This tour’s big draw card is the dozens of new families for the first-time visitor, from birds-of-paradise and bowerbirds, to lyrebirds and cassowaries. The tour starts in the humid tropical forests of northern Queensland, takes in the arid interior of NSW, and extends all the way down to the rugged coastlines of Tasmania, seeing almost all of the endemics along the way.

Day 1: Cairns. We start at 3pm at our hotel, and we will spend the rest of the day birding the mangrove boardwalk, Centennial Park, and the Esplanade for a pleasant introduction to the birds of tropical Australia. We’ll spend the night in Cairns.

Day 2: The Great Barrier Reef. Today we take a boat ride to the Great Barrier Reef, where we have the chance to snorkel around Michaelmas Cay, one of the most important tropical seabird breeding areas in Australia. Here we expect to see lots of birds, including Sooty Tern, Black-naped Tern, Black Noddy, Lesser Frigatebird, and Brown Booby. After returning to Cairns, we drive to Kuranda for the night.

Days 3-5: Kuranda, Daintree, and the Atherton Tableland. This area boasts superb birding in lowland tropical rainforest. We’ll spend the first morning searching for Southern Cassowary and other target species, such as Double-eyed Fig-Parrot, Superb Fruit-Dove, Victoria’s Riflebird, Yellow-breasted Boatbill, and Yellow-eyed Cuckoo-Shrike. In the afternoon we drive to the Daintree. The next day we take a boat into some narrow mangrove-fringed creeks where we'll search for Shining Flycatcher, Wompoo Pigeon, and if we are lucky, a roosting Papuan Frogmouth or two. After the boat trip we’ll head to Mareeba, after searching for Noisy Pitta and Pied Monarch along the way.

Days 6-7: Mt. Carbine and Hypipamee. Barely a few miles from the lush rainforests, we’ll visit the edge of the outback and bird grassland savanna, where we shall be on the lookout for species such as Great Bowerbird, Red-winged Parrot, Australian Bustard, and Black-faced Woodswallow. We’ll have one day in the rainforest around Hypipamee before returning to Cairns. Both nights will be spent in the Mareeba area.

Days 8-10: Lamington NP to Sydney. After an early flight to Brisbane, we make a quick stop for some mangrove birding, where we seek Mangrove Honeyeater and Mangrove Gerygone, before we make our way to Lamington NP, where we spend two nights  at a luxurious resort. As well as having King Parrots, Crimson Rosellas, and Regent Bowerbirds feeding out of our hands, we can search for Albert’s Lyrebird, Paradise Riflebird, Marbled Frogmouth, and Green Catbird. After a short stop to search for Koala and bird some Eucalypt woodlands on the outskirts of Brisbane, we fly to Sydney and spend the night.

Day 11: Royal NP (Sydney) to Jambaroo. We visit the remarkable Royal NP, an area of unspoiled wilderness on the very edge of the city. Here we bird the temperate forests for that most skilled of mimics, the Superb Lyrebird. In the same area we could find the Rock Warbler (Origma), the sole endemic of New South Wales. Heathlands in the park also harbor Southern Emuwren, and the striking New Holland Honeyeater. We continue south to Jambaroo for the night, stopping for some seabirding along the way.

Day 12: Barren Grounds to Leeton. The heathland and subtropical forest around Barren Grounds is a prime site for Gang-gang Cockatoo, Eastern Bristlebird, Pilotbird, and White-eared Honeyeater. In the afternoon we drive to Leeton on the western plains of New South Wales for two nights, searching for parrots and Emus along the way.

Day 13: Round Hill and Five Bough Swamp. The very early start is worth it as we go into some superb mallee that is just brimming with cracking birds like Chestnut Quail-thrush, Shy Heathwren, and White-fronted and Yellow-plumed Honeyeaters. There is always a chance for a rarity like Black Honeyeater and Red-lored Whistler too. In the afternoon we will chill out at Five Bough Swamp, where Red-necked Avocets, Australian Bitterns, Australian Crakes, Australian Shelducks, and Yellow-billed Spoonbills all vie for a place on this bird-packed marsh.

Day 14: Binya and the Plains-wanderer. Binya is an under-birded area with exceptional potential. Here we’ll delight ourselves with Painted, Singing, White-plumed, and Striped Honeyeaters. There is also a good chance of Splendid Fairywren and Red-capped Robin. As we pass though Griffith, we’ll check the golf course for Bluebonnets and other parrots competing for the sprinklers. The vast plains south of Hay is where many people will get their bird of the trip; we’ll share the sunset with Inland Dotterels, then drive around in search of the enigmatic Plains-wanderer. We’ll spend the night in Hay.

Day 15: Hay to Lithgow. We spend the day birding our way to Lithgow, where a waterworks provides our best shot at the endemic Blue-billed and Pink-eared Ducks. Roadside stops along the way could provide a Cockatiel or a raucous group of Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos. We’ll overnight in Lithgow.

Day 16: Capertee Valley to Tasmania. We spend dawn in the Capertee Valley. The target for the day is the rare and localized Regent Honeyeater, which depends on this area as one of its last strongholds. There are plenty of other corkers in the valley, including the dazzling Diamond Firetail, Dusky and White-browed Woodswallows, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, and Fuscous Honeyeater. In the evening we’ll take a flight to Hobart on Tasmania, where we’ll spend the last three nights.

Days 17-18: Tasmania. There is little rest for the keen, and we begin the day in a small reserve near Hobart to look for the highly endangered Forty-spotted Pardalote, along with other goodies such as Tasmanian Native-hen and Yellow-throated Honeyeater. In the late morning we’ll grab a coffee and Black-faced Comorant, then head over to Bruny Island for Strong-billed Honeyeater, Pink and Scarlet Robins, Hooded Plover, and a crack at Fairy Penguin. The following day will begin in the temperate rainforest of Ferntree, where we’ll search for Scrubtit, Crescent Honeyeater, Black Currawong, and Olive Whistler. Mt. Wellington will be our final official stop on “Van Dieman’s Land” for the audacious Flame Robin and other targets. We’ll spend the afternoon targeting whatever we still need before returning to Hobart.


Day 19: Hobart. The tour ends this morning as we catch our flights back home.

Tour info:

CLIMATE: Warm to a bit cold. Expect some rain in Tassie.

DIFFICULTY: Physically this is an easy trip with no difficult walking involved. However, it is fast-paced, and you can expect to be starting very early on most days, departing the hotel from between 3:30am and 5:00am, and having breakfast in the field. These early starts aren't just for fun, they will get you many more birds and allow us to visit more habitats in a short amount of time.

ACCOMMODATION: Good to excellent.