A bushie from way back, Taffy Abbotts has been involved in the travel and hospitality industry for over twenty-five years, first in the Northern Territory and later in the Kimberley, in Western Australia.

In 1991, after many years of conducting four-wheel drive tours, Taffy took over the management of Mt Hart Homestead and gardens, and set about restoring the near-derelict homestead. Passionate about this marvellous part of the Kimberley, every Wet Season for the past 17 years, Taffy has built, restored and renovated, to bring Mt Hart to the standard it enjoys today.

Although, in the words of a visiting American journalist, “Taffy looks like the sort of outback character who could survive quite blissfully on cigarettes, warm beer and dried kangaroo meat” … (who on earth drinks warm beer???)…” this impression vanishes when you see him in the kitchen. I’d planned to stay only one night, but after a taste of his gateau au chocolat and blackcurrant ice-cream, I decided I was in no hurry”. A talented all-rounder and raconteur, Taffy is always willing to share tales of the exploration and settlement of Mt Hart, and the rich social and natural history of the Kimberley.

Taffy and his dingoes, live at Mt Hart all year round, in "splendid isolation" for up to five months at a time during the Wet, renovating and reading, as the 50km driveway to the homestead is cut off by the tropical monsoonal rains.