Allan Thomas
Owner / Operator
Allan has been on the river since 1989, learning from John “Johnny Mac” Macrossin. Thirty-five years later, the two are more family than colleagues.
He started running tours to Blenco Falls with Swaggy Adventures in 1997, then moved to Nymboida in New South Wales to operate sports rafting, platypus tours and multi-day river trips. When drought hit in 2002, he adapted. He moved into school groups, spent time in Byron Bay as a safety officer and on-set rigger for Warner Bros, and ran corporate events and team-building programs.
Mission Beach kept calling. In 2014, Allan came back and re-established Wildside Adventures, starting with sports rafting on the Tully River. In 2017, he took over the Adventure Centre, continuing its work with school groups, camps and corporate programs.
The business has kept growing. Get Dunked tours around Dunk Island came next, followed by large eight-person rafting experiences on the Tully River.
For Allan, it has never been just about the activity. The river brings people together. Long-time mates like Johnny Mac, his own son now guiding beside him, guests joining for a single day. Every trip runs like an extended family outing.
Allan is a familiar face on the river and around the business. Hands-on, straightforward, and serious about making sure every guest leaves with something worth talking about.
Johnny Mac
Guide
John has been chasing whitewater since 1987. Nearly 40 years later, he still turns up for every trip with the same energy.
He has paddled rivers around the world, guiding, teaching and competing along the way. From 1991 to 1998, he competed in the World Rafting Championships, with events in Costa Rica, Turkey, Italy, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, France and Australia.
John is one of Far North Queensland’s longest-serving whitewater guides. He holds qualifications in outdoor education and spent more than 10 years working as an outdoor adventure facilitator at the Wildside Adventure Centre.
He is the kind of guide people do not forget. Ask anyone who has been on the river with him.
Leon Parkhill
Guide
Leon started whitewater kayaking in high school. He studied outdoor recreation at university, found the Tully River in 2010 and has not really left.
He holds a Bachelor of Leisure Management, majoring in Outdoor Recreation and Parks Planning and Management. He was also part of the safety crew during the World Rafting Championships held on the Tully.
Leon has spent his entire rafting career on this river. He knows its conditions well. He has been guiding with Wildside since 2020 and genuinely enjoys getting people out into the kind of place most of them have never experienced before.
A genuine Aussie-Kiwi character, Leon brings a relaxed, down-to-earth style to the river.
