Willie was born in Kenya and grew up with his six siblings at Lake Baringo, a remote and beautiful part of the Rift Valley. His father David died tragically when Willie was 13. The family were faced with the prospect of leaving Kenya, but Willie was determined that this was not going to happen. After repeatedly running away from boarding school in protest, his mother Betty agreed to stay and he could help run the family business.

At 19 he built his first small lodge with a friend on one of the islands in Lake Baringo. Sue, who grew up on the Kenyan coast, came to work here and three years later they were married. Sue and Willie built their first home on another island, Samatian, which has now been converted into a beautiful lodge by their daughter Caroline and her husband Ross.

In 1981 Willie and Sue started an arable farm in the Northern Masai Mara. Soon realizing that the area was better suited forwildlife, Willie managed to reverse the farming trend and as a result 8,000 acres reverted to wildlife and thousands more acres were saved from the plough. He set up an association for Masai land owners, enabling them to collect wildlife based revenue on their land.

In 2000 Willie established the Mara Conservancy in an area known as the “Mara Triangle”, with outstanding results. Over half the area had been a “no go” area for visitors, with rampant poaching and hunting.  The area became safe for visitors and poaching stopped. The conservancy has since become a model for conservation.

Willie then built a beautiful lodge with his brother Andy on Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria, which became an instant success.  Willie & Sue now live in Northern Kenya where they have helped secure a large portion of land that is now within the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. It is here that they have built their newest lodge, Sirikoi.

Since he was 17 Willie has also arranged exclusive mobile safaris.  He organized his first safari to Lake Turkana in the remotest part of Northern Kenya, and with his guests has explored many wild and fascinating parts of Africa since then.

Over the past 30 years Willie has spent an enormous amount of time & energy helping to conserve wild animals, and helping communities who live with wildlife, benefit from its presence on their land.