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Location Highlights
- Tasmania – this rugged island is home to an abundance of mammals including possums, pademelons, echidnas and wombats, as well as 12 endemic bird species
- Uluru (Ayers Rock) – this iconic sandstone monolith resides in a park that is excellent for birdwatching, and which offers a chance to see the striking Scarlet-chested Parrot
- Ningaloo Reef – between March and July, Whale Sharks congregate around the reef offering extraordinary wildlife-watching and diving opportunities
- Kakadu National Park – famous for its Aboriginal rock art created up to 20,000 years ago, as well as wetlands teeming with wildlife, including Saltwater Crocodiles and more than a third of Australia’s bird species!
- Lamington National Park – a bird-rich subtropical rainforest where species such as King Parrot and Paradise Riflebird can be found, as well as an interesting variety of marsupials
- Daintree Rainforest – a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to rare species such as the Great-billed Heron
- Kangaroo Island – in spite of its name, this island is also home to penguins, seals and Koalas; it also boasts some breathtaking scenery
- Great Barrier Reef – the world’s largest and most famous coral reef. Unbeatable for colourful marine-life
Tailormade Holidays in Australia
Tailormade | Tour Code: TAUSCreate your own Tailormade holiday to Australia with dates and an itinerary to suit you.
When to Visit
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SAMPLE HOLIDAY: Tropical North Queensland (Self-drive)
11 days from £3,995 (Flight Inclusive)
This self-drive itinerary offers an excellent introduction to Australia's birds, mammals and marine-life. You will stay in a selection of family-run hotels and eco-lodges chosen for their stunning locations and proximity to wildlife.
Location Highlights
- Tasmania – this rugged island is home to an abundance of mammals including possums, pademelons, echidnas and wombats, as well as 12 endemic bird species
- Uluru (Ayers Rock) – this iconic sandstone monolith resides in a park that is excellent for birdwatching, and which offers a chance to see the striking Scarlet-chested Parrot
- Ningaloo Reef – between March and July, Whale Sharks congregate around the reef offering extraordinary wildlife-watching and diving opportunities
- Kakadu National Park – famous for its Aboriginal rock art created up to 20,000 years ago, as well as wetlands teeming with wildlife, including Saltwater Crocodiles and more than a third of Australia’s bird species!
- Lamington National Park – a bird-rich subtropical rainforest where species such as King Parrot and Paradise Riflebird can be found, as well as an interesting variety of marsupials
- Daintree Rainforest – a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to rare species such as the Great-billed Heron
- Kangaroo Island – in spite of its name, this island is also home to penguins, seals and Koalas; it also boasts some breathtaking scenery
- Great Barrier Reef – the world’s largest and most famous coral reef. Unbeatable for colourful marine-life
Summary
Australia is a land of extremes and this is mirrored in the wonderful variety and distinctiveness of the wildlife that calls its forests, deserts, mountains and coastline home. Almost half of Australia’s birds are endemic, making it a true birder’s paradise, but this vast island also boasts more endemic mammals and reptiles than any other country in the world! With over 36,000 kilometres of coastline, Australia is also blessed with outstanding whale-watching opportunities which can be enjoyed throughout the year, while diving or snorkelling within the world’s largest coral reef system offers a mesmerising introduction to the region’s colourful marine-life.
With such scale and isolation, it is no surprise that Australia supports a huge diversity of unique and fascinating wildlife, much of which is endemic to this vast and varied continent. Australia’s bizarre mammals are perhaps most well-known, from the egg-laying monotremes (Platypus and echidnas) to the pouch-rearing marsupials (possums, gliders, kangaroos and Koalas). The region’s birdlife is equally unique and diverse and includes the formidable-looking Southern Cassowary, the Superb Lyrebird – impressive in both its physical and vocal displays – and a number of endemic, or near endemic families, including the scrub-birds, bristlebirds and pardalotes.
Each corner of Australia is home to its own unique suite of wildlife and habitats from the lush rainforests of the Daintree in the north to the mountains and lakes of Tasmania in the south and the arid ‘Outback’ in the core of the country. However, with frequent domestic flights operating between all of Australia’s major cities, it is possible to explore much of the country on a single Tailormade tour.
Many will feel a strange sense of familiarity when visiting Australia, largely owing to the country’s colonial past and continued strong affiliations with the UK. However, the flora and fauna are worlds apart, and those choosing to travel here are sure to enjoy some of our planet’s most unique and extraordinary wildlife in a safe and comfortable setting.
