Eastern Australia
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The prices are per person and include scheduled economy class flights London-Sydney, Sydney-Cairns, Cairns-Brisbane and Brisbane-London, accommodation on a full-board basis, ground transportation, boat trips as outlined above, all airport and local taxes, tips, bird checklist, local guide fees and the services of the leader/s.
The price excludes travel insurance, Visa (ETA) costs (approx. £20 through us, see below), drinks, optional tips to local drivers and other personal expenses. This trip will be operated in conjunction with Limosa Holidays. Principal Leader: Peter Taylor |
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Australia is truly a world apart. Isolated from the rest of the world's land-masses for over sixty million years, here evolution has taken a quite separate path. Most famous perhaps are the continent's two mammal groups: the marsupials and the monotremes, including the peculiar egg-laying Platypus, which we have been lucky enough to see on previous trips. Even more remarkable, almost half of Australia's six hundred and fifty or so regular bird species are unique to the region - a greater proportion of endemics than any other country.
Journeying from the southern temperate zones to the northern tropics, our Classic Australia tour commences in Sydney, where a visit to Sydney Botanic Gardens followed by a sightseeing boat trip around Sydney Harbour will provide an excellent introduction to the birds of southeast Australia. Driving on up into the beautiful Blue Mountains, the gorgeous Turquoise Parrot, Flame Robin, Superb Lyrebird and the endangered Regent Honeyeater are among many specialities, along with rowdy flocks of impressive Glossy and Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. As we head back down to the New South Wales coast, the famous Barren Grounds heathland should be near the peak of its spring wildflower displays. The range-restricted Eastern Bristlebird and Pilotbird frequent this habitat and we'll make a special effort to find the mysterious Ground Parrot, a seldom seen species that's active only at daybreak and dusk. Leaving Sydney, we next fly north to Cairns. One of Australia's best birding spots, shorebirds are outstanding here, with everything from Great Knot to Beach Thick-knee. We continue inland to explore the jungles of the Atherton Tablelands, haunt of Golden Bowerbird, Tooth-billed Catbird and the iridescent Victoria's Riflebird. An early morning cruise on the Daintree River may reward us with Little Kingfisher and Great-billed Heron, whetting our appetites for a fitting finale to our stay in tropical North Queensland: a trip out from Cairns aboard Ocean Spirit, to savour the marvels of Michaelmas Cay and the Great Barrier Reef, with their breeding seabirds and exuberant marine life. Flying south to Brisbane, our tour concludes with a three-night stay at the incomparable O'Reilly's Rainforest Lodge - where the birding is superb! Red-necked Pademelons forage on the lawn, while well-stocked feeders (not to mention inattentive birdwatchers with food in their hands) attract immaculate Regent and Satin Bowerbirds, along with crowds of colourful Crimson Rosellas and Australian King Parrots. This really is Classic Australia. Pack your swags and join us Downunder! Please note: This tour can easily be incorporated into your own private visit to Australia. For those who'd prefer to travel out early and rest up a little ahead of the tour, or stopover in Australia after our tour, we can organise your flights out on almost any day you choose, or leave you to make your own arrangements. If you are booking your own flights please contact us first to check that the times fit with the current itinerary. Itinerary Days 1 - 3 We leave London in the evening on a scheduled flight bound for Sydney, crossing several time zones and arriving in Australia early on the morning of Day 3. On arrival at Sydney, we'll be met by our guide Peter and head directly to our hotel. Nearby, the Sydney Botanic Gardens offer a gentle but excellent introduction to Australian birdlife. Delights may include Buff-banded Rail and Australasian Figbird, stunning Rainbow Lorikeets and the delicate but dazzling Superb Fairywren. We may also see huge Grey-headed Flying Foxes roosting. Keep your camera handy for there are also some fine views of Sydney's famous Opera House. After lunching nearby, we'll take a short walk to the quayside and enjoy a relaxing sightseeing boat trip around Sydney harbour. There's no better way to experience Sydney than from the water, with splendid photo-opportunities of its busy harbour and waterside, the Opera House and the iconic Sydney Harbour bridge. Sailing out towards The Heads, at the mouth of the harbour, we should encounter some exciting new birds, too. Australasian Gannet, Australian Pelican, Great Crested Tern and up to three species of cormorant are possible here, while the regal White-bellied Sea Eagle soars high overhead. Overnight Sydney Day 4 Our birdwatching begins in earnest today with a visit to Pitt Town Lagoon, which is home to a variety of Australasian ducks, crakes, waders and finches. After pausing to check the nearby turf farms for grassland species and raptors, we head west along the Bell's Line of Road and across the Blue Mountains. At Mount Banks we'll start to get to grips with the huge variety of Australian honeyeaters, with Tawny-crowned and White-eared Honeyeaters among many possibilities, as we watch for the crow-like Grey Currawong. After lunch we continue into the famous Capertee Valley, arriving in time to watch the array of honeyeaters, parrots and pigeons coming in to a waterhole for their afternoon drink. Here we should also see good numbers of Eastern Grey