Meet the Team

Liesel Maddock, Owner & Co-Founder

A business marketing professional with a Grad Dip in Marketing Communications, a BA in Asian Studies and Literature, and a Certificate IV in Community Services and Intercultural Studies, Liesel has held senior roles across both the corporate and not-for-profit sectors. Her adventurous and compassionate spirit was shaped by her childhood living in the Himalayan mountains in India. After relocating to Australia, she became a Snow Reporter for Perisher Ski Resort, her radio and written reports were broadcast nationally. With Penguin, she travelled widely alongside renowned authors. As a founding contributor to Global Citizen, she worked on international development projects, and later moved into innovation startups in the solar industry. She met co-founder Sam while working in the outdoor industry in Sydney, and together they lived and worked in adventure hubs including the Southern Highlands and Jindabyne before choosing Warburton as the place to establish Warburton Adventure Co. and raise their family. Liesel is a committee member of the Upper Yarra River Reserve Committee of Management (UYRRCoM) and co-founder of Maddog Adventures (Timor-Leste).

Sam Maddock, Owner & Co-Founder

Sam is an industry leader in the outdoor adventure and education space and has held executive-level positions in schools and on non-government organisation boards. Sam has a Bachelor of Commerce, DipEd and a Cert IV in Outdoor Recreation with 25 years’ industry experience, he is a seasoned adventurer experienced in safely guiding people in adventure activities throughout Australia, Vietnam, Japan and Timor-Leste. He met Warburton Adventure Co. co-founder Liesel while working in the outdoor industry in Sydney, and they travelled and worked in adventure hubs including the Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands and Jindabyne. Sam is the director & co-founder (along with Liesel) of Maddog Adventures (Timor-Leste), which supports the economic development of rural communities in Timor-Leste through sustainable adventure tourism. Sam was on the board of Yarra Ranges Tourism (2021 – 22) and is a committee member of Warburton Valley Community Economic Development Association (CEDA). Sam takes up every opportunity to explore nature’s wild places with his young family.

Hannah Lindner, Trainee Program Administrator

Since completing Year 12 at a local high school Hannah has become a valuable employee of Warburton Aventure Co., working in a variety of roles including staffing our reception desk, managing retail sales, and assistant guiding. As WAC’s Trainee Program Administrator Hannah is involved in the pre-camp behind-the-scenes planning and organising and during-camp program support. Hannah has her Advanced First Aid and a Cert III in Equine Studies at Box Hill Institute. She recently worked as a tour guide at El Questro Homestead Kimberley, a Luxury Lodges of Australia venue, running horse tours for guests. Hannah’s favourite hack for WAC clients who forget their shoes for river tubing is wearing socks over their flip-flops – according to Hannah it works!

Nicolas Brown, Operations & Senior Adventure Guide

Nic has over 20 years’ experience in the outdoor industry and is a seasoned professional in outdoor training and programming. As a skilled trainer and assessor, Nic nurtures the next generation of outdoor leaders, equipping them with skills in bushwalking, rock climbing, abseiling, rafting, swift-water rescue, challenge ropes, skiing and mountain biking. Nic lives in the Dandenong Ranges with his family and brings his wealth of knowledge and passion for nature’s wild places to everything he does. He has a passion for working with people and enjoys seeing the improvements in functionality across the business in his operations role. Nic holds a Dip in Outdoor Recreation, Cert IV in Training and Assessment, and Dip in Vocational Education and Training.

Rob Eva, Transport & Logistics

“The” Rob Eva started mountain bike riding in 1987, back when it was very new in Australia. It worked well with his love of freedom, the forests, fitness and exploring. He started racing shortly after in 1990, and his successful 10-year MTB racing career saw him racing in Australia and the world, and crowned National Champion 50 times. In 1993 he became the only person ever to win pro elite Downhill and Cross-Country (XCO) in the same weekend. Rob has mixed his love of cycling with his career: he had a decade as team manager of GT Bicycles, taking professional MTB riders overseas, including to the Olympics. Rob became the first Australian employee of SRAM global in 1997 spent 25+ years with the bicycle component company. After 30 years of coming to ride in Warburton, Rob decided to call it his home. He loves the mountain and valley feel of the town and, of course, the new Warburton Bike Park. His qualifications include Level 3 First Aid, truck and bus licences and he’s a qualified rigger (crane operator). You can find Rob keeping Warby safe in his role with the SES, driving the WAC buses, giving excellent rider tips, organising logistics and always helping out the WAC team!

Tanya Elsegood, Bookkeeper

Tanya brings over 10 years of bookkeeping experience to Warburton Adventure Co. and loves helping keep the behind-the-scenes financial side of the business running smoothly. Having lived in the Warburton area for many years, Tanya values strong community connections and enjoys working with such a vibrant local business. With a genuine appreciation for nature, she spends as much time as she can outdoors, sharing adventures with her kids. Whether it’s hikes, swims in the river, picnics, or trips up to the snow, she loves creating special memories together in this beautiful part of Victoria.

Jevan Munro, Adventure Guide

Jevan grew up locally spending plenty of time outdoors: he was in Scouts, and his mum started taking him on hikes as soon as he was able to walk. His time at Little Yarra Steiner School cemented his love of outdoor adventures with its excellent outdoor camp program: one of his favourite experiences was a 2-week hiking camp in the Bogong High Plains. Jevan did his Year 10 work experience in the outdoor adventure industry and completed a Cert IV in Outdoor Leadership at Box Hill Institute. He loves leading groups and is WAC’s local cave guru, having been down the Britannia Creek Caving system over 100 times and logging more than 200 hours underground! Future plans include trekking through Scotland and ice climbing in Iceland.

