A walk on the wild side
Wendy Bithell has built her multi-award-winning eco-tourism business, Vision Walks – Eco Tours, by combining her two areas of expertise: ecology and technology. Her Byron hinterland adventures are as diverse as nature walks with night vision goggles, Indigenous bush tucker tours, and three-day women’s indulgence escapes. And with her innovative thinking, ability to pivot, and flair for creating just what people want, she’s managed to bounce back from every set back.
This week she’s in isolation as a Covid ‘close contact’, but that hasn’t stopped her from running four virtual koala-spotting tours from her backyard (where there are no koalas) for a corporate group of 200 in Canada, a school group in the US, a full living-room at a NSW retirement home, and a global tech company’s team meeting with participants tuning in from across five continents.
“The land owner where I usually do the koala tours was there holding her camera up to the koalas, while I was talking from my screen at home,” says Wendy.
Wendy experimented with virtual tours when COVID decimated global tourism and 70% of her business. International visitors had particularly loved her ‘Wildlife Safari’ – a day of spotting koalas and kangaroos in the wild.
“During the first lockdown, I thought, ‘What am I going to do to get myself through this?’. I couldn’t see our international market returning until 2022, maybe even 2023.”
She wondered if there might be a way to encourage locals to take a tour, and knowing there was a rising interest in Aboriginal tourism, she teamed up with Bundjalung leader, Delta Kay, to offer bush tucker tours.
These have been hugely successful, with 80% of tours made up of people from around Byron. Wendy is also proud that this launched Delta into running her own touring business while still working for Vision Walks.

Virtual tours have been the other experiment that took off. “Some months they account for my highest sales. It’s not just an add-on. It’s holding me up,” Wendy says.
“I thought they’d taper off as Australia and the rest of the world reopens to travel, but it’s actually increasing.”
New clients across the globe often find Vision Walks with a simple Google search (she invests in SEO marketing and people also arrive without paid links). US platform Beeyonder, which offers virtual experiences for people with disabilities, added Vision Walks to its platform, which propelled growth in North America.
This gave Wendy the idea to approach Australian platform, Life is an Adventure, which offers multi-day luxury hiking experiences to its massive database but didn’t yet have a Byron hinterland hike. Wendy approached them with a curated three-day experience and founded another successful collaboration.
This might make it all sound easy, but the experiences Wendy creates are embedded with a huge depth of knowledge. She’s studied ecology and all the tours in Vision Walks offer a deep connection to nature and incidental education. Her business is one of only four in NSW with all three of Australia’s top eco-tourism accreditations.
She also studied interactive learning while working in London for UK public broadcaster, the BBC. This experience lay the foundations for Vision Walks’ first tour in 2008 – exploring Nightcap National Park in the dark with night vision goggles.
“I was awarded an innovative patent for the idea and, as far as I know, no one else is doing it in the whole world,” she says, adding that her latest innovation is a carbon footprint calculator.
And resilience is built into her business DNA. Within the first year of Vision Walks, the global financial crisis hit the tourism industry, and bushfires closed Nightcap NP for three months. With all this pivoting and evolving from the start, even COVID has come nowhere near slowing her down.
“I was awarded an innovative patent for [exploring with night vision goggles], as far as I know, no one else is doing it in the whole world”
Share this story
Read more stories
let’s get physical
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/grafton_physio_business_story_001.jpg 2000 1165 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/grafton_physio_business_story_001.jpgGrafton Physio + Sport
You know you’re in good hands when you visit your physiotherapist and she turns out to be a world-class athlete. That’s the case for those who…
all fired up for global attention
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Aurora-Suspended-Fires_Ballina-in-good-company-image-4.jpg 960 600 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Aurora-Suspended-Fires_Ballina-in-good-company-image-4.jpgAurora Suspended Fires
Aurora Suspended Fires arose from the perfect marriage of Chloe Allan’s creative talents with Neil’s engineering background. But building a successful…
ahead of time on equality and agility
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/hurfoods_hardwood_002.jpg 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/hurfoods_hardwood_002.jpgHurford Hardwood
When Olive Hurford told the bank manager she’d be looking after the accounts of her husband’s new building company, the story goes…
Nurtured by nature
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GreenX7_Tim-Jack-Adams-scaled.jpg 2560 1723 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GreenX7_Tim-Jack-Adams-scaled.jpgGreenx7
For the past 10 years GreenX7 has been running workshops and retreats internationally and in the Tweed for clients as diverse as McDonald’s, Deloitte, Six Senses, and the Australian Defence Force, to inspire both individuals and teams to tap into the healing power of nature.