Kangaroos, with perhaps Red-necked Wallabies and Wallaroos becoming active while the setting sun turns the majestic cliffs gold and red. We stay in an old grand hotel, which has been beautifully renovated, with amazing views from each room. Not all rooms are en suite here, but the hotel is in such a magnificent setting that we think you'll agree it is worth it. In addition, this is the only way to experience sunset and sunrise right in the valley, and gives us much more chance of kangaroos too! Overnight Glen Davis Days 5 - 6 The Capertee Valley is well known amongst Australian birders as a stronghold for a number of rare and threatened bird species. A fabulous variety of species could include such delights as the smart but endangered (and tricky to find!) Regent Honeyeater, the superb Turquoise Parrot, Diamond Firetail, Hooded Robin, Speckled Warbler, Little Lorikeet, Black-chinned, Fuscous and Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters, White-browed Babbler, White-backed Swallow and many others. We should also encounter some fascinating reptiles, perhaps a Bearded Dragon or the huge Lace Monitor. In the afternoon we'll continue into the Upper Blue Mountains, stopping en route at the Lithgow Sewage Ponds with chances of Blue-billed, Pink-eared and the very unusual Musk Duck amongst a good range of waterfowl. Our destination this evening is Katoomba, where we will stay for two nights. Next day, in the areas of Mt Victoria, Blackheath and Katoomba, we'll seek out some of the really localised specialities, including Rock Warbler, Superb Lyrebird, Pilotbird and Flame Robin. We'll also head into the lush rainforest of the Megalong Valley for a chance to find the lovely Rose Robin, Russet-tailed Thrush and Red-browed Treecreeper. Satin Bowerbird also occurs in the area, and we'll have the first of many chances to find a bower, most likely seeing the bird in attendance, guarding its display of bright blue treasures. The area is also renowned for its spectacular scenery, while after dark we can go spotlighting for mammals such as Common Wombat, Common Brushtail Possum, Common Ringtail Possum and Greater Glider - and the possibility of seeing owls and frogmouths. Overnight Katoomba Day 7 Leaving Katoomba, we make a morning visit to Kings Tableland. This is 'cockatoo country' par excellence, and we will hope for rowdy flocks of Glossy and Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos and Gang-gang Cockatoos, as well as a host of smaller birds such as the Beautiful Firetail. From here, we travel east and then south to Budderoo and the Barren Grounds, where we have a chance of finding the remarkable Ground Parrot. This highland area above the coastal escarpment is similar to European heathland and should be near the peak of its wildflower displays about now. Some of the special birds here include Eastern Bristlebird, Pilotbird and Southern Emuwren. We'll stay out until twilight when, with luck, the Ground Parrots become active. In the evening we can go spotlighting for arboreal mammals including Sugar Glider; we might even be lucky with Greater Sooty Owl. Overnight Jamberoo Day 8 Today is mainly a travel day, but we'll offer an optional pre-dawn start for those who want to try again for the elusive Ground Parrot. The nearby rainforest will also give us an opportunity to look for Australian Logrunner and other species we might have missed, too. We then return via the coastal route to Sydney, from where we catch an afternoon flight north to Cairns, in tropical North Queensland. Flight schedules permitting, on arrival at Cairns there may be time for a stroll around the Mangrove Boardwalk near the airport, where a viewing tower overlooking both the mudflats and the city may yield Collared and Little Kingfishers, or Lovely Fairywrens and Varied Honeyeaters. We then transfer directly to our accommodation in Daintree, a short drive up the coast. Overnight Daintree Days 9 - 10 We begin with an early morning cruise on the Lower Daintree River, a wildlife experience not to be missed. Birds we'll be looking for here include Great-billed Heron, Papuan Frogmouth and Little Kingfisher. The massive Estuarine Crocodile also frequents this spot! After breakfast we'll cross the Daintree River and search the forest on the northern side for the elusive and entirely unpredictable Southern Cassowary. Now we head inland towards Kingfisher Park, in the Julatten area. Named after the beautiful Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher that breeds within the grounds, Kingfisher Park is a comfortable birdwatchers lodge set in a patch of remnant rainforest. Boasting a remarkable diversity of birds, the likes of Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Lesser Sooty Owl, Emerald Dove, Pied Monarch and Yellow-breasted Boatbill are among more than two hundred tropical Australian species to have been recorded at and around the lodge. Accommodation at Kingfisher Park is in comfortable but simply-furnished cabins, each with a veranda looking out over the rainforest grounds. We spend two nights at this superb spot! Two nights Julatten Days 11 - 12 We take an easy drive south into the Atherton Tablelands and visit the crater lakes of Lake Barrine and Lake Eacham. This rich volcanic area has some of the best rainforests in Australia, festooned with epiphytic ferns and mosses, where mighty birdwing butterflies flit through the shady understorey and enormous strangler figs drape their roots over their host trees. The stocky Tooth-billed Catbird, the aptly-named Golden Bowerbird and beautiful Wompoo Fruit Doves calling their name are among a wealth of splendid rainforest birds to watch for. We stay at a superbly situated lodge amidst pristine rainforest, where Victoria's Riflebirds display and engaging