EDGEWALKERS — our beginnings and mission

It was during a long coastal hike, along the famous Cape to Cape track, immersed in scented Boronias and Honey Myrtle, surrounded by swishing Peppie trees (Agonis flexuosa) and low lying prickly Acacias (names I did not know then) that I came to realise two things.

First, I realised that despite loving being out in nature, I knew very little about the natural world that surrounded me. When I looked at trees I saw, well, trees; when I looked at flowers, I saw colours, red ones, purple ones, yellow ones.

I wondered if other people also felt the same. Whether they were also yearning for a more profound connection and understanding of the natural world, yearning to move like Edgewalkers, effectively across the edge between the structured and the untamed, between the sophisticated and the primal.

Second, I realised that walking, but especially in nature, was, and is, an integral part of my creative process…that I have been doing it for a long time.

I realised that I hiked the mountains around Almaty, Kazakhstan trying to find a way to finish the first draft of my first novel in 1999 and that I regularly traversed King’s Park, Perth while solving production issues with my first play Trollop(e) in 2002. I understood that I had walked my way out of every single challenge in all the theatre-based projects I created with Act Out www.actout.com.au from 2007 – 2014 and that I am still bushwalking now as a way to solve problems, to let my mind expand and my imagination wonder and wander.

I understood, that day on the Cape to Cape with the Southern Native Roses dangling red above the limestone outcrops of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, with Western Spinebills fluttering among the Melaleuca and the Cockies’ Tongues, that walking is how I negotiate the edge between the world of what is and the world of what is yet to be; between the world of the created and what is yet to be created. I wondered whether others also felt a desire to move more freely between these two realms. 

By naming this business adventure Edgewalkers, I am conjuring the possibility of playing a role in bringing people closer to the edges they yearn to walk boldly along; closer to nature, closer to their natural creative and expressive selves; I am conjuring the possibility of all of us having intimate knowledge and competence of all the worlds we inhabit and create.

OUR MISSION

We exist to bring you closer to nature & your most creative potential. We create walking experiences that give you immersive opportunities to reset and retune. To feel the power of nature and experience its rugged and pristine beauty.

OUR WALKING ADVENTURES

We are always exploring new destinations.

We offer multi-day walking tours along the Cape to Cape track and throughout the Fitzgerald Biosphere during the breathtaking wildflower season in Australia’s southwest.

Our popular Walking with Wildflowers guided tours in the Fitgerald Biosphere and the Stirling Range National Park; our epic Walking Adventure through the Tavan Bogd National Park in remote northwest Mongolia; and, our intimate walks on the Cape to Cape Track have brought together some fabulous groups of like-minded, nature-loving people (mostly women) from all over Australia and the world.

More recently, our 7-day full-pack immersion through the ancient raw and rugged spectacle of the Murchison Gorge in the Kalbarri National Park in WA’s mid-west and our 14-day Journey with Wildflowers from Exmouth to Perth via Karijini and Everything in Between - are both mindblowing and true adventures - especially if you love wildflowers like we do!!

In 2024 we are running our inaugural Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Tour - A Cultural Walk Through the Mountains of Albania, Montenegro, and Kosovo (we’re so excited about this!).

When you walk with us you are walking with a tour guide, who might also be a philosopher, an artist, a writer, or a passionate adventurer. Most importantly, we want you to feel that you are walking with a friend; someone who can offer you a unique perspective and sensitivity to the whole experience.
We are committed to offering everyone who joins us an authentic, personalised, and attentive service. Most importantly, we will keep you safe.

OUR RETREATS

Edgewalkers began with one Creativity & Walking Retreat & this signature Creativity Retreat gives us all the greatest pleasure.

It is a privilege to hold space for women to take time out for themselves, reconnect with their creative aspirations & recalibrate their life purpose.
Life is busy and we don’t have enough time to play, think, dream, or examine our life and what we do with it.
It can be frustrating and diminishing to put what you yearn to do on the sidelines, while you earn ‘serious’ money, raise a family, and ‘do life’.

We all benefit from playfulness, spontaneity & time in nature.
Also, there’s a time to ask yourself whether you are serious about some of those creative dreams, aspirations, ideas, and projects sitting at the bottom of a drawer.
We thrive when we can express our creativity, and live a life full of curiosity, spontaneity, and adventure.

Erika, our founder and CEO, leads The Creativity Retreat, The Women’s Walking & Writing Retreat, The Creative Leadership Journey Retreat in Margaret River, and 2024 the first Creativity Retreat on Korčula Island, Croatia.

Erika uses arts-based, aesthetic, and embodied tools, techniques, and processes from applied theatre, creative problem-solving, design thinking & transformative learning.
Each retreat is designed to give participants opportunities to identify the obstacles, examine & unpack them more deeply, and plan how to dismantle/shift them to find; ultimately, more freedom and wellness.

The creative process is harnessed by guided walks immersed in nature through pristine and biodiverse environments, yoga, (sometimes massage), and hearty but healthy and clean, local plant-based / vegetarian food.