Mitchell Knox, Rope Specialist & Adventure Guide

Mitch grew up in Ferntree Gully with the Dandenong Ranges National Park and the 1000 Steps Walk (Kokoda Track Memorial Walk) literally at the end of his street. Mitch holds a Diploma of Outdoor Recreation, Wilderness First Aid and Swift Water Rescue, and though he is now based in Mansfield, in Victoria’s High Country, Mitch loves returning to the Yarra Valley to work with WAC as a senior instructor and abseil guide. Mitch loves anything to do with water including paddling, rafting, sledding and tubing. He loves the frozen stuff too: in winter you’ll find him at Mt Buller, where he’ll either be working as a lifty or duty supervisor or backflipping in the Skyline Park.

Andrew Haughton, MTB Specialist & Adventure Guide

Andrew is a PMBIA Level 1 bike coach and started riding at around 5 years old, spending a lot of time hanging out at skateparks as a self-described “skatepark rat”. He started downhill racing at 26 in the Victorian Downhill Series which took him around Victoria. Among his achievements are riding from Warby to Maydena to compete in the Enduro Jam (a 1200 km round trip) and competing in Canada and the US. He moved to Warby in 2021 for a lifestyle change. He loves helping people learn how to express themselves on the bike, and helping them get as much out of mountain bike riding as he does.

Tilly Warlond, Adventure Guide

After 5 years working full-time in outdoor recreation in schools, Tilly is enjoying freelancing and is happy to have added Warburton Adventure Co. to her list. Tilly has a Cert IV Outdoor Recreation and Education and Wilderness First Aid and Swift Water Rescue qualifications, and loves heading out on a peaceful canoe journey. Her favourite WAC adventure is a good old river sledding experience. When group-leading week-long group adventures she enjoys watching the groups she leads grow through the week and get better at working together. Her enthusiasm and good banter help make the school camps she leads fun. Her favourite overseas adventure was taking Year 10 students to Timor-Leste for an 11-day trip, Tilly loved the natural beauty of Timor-Leste and the people, and her highlight was climbing Mt Ramelau at sunrise with a group of 16 students.

Sean Marler, Foraging & Adventure Guide

Paddling enthusiast Sean Marler has extensive experience in, and a love of, the natural environment. He holds a degree in environmental science and is an avid environmental campaigner and member of Warburton Environment. Sean’s connection to the Yarra Valley goes back decades: his grandmother was born in 1925 in Powelltown, and Sean grew up camping in the region and enjoying the Birrarung/Yarra River. His love of water leads into interesting escapades – including crossing Bass Strait in a kayak. Sean has a Swiftwater Rescue qualification and Proficiency award in kayaking from Paddle Australia. He’s had 25 years as a freelancer in the industry, and says his happiest place is in the forest and river guiding with a well-behaved group! You can sometimes find him doing a breathwork and dip session by the river in Warburton: he says the colder the better!

Damien Litchfield, Adventure Guide

Damien knows the Birrarung/Yarra River better than most: he paddled the river from Warburton to Southbank in Melbourne with his son as part of a Y8 school project! Damien moved to Warburton two decades ago to raise his family in Warburton’s pristine environment and has been working with young people in mentoring, adventure and welfare roles since 2005. His background in social work and psychology (he has a Bachelor in Social Science, a Bachelor in Psychological Sciences and an Undergraduate Certificate in Mental Health) has helped form his therapeutic approach to the outdoors. He strongly believes nature is one of our greatest teachers — offering space to recharge, restore balance and reduce stress. Damien also has his First Aid and Swift Water Rescue qualifications.

Jayne D’Arcy, Communications & Adventure Guide

Jayne has worked as a travel writer since 2000, enjoying the thrill of travelling the world, having great experiences and writing about it. She has contributed to over 30 Lonely Planet guides, covering countries from Albania to Australia. Her favourite gig is updating the Timor-Leste chapter for Lonely Planet’s Southeast Asia guidebook. After years of being taken on adventures (including La Rende! in Timor-Leste with WAC’s sister company Maddog Adventures) she decided she’d love to learn how to facilitate these adventures herself and completed her Cert IV in Outdoor Leadership in 2025 and Wilderness First Aid in 2026. She’s since found immense joy in guiding others through unforgettable outdoor experiences. Jayne fell in love with Warburton after cycling the Giro della Donna event in 2016 and now splits her time living in Warburton and Melbourne. She’s a passionate road, gravel and MTB cyclist. One of her highlights was Everesting Donna Buang – a personal feat that took many, many hours. Jayne has a BA (journalism) and uses her communications and marketing skills to inspire more people to discover the magic of the Yarra Ranges through Warburton Adventure Co.

Zec O’Grady, Adventure Guide

Zec grew up between Melbourne and Warburton, and now lives closer to the adventure hub of Warburton. Always an active kid, he got his grip on Victoria as an enduro dirtbike rider. Zec learnt to abseil while working on Hamilton Island, and now loves to teach abseiling. He recently ventured out of Australia to explore New Zealand’s South Island through hikes, boat adventures and rock climbing. He also enjoyed the culture and village life he experienced while touring and hiking in Timor-Leste. Zec has his Wilderness First Aid and has completed his Cert IV in Outdoor Leadership at Box Hill Institute. He’s keen to focus on his mountaineering skills and test them out on some of the big peaks.

Meet the team behind the adventure.

Our team’s qualifications & certifications.

Team bios.