Our Destinations
The rugged and mountainous island of Tasmania is often overlooked in favour of the glitz and glamour of Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, the rocky Red Centre or the bird-rich wetlands of Kakadu National Park. However, Tasmania offers some of the easiest and most rewarding mammal-viewing in the whole of Australia, as well as 12 endemic species of bird and dramatic scenery. Whether you end up watching Common Wombats against the beautiful backdrop of Cradle Mountain or enjoying the nesting Short-tailed Shearwaters on Bruny Island, Tasmania is sure to impress, and a week here fits nicely with time spent on the Australian mainland. Furthermore, the island’s excellent, well-signed road network and comfortable accommodation make it a perfect choice for a self-drive itinerary. An exploration of Mount Field and Freycinet National Parks, or the forested shoreline of Lake St Clair, may yield a few of the island’s endemic birds such as the beautiful Green Rosella, Dusky Robin and Forty-spotted Pardalote. Whilst out walking, or on night-drives, you may also encounter such mammal highlights as Short-beaked Echidna, Southern Brown Bandicoot and, if fortunate, the endemic Eastern Quoll and Tasmanian Devil. There is also the option to take an exciting scenic flight to Melaleuca, near the island’s southern tip, in search of the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot. At the last count there were less than 30 individuals remaining in the wild!
Australia’s Northern Territory – or ‘Top End’, as it is affectionately known – extends south into the vast ‘Red Centre’. It is the country’s ultimate birding destination, home to some of its most beautiful and iconic species including Hooded Parrot, Rainbow Pitta and Banded Fruit-dove. For many, the floodplains and wetlands of Kakadu National Park are the region’s biggest draw. Here, up to one million waterbirds crowd the reserve, which can be explored on guided walks, drives and boat excursions along the tranquil waters of the Yellow River Billabong in search of the beautiful Comb-crested Jacana and both Freshwater and Estuarine Crocodiles. The Katherine River system offers a wealth of scenic highlights with deep valleys, stunning gorges and escarpments dotted with baobab trees. Tailormade opportunities in this region include guided tours of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kjata Tjuta, two of Australia’s most important Aboriginal sites, as well as wildlife-watching around Mount Connor, another of the region’s great sandstone monoliths and a haven for the local birds, mammals and reptiles.
Western Australia is the largest of Australia’s states, making up one third of the total area of the country. However, with the exception of Perth, the state’s coastal capital, it is sparsely populated allowing vast swathes of wild flowers to dominate its plains when they bloom each austral spring. Indeed, Western Australia is home to the greatest diversity of flowers anywhere in the world with over 12,000 species recorded, including 125 species of spider orchid! Western Australia also boasts 12,500 kilometres of coastline which offers one of the longest whale-watching seasons anywhere in the world. Between the months of May and December, thousands of Humpback Whales, plus smaller numbers of Southern Right and Blue Whales, ‘hug’ the coastline during their annual northward and southward migrations, passing especially close to shore as they travel around Geographe Bay in the south-western corner of the state. To the north, a visit to Ningaloo Reef between April and July offers the opportunity to swim with Whale Sharks, whilst February and March are excellent times to visit Bremer Bay off the state’s southern coastline for an encounter with the largest pod of Orcas in the Southern Hemisphere. The very scenic south-west of Western Australia is home to 15 endemic bird species, including Red-capped Parrot, Carnaby’s and Baudin’s Black Cockatoos, Red-eared Firetail, Noisy Scrub-bird and Western Bristlebird. It is also the only place to see the endearing Numbat – a small termite-eating marsupial.
Accommodation
Queensland offers Australia in microcosm and a fantastic assemblage of many of the country’s most unique and iconic habitats. Lying off the coast of Queensland is the world’s largest coral reef system, the Great Barrier Reef, and a visit here would not be complete without sampling a taste of the state’s breathtaking marine-life. We recommend Hastings Reef and Michaelmas Cay as two of our favourite locations, and the Frankland Islands are also excellent for snorkelling or scuba diving. In the very south of Queensland lies Australia’s most extensive remaining tract of subtropical rainforest, Lamington National Park, while further to the north, the elusive Southern Cassowary is a highlight of the Daintree region. Whilst this imposing bird can often be quite challenging to find, the wealth of other birdlife is superb and includes Victoria’s Riflebird, Golden, Tooth-billed and Great Bowerbirds, Spotted Catbird, Chowchilla, Noisy Pitta, Lesser Sooty Owl and the attractive Macleay’s Honeyeater. Not far from Daintree, lies the rolling grassy uplands of the Atherton Tablelands, home to such mammals as Platypus, Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo and plenty of flying foxes, gliders, possums, kangaroos and wallabies, as well as an abundance of birdlife.