In addition, special workshops with contributing local artists like Jane Tangney, Rebecca Cool & Kate Debbo during each retreat will enhance your creativity experience.

The Walking, Yoga & Plant-Based Cooking Retreat & the Walking & Yoga Mini-Retreat (held almost monthly) are led by Kirra Diconza.
Described as “a bucket of sunshine” by a gorgeous client - the accolade fits.

Kirra is, not only bright and caring, but she’s wise courageous beyond her years, authentic, smart and truly following her path and walking her talk.
Her yoga is soulful and replenishing, her words attuned to the group’s capacity and energy, and her food! Well, read the reviews!
Innovative, delicious, satiating, and colourful Kirra’s dishes come out one after the other, radiating freshness, health & wellness.

OUR COMMITMENT TO THE PLANET

The Biodiversity Project is moving quickly toward its seeding stage, and we will soon announce our first Biodiversity Project Public Event & introduce the founding members.
We plan to have transitioned into a regenerative business model by the EOTY 2025 in all our Edgewalkers Adventures and Retreats.

Dr. Erika Jacobson - CEO, FOUNDER & GUIDE
Educator, Entrepreneur, Artist & Adventurer

I was born in Venezuela and was educated in Hong Kong and Australia, and have travelled extensively and lived and worked in several countries. Early on I knew I would always want the freedom of working for myself.

My interest in creativity, self-expression & social justice led me to found ACT OUT, a social enterprise through which I motivated and engaged people in transforming their professional, social, or personal environments, and worked extensively with socially excluded groups in Western Australia, the Northern Territory & Tibet, tackling difficult social issues.

My interest in nature and walking led me to form EDGEWALKERS. through which I enable myself, my team, and individuals access to high levels of freedom, creativity, self-expression & connection to nature through inspiring walking adventures & transformative retreats in stunning natural environments.

I love envisioning, designing, facilitating & leading workshops, retreats, and multi-day adventures that give participants immersive opportunities to recover, realign & reignite their creative aspirations, and access high levels of freedom, self-expression & connection to nature.
I bring together powerful aesthetic, embodied & applied theatre tools, knowledge from my research in transformative learning, & practical creative thinking tools & my own creative & reflective practice.
Sometimes I speak about it all. Part of the year I travel and write.
All year around I walk in nature & spectacular locations, including WA's southwest & Mongolia.

My love for WA’s unique and extraordinary wildflowers has led me to an interest in biodiversity and conservation, in particular the Fitzgerald Biosphere in WA’s southwest.

BA Writing / MA International & Community Development / PhD Education - Transformative Learning

Donna Wolter - GENERAL MANAGER, GUIDE,
Business Administrator, Photographer, Writer, Wildflower/Orchid Enthusiast

I’ve called Margaret River home for over 27 years. After 15 years in high level local government and not-for-profit sector administration I joined the tourism industry.

I love landscape and nature photography and have been building a repertoire of work and social media followers for the past seven years as EcHoe Images, which reflects my commitment to ecotourism and conservation, self awareness and the impact and importance of nature on our capacity to heal, grow and experience joy.

I’m delighted to have had a continuing relationship with Edgewalkers over the past 7 years; meeting Erika was an important step towards expanding my life's creative journey.  Lending my photographic expertise to marketing projects, including hosting walks and assisting workshops on the Cape to Cape and Fitzgerald River National Park allowed me to expand my passion for local flora and wildflowers, including the incredibly diverse terrestrial orchids and biodiversity of the South West of Western Australia.  
In my business management role at Edgewalkers I hope to impact Edgewalkers and provide stability, growth and consistency in planning, processes and procedures, ensuring excellent customer service for all participants.

Kirra Diconza - GUIDE, CATERER, YOGA INSTRUCTOR, FACILITATOR
Marine Biologist, Yoga & Wellness Practitioner, Culinary Artist, Surfer

I am a life enthusiast.

I love jumping in the deep end and getting my hands dirty. To me life is for living. I enjoy exploring the abundance of beauty that Mother Nature has to offer. 
I am zealous about the preservation of our lands and oceans. Growing up by the ocean, I have developed a love for the natural environment and the ocean is my passion, which led me to become an environmental scientist, majoring in marine biology.

I love practicing and teaching yoga & found fulfilment in inspiring people to move and improve their wellness of body and mind. My current studies in Chinese Medicine are revealing more and more about the importance of movement, diet and balance.

I love cooking and grew up in a family that loves food and sharing meals. My Italian Nona taught me about colour and tastes and I get a thrill out of presenting food that people enjoy looking at and eating.

After a long and arduous recovery from a serious motorcycle accident which shattered my leg and left me unable to walk for many months, I believe that we can overcome obstacles with love, the right mindset and attitude.

I look forward to walking with you and sharing the spectacular coastal beauty of WA's southwest and the Mongolian wilderness.

BSc Environmental Science / Yoga Alliance 350 hours Yoga Teacher Training / BSc Chinese Medicine - currently studying.