You may know that Warburton Adventure Co. (WAC) operates in Warburton and the Yarra Valley, but you may not know our connection with our sister company, Maddog Adventures, in Asia’s newest country: Timor-Leste.Sam and Liesel Maddock launched Maddog Adventures in Timor-Leste because of their desire to make Timor-Leste’s incredible natural assets: from its mountains (reaching almost 3000m high!) to its unparallelled coral reefs – accessible. They wanted to give travellers the opportunity to experience the culture and learn the history of this new-to-tourism country. Today, Maddog Adventures offers tours in history and culture, coffee, canyoning, hiking, trail running, snorkelling, mountain biking, as well as experiential programs for Australian school students. To date, five of WAC’s Warburton team have been given the opportunity to work in Timor-Leste, and in March this year we welcomed two members of our Timorese team: Mana Guida and Maun Marcal – to see our Warburton operation for the first time. These cross-cultural experiences encourage upskilling across both adventure businesses.Mana Guida and Maun Marcal observed our guided tours and met with Visit Victoria and industry stakeholders. Their on-the-job training included caving at Britannia Creek Cave, mountain biking to the Redwood Forest and Lysterfield, abseiling, river sledding and tubing down the Birrarung/Yarra River. In-house sessions covered risk and safety, maintaining gear and digital marketing. They also observed tourism trends during the busy Easter period when Warburton transforms into a thriving nature destination.“It was wonderful to meet, work and skill-share with our international visitors Guida and Marcal,” said WAC adventure guide Sean Marler. “Although living in different countries, we connected through shared interests of nature and adventure play.”We thank everyone who welcomed Mana Guida and Maun Marcal to our beautiful region, especially the generous local families who hosted them, and long-term friends and collaborators including Cleo and Wayne from Silva Coffee Roasters, who visited Timor-Leste in 2023 for our inaugural Silva Coffee Origin tour.These exchanges prepare us for the upcoming Timor-Leste adventure season, which launched in April and includes the iconic 10-day La Rende! trek, next departing 31 May. Pop into WAC HQ, 3375 Warburton Hwy, to find out more!