A hive of success and support
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Wild-Honey.jpg 940 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Wild-Honey.jpgWild Honey Creative
Wild Honey Creative is living proof that special skills and services we might once have associated with our cities – such as graphic and digital design, innovation in marketing and brand storytelling – are thriving in regional areas.
Keeping it real in the Tweed
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Tweed-Real-Food_Julia-scaled.jpg 1706 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Tweed-Real-Food_Julia-scaled.jpgTweed Real Food
Tweed Real Food is a business launched in 2018 from a desire to be resilient. Little did founder Julia Foyster know how prescient her plan would turn out to be.
true blue locals making a difference
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/mountain-blue-001-copy-2.jpg 1920 1280 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/mountain-blue-001-copy-2.jpgMountain Blue
Mountain Blue is the definition of a twenty-first century business. Not only have owners Ridley and Mieke Bell expanded their blueberry production…
local, seasonal, transformative gem hits town
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/jane.jpg 960 639 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/jane.jpgGateway Fine Foods and Catering
Debbie McQueen has three words of advice for anyone starting a business in Kyogle: flexibility, perseverance and patience. They’re three traits Debbie…
Casino RSM Club
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/RMS-Club.jpeg 1360 906 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/RMS-Club.jpegCasino RSM Club
The 23 of March 2020 was the hardest day of Neale Genge’s career.
home is where the heart is
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/edmonds-conveyancing-ballina-001.jpg 1920 847 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/edmonds-conveyancing-ballina-001.jpgEdmonds Conveyancing
The legal aspects of buying and selling a property are not normally associated with having a laugh and even singing, but the Edmonds Conveyancing…
making history, creating culture
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SPAR-Staff.jpg 1535 1025 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SPAR-Staff.jpgSpar Maclean
SPAR Maclean’s claim to fame is a doozy. Indeed, it’s something only one supermarket in the whole of Australia can say: that it is the longest…
Community connection runs deep
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Untitled-1.jpg 1644 848 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Untitled-1.jpgConnect Business Solutions
Connect Business Solutions can be thought of as the glue that holds a business community together.
effective creatives have all the fun
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/cumulus-vfx-byron-002.jpg 1000 750 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/cumulus-vfx-byron-002.jpgCumulus VFX
They’ve walked the Sydney Harbour Bridge with Hoges. Gone down the garden path with Peter Rabbit. Flown Katie Holmes over…
take me to the river
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/10986182_733888960072606_3561220566688304460_o.jpg 2048 1536 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/10986182_733888960072606_3561220566688304460_o.jpgGrafton to Yamba Houseboats
The Clarence River, at the southern end of the Northern Rivers, is known colloquially as the ‘Big River’, while its Aboriginal name is ‘Breimbah’ or…
old-fashioned approach reaps rewards
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/kyogle_country_Store_002.jpg 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/kyogle_country_Store_002.jpgKyogle Country Store
It feels like a brave decision, buying a hardware and rural supplies store in the age of the corporate superstores. Though it was a challenge…
Adapting is second nature for first in class
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Lazuli-_-Co_Peta-scaled.jpg 2560 1709 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Lazuli-_-Co_Peta-scaled.jpgLazuli and Co.
The hairdresser and business owner, after all, has had a lot to adapt to – her salon is in central Lismore and was destroyed by the February 2022 floods, which also completely engulfed her nearby home. Before that were the ravages wrought by the pandemic.
a natural business adventure
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Mount-Warning-Tours-01.jpg 1920 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Mount-Warning-Tours-01.jpgMount Warning Tours
Despite only existing for four years, Mount Warning Tours’ short life has been eventful: from purchasing the ex-Murray River ferry Spirit of Wollumbin…
Feeding Pets with a Passion for Purpose
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Frontier-Pets_Di-scaled.jpg 1947 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Frontier-Pets_Di-scaled.jpgFrontier Pets
Diana Scott was more than a bit annoyed at being unable to find a premium quality food for her dogs that was also ethically produced, so she did what all great entrepreneurs do – she created it.
Step back in time for ‘reel’
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Yamba-Cinema-Debbie-scaled.jpg 2560 1920 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Yamba-Cinema-Debbie-scaled.jpgYamba Cinema
Yamba Cinema is not just a popular venue to see the latest movie in an idyllic Northern Rivers town.
Passion, patience and protein
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Hemp-Foods_product.jpg 2400 1350 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Hemp-Foods_product.jpgHemp Foods Australia
When Hemp Foods Australia founder, Paul Benhaim, discovered hemp as a food choice in the early 90s during his global travels, he had his own preconceived ideas.