Our team | Echidna Walkabout Tours

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Echidna Walkabout’s incredible team

People empower tourism

Read about the founders of Echidna Walkabout, Janine Duffy and Roger Smith

Scott

senior wildlife guide | guide trainer

scott roberts

Scott (centre) is highly respected, specialising in wildlife guiding and guide training across Australia. His adventurous spirit and extensive world travels—seeking unique wildlife, climbing mountains, and volunteering at wildlife rehabilitation centres in the Bolivian Amazon and Canada —formed his deep appreciation of wildlife and people. His training skills come from his teaching background.

Amanda

wildlife guide | mungo specialist

amanda lamont

Amanda is a passionate environmental advocate, having served as the Climate Action and Disaster Resilience Adviser at Zoos Victoria. Witnessing worsening disasters and the biodiversity crisis, she founded Nature Based Resilience. Through this initiative, Amanda champions the integration of environmental advocacy into disaster planning and aims to reconnect people with nature. She leads many of our Mungo trips but guides elsewhere in Australia.

Martin

senior wildlife guide | general manager

martin maderthaner

Martin is the backbone of Echidna Walkabout's wildlife knowledge. With 27 years guiding experience across Africa and Australia, he's a top wildlife guide and exceptional bird guide. A long-time employee, serving as Operations Manager and Senior Wildlife Guide, his superb bushcraft, extensive knowledge, and boundless enthusiasm make him one of Australia's best guides.

Alison O

Alison

wildlife guide | insect specialist

alison orchard

With her vibrant personality Alison brings a unique outlook to our tours and guests' experiences. An entomologist from a young age, Alison's fascination with insects blossomed into a passion for all things wild. Her deep understanding of Victoria's High Country, where she grew up, and the Southern Coastlines, where she studied insect galls, offers a unique perspective on our tours.

Maddy

wildlife guide | land & water

maddy staff

With a degree in Zoology, Ecology, and Conservation Biology, Maddy deeply understands our environmental impact. Her passion for improving the natural world led her to ant research at Little Desert National Park, educating at Sea Life Melbourne, and contributing to Women in Wildlife Inc. An adventurous spirit, she's also hiked to Everest Base Camp and is an active diver and snorkeler.

Susie

wildlife guide | bird guide

susie lycett

Susie has a deep passion and enthusiasm for sharing her love of nature, especially birds, with others. She started her working life as a zoo keeper at Melbourne Zoo before working at Alice Springs Desert Park and Edinburgh Zoo. Susie has a graduate degree in Ornithology and enjoys birding throughout Australia, Asia and Central Africa

Martin Maderthaner

Wildlife Guide & Operations Manager

Martin joined us in 2007. He is our most senior Wildlife Guide, and our top Bird Guide.

He was trained as a Field Guide in southern Africa, where he was born, and spent many years guiding at some of Africa’s top lodges. He still runs amazing wildlife tours in Africa every year for his own company Explore Nature.

Martin runs our bird tours, Maximum Wildlife extended tours, 4 day Wildlife Journeys and any of our other tours.

Allan (Bart) Bartholomew

Koala Researcher – Team Leader

Bart lives at Staughton Vale in the Brisbane Ranges, and wakes up to views of the You Yangs every day. His home is a 30 hectare wildlife habitat – home to Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Swamp Wallabies, Laughing Kookaburras, Crimson Rosellas, Speckled Warblers and occasionally, a koala.

Bart has been researching koalas since 2015. In the past he was a food technologist, and has always had a great love of nature – he was an avid scuba diver as a hobby. We think he has now found his true calling in the wild in the You Yangs.

Caz Bartholomew

Accounts & Secretary Koala Clancy Foundation

Caz has been part of Echidna Walkabout from the very beginning – it would not exist without her support and advice. She has filled many roles over the years, and is currently working with Accounts, and also plays a major role as Secretary for Koala Clancy Foundation.

Hayley Forster

Wildlife Guide

Hayley started with us in 2018. The role of Wildlife Guide was a perfect fit with Hayley’s passions – she is a committed conservationist and wildlife watcher. When she is not guiding she is doing wildlife surveys in the forests east of Melbourne with WOTCH. You can see some of Hayley’s work here: https://www.wotch.org.au/

Amy Somers

Wildlife Guide & Operations Support

Amy grew up in the green mountains of the Dandenongs, north-east of Melbourne, then relocated to a coastal town in East Gippsland, then lived near the Murray River in southern New South Wales. She is now back in the green hills north of Melbourne, where she keeps her horses.

For many years Amy was an international tour leader in Asia but is now using her wealth of knowledge working in Australia guiding tours and helping out with logistical support.

Alison Jackson

Reservations

Alison was one of our first team members after she graduated university years ago. She left us for a while to work booking tours around Australia with several Melbourne-based travel agents. She has a wealth of experience with bookings and reservations of all kinds of tours.