainforest Walk
A walk through the Wet Tropics with someone who has spent decades reading it. Bush foods, medicinal plants, strangler figs, and the stories behind them.
Enquire about this experience →Barron Falls Experience
The falls, the gorge, and the ecology that makes this place extraordinary. Les brings local history and natural science together in a way no brochure can.
Enquire about this experience →Walk with Les
Private botanical walks and nature experiences in the Wet Tropics. Available for select private tours with Kuranda Tours.