Accommodation
Southern Australia (New South Wales, Victoria & South Australia) is home to a number of the country’s most iconic cultural and scenic spectacles. As well as offering some remarkable coastal scenery, the Great Ocean Road (to the west of Melbourne) passes through Port Campbell and Discovery Bay National Parks which are home to Koalas, wallabies and numerous bird species. Just a couple of hours south of Melbourne lies Phillip Island, where a colony of up to 750 Little Penguins can be seen coming ashore at sunset each evening after a day’s fishing at sea. Another excellent option available from Melbourne is a visit to East Gippsland, a little-known wildlife haven of eucalypt forest and coastal habitats which extends out from Melbourne’s eastern suburbs and offers wonderful opportunities for some of the country’s most iconic large mammals. Within the picturesque Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney, live Satin Bowerbird, the endemic Rock Warbler and the Superb Lyrebird, one of the great mimics of the avian world. The proximity of some of these wonderful locations to two of Australia’s largest cities makes it very easy to mix wildlife-viewing with a few days of urban sightseeing.
Sample Itineraries
This self-drive itinerary offers an excellent introduction to Australia's birds, mammals and marine-life. You will stay in a selection of family-run hotels and eco-lodges chosen for their stunning locations and proximity to wildlife.
Extend your holiday:
Add a few nights of relaxed birding at O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat
Day 11/14 – Lamington National Park
Day 15 – Depart Brisbane
This itinerary visits some of the most picturesque regions of Tasmania, an island rich in endemic birds and mammals
Extend your holiday:
Experience some more of Australia's mammal highlights from Kangaroo Island
Day 11 – Fly Adelaide
Day 12/13 – Kangaroo Island
Day 14 – Depart Adelaide
The Essentials
- Wildlife Guides: We work with some of the most exceptional guides throughout Australia, many of whom are leading experts in their field, be it birding, botany, mammals or more general natural history. If on a budget you might prefer to join a small group tour for part of your stay or hire a specialist birding guide for just three or four days of your holiday.
- When to Visit: Many Europeans choose to visit Australia during the northern winter and it is true that the southern regions of Australia are at their best – especially from a wildlife point of view – between September and December. However, such is the size of the country that there is good weather and exciting wildlife to be enjoyed in one part or another throughout the year. For example, the Northern Territory, northern Western Australia and northern Queensland are best enjoyed between May and September, with October and November being very good for birds as summer visitors from the north arrive with the onset of the rainy season at that time. For those interested in wild flowers, August and September are the months to visit Western Australia, while the whale-watchers will be happy there from June to November, and Whale Shark enthusiasts will need to be on the Ningaloo Reef in March and April in order to coincide with these giants of the ocean.
J F M A M J J A S O N D YY YY YY YY YY YY YY YY YY YY YY YY - Getting Around: Although Australia is a vast country, it is well connected by a network of internal flights which connect most corners of the country several times a day. On a more local level, the roads are excellent and driving conditions are akin to those in the UK so self-drive is certainly an easy option. All of our dedicated wildlife guides are also happy to drive should you prefer to relax and enjoy the wildlife.
Why Naturetrek Tailormade?
'A Naturetrek Tailormade holiday allows you, with the benefit of our wildlife travel expertise and destination experience, to enjoy the perfect private wildlife holiday – one that truly matches your requirements, expectations and ambitions. We will ensure the most competitive prices, superb naturalist guides and seamless ground services.
Some of the benefits of Naturetrek Tailormade travel include:
• A bespoke itinerary which is crafted by experts and designed specifically for you
• Private guiding by the very best local naturalists
• Travel with people you know, at your own pace
• Incorporate as much culture, history or relaxation time as you wish
• Choose dates to suit you
• Select your preferred style of accommodation
• Travel with families and children of any age
Furthermore, our Tailormade team are always on hand to help and guide you along the way, with friendly advice, first-hand knowledge and inside information specific to your destination of choice. So if you have any queries about your holiday, we will be delighted to answer them. Please just give us a call!'
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