Red-legged Pademelons graze on the lawns. We plan to go spotlighting in the forests for arboreal mammals and nocturnal birds after dark, and also have a chance of seeing the shy and elusive Platypus as it swims out along a favoured stream at dusk. Two nights Yungaburra Day 13 We enjoy some final birding around Yungaburra today, before returning to Cairns this afternoon, where we'll stay for the next two nights. Considered by many to be at the centre of Australia's very best birding area, Cairns offers some wonderful wetland birding right on the doorstep. Its celebrated waterfront is a splendid wader habitat, with shorebird possibilities including Grey-tailed Tattler, Terek and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Great Knot and Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers. Nearby, Cairns Centenary Lakes can also be highly productive, with a variety of honeyeaters and the sinister Black Butcherbird to watch for, while Orange-footed Scrubfowl scratch about the tangled forest floor. Just north of the city, Redden Island, on the shores of the Coral Sea, is a jewel of a reserve comprising mangroves, beaches and eucalypt woodlands. The lovely Rose-crowned Fruit-dove and Little Bronze-cuckoo are possible here, and we have a good chance of finding the huge but secretive Great-billed Heron along the creek. Overnight Cairns Day 14 From Cairns we take one of the renowned Ocean Spirit cruises today, out to the largest continuous stretch of coral on earth - the Great Barrier Reef. Passing Black-naped Terns which appear stunningly white against the bright blue tropical waters, we'll go ashore at Michaelmas Cay, a sandy islet crammed with breeding seabirds, including 'wide-awake' Sooty Terns and Brown Noddies. Brown Boobies often loaf on buoys near the island, as Great Frigatebirds hang menacingly above. Despite all these wonderful birds, for some the chance to snorkel over the reef itself - or simply view the shimmering colours and vast range of underwater life from a glass-bottomed boat - may perhaps be the ultimate experience. It will be with great reluctance that we leave this window on to another world, with its multi-hued fish and corals, noddies and tropical islets, and return to the mainland for dinner and a second night in Cairns. Overnight Cairns Days 15 - 17 We depart early from Cairns, on a flight south to Brisbane. Leaving the heat of southern Queensland's coastal lowlands behind, we are soon climbing up into the cooler upland rainforests of Lamington National Park, in the beautiful Green Mountains. It's here, at world-famous O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat, that we shall spend the next three nights. With its fine network of trails, O'Reilly's is well-known for the excellent opportunities to see a range of rainforest 'specials', including Noisy Pitta, Green Catbird and Australian Logrunner. This is fabulous bowerbird country too, with the stunning Regent Bowerbird a fitting emblem for the lodge, and the dark blue Satin Bowerbird that loves to adorn its bower with bright blue objects - both are ridiculously easy to see as they come to the feeding areas - and may even perch on you! The feeding areas also attract hordes of colourful parrots during the day, while Sugar Gliders and other mammals, including abundant Red-necked Pademelons, take their place at night. Two of the local rainforest specialities are Albert's Lyrebird - we had superb views of a female on our last visit - and Paradise Riflebird. At slightly lower elevations, O'Reilly's dry eucalypt forests hold a wealth of new of species - both birds and mammals - including the surreal but elusive Glossy Black Cockatoo and the delightful Whiptail Wallaby. In short, the O'Reilly's experience is simply fabulous and richly deserves its reputation as one of the world's best birdwatching lodges. We think you'll agree with us, there's no finer place to conclude our 'Classic Australia' tour! Three nights O'Reilly's Rainforest Lodge Day 18 Bidding a reluctant farewell to O'Reilly's after breakfast this morning, we head back down through the Green Mountains to Brisbane. Here we'll bid a fond farewell to Peter and catch a flight back to home to London, where our tour concludes on Day 19. Accommodation: At comfortable motels, lodges and cabins. All rooms en suite except for one night at lovely Glen Davis and two at Kingfisher Park, where bedrooms are separate but bathrooms may have to be shared. Meals: All included in the price. Walking: Easy walking, no more than a mile or two at any one time. Sturdy thornproof walking boots are recommended. Weather: Tropical in the north (Cairns to Brisbane), where it is hot and sunny all year (25-33oC). Can be humid at times, especially at the coast. Cooler and more pleasant early and late in the day, and further south (Sydney, 16-23oC in Nov). October/November are among the driest months of the year but some rainfall is possible over the coast and hills. Boat Trips: Our tour includes 3 boat trips: a 'must-do' birdwatching and sightseeing trip around Sydney Harbour, a cruise on the Daintree River and an all-day trip out to Michaelmas Cay and the Great Barrier Reef with Ocean Spirit Cruises. Flights: We use the scheduled services of Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Qantas or similar, outbound from London-Sydney and returning Brisbane-London. Our tour price also includes the following domestic flights within Australia: Sydney-Cairns and Cairns-Brisbane. Ground Transport: By modern Toyota bus (or similar). Minibus with smaller group. Photos: Some wonderful photographic opportunities - birds, mammals, butterflies and scenery - especially at such places as O'Reilly's Rainforest Lodge. Numbers: Max. 14 clients |
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