Exploring Tasmania's Southern Ocean for Pelagic Birdwatching.

We will board a charter vessel (weather permitting), making our way into the vastness of the Southern Ocean in our quest for pelagic birds. High species diversity and the nearness of the continental shelf have earned Tasmania an international reputation as an excellent place to see pelagic species.

Not long after we depart Pirate’s Bay, we will hopefully encounter Short-tailed Shearwater in considerable number.  This is one of the finest places on the planet to see a diversity of albatross and Wandering, Royal, Shy, Campbell, Black-browed, and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross are all possible.  With land still in sight we will reach the continental shelf and begin to lay a berley trail from the back of the boat.  Possible petrels include White-chinned, Great-winged, Grey-faced, the striking White-headed, Gould’s, Cook’s and Mottled. Shearwater diversity is also good with Hutton’s, Fluttering, Sooty and Short-tailed Shearwater all possible. Wilson’s, Grey-backed and White-faced Storm Petrels and Fairy Prion are also regularly seen. Mammals we may encounter include Australian Fur-seals, Hump-backed Whale, Common and Bottlenose Dolphin.

Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe offer some of the best birding and general wildlife viewing in all of Africa.  Starting at the Zambezi River and spectacular Victoria Falls and ending on the Skeleton coast, this new tour covers a range of habitats from miombo woodland in Zimbabwe and lush riparian forest in the Caprivi and Botswana, to dune and red rock landscapes in central Namibia, and the spectacular lagoon at Walvis Bay where the desert meets the Atlantic Ocean.

This tour provides an amazing opportunity to visit three of Africa’s top wildlife and birding destinations and includes excellent birdwatching opportunities, many of the endemic, special and localised species, and fantastic chances of seeing the Big Five and other rare and special mammals. Join Tonia on this fantastic 19 day three country African megatour with option extensions to Okonjima to take nature drives to track pangolins, rhinos, and leopards and/or visit the iconic giant red sand dunes at Sossusvlei.

Sri Lanka is an island filled with an abundance of natural treasures. It is one of the most ecologically rich countries in the world and is recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot, believed to have the highest species diversity in Asia. The island is an excellent birding location with over 450 recorded species including migrants. Of these, 34 species are endemic to Sri Lanka and a further 18 species can be seen within the Indian subcontinent only. Sri Lanka is also home to a diversity of mammals too, including Leopard, Sloth Bear, Asian Elephant, Asiatic Buffalo, Sambar and Spotted Deer, as well as a range of primates, squirrels and other small species. The island is one of the best places in the world for whale watching, so we will take a day cruise into the Indian Ocean to look for Blue Whale and Spinner Dolphin, and, with good luck, Sperm Whale and Orca too. On this tour, we visit a variety of habitats from tropical rainforests, wetlands, arid scrub jungle and savanna grasslands to experience the best of wild Sri Lanka.

Nestled between China and India, Nepal is a country of extraordinary natural diversity. With an elevation ranging from 60 metres in the Gangetic Plain to greater than 8,800 metres at the summit of Sagarma tha - Mt Everest in the Himalayas, the country features a wide range of biomes and rich fauna and flora. Nepal boasts tropical savanna in the lowlands, subtropical broadleaf and coniferous forest in the hill areas, and temperate and alpine flora, rock scree and ice at the higher elevations. Over 890 species of birds have been recorded here, among them the country’s only endemic bird, the Spiny Babbler (Acanthoptila nipalensis), the glorious rainbow-feathered Himalayan Monal, the national bird of Nepal, and the enigmatic Ibisbill. In addition to the huge variety of birds, Nepal is home to 208 species of mammals, including Greater One-horned Rhino, Asian Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Sloth Bear, Red Panda, Ganges River Dolphin, many species of deer including Sambar, Chital and Indian Muntjac, and primates such as Terai Grey Langur and Assam and Rhesus Macaques. Lowland rivers and lakes are home to the hefty Mugger Crocodile and the rare long-snouted Gharial, restricted to only a few locations in Nepal, northern India and possibly Bangladesh. This tour has been designed to join a tour to Sri Lanka and there is an option of taking both at a discounted price.

South America was one of the last parts of the supercontinent Gondwanaland to break away from the Antarctic plate around 65 million years ago; Australia was the last (separating from the Antarctic plate around 45 million years ago). Consequently, the Australian fauna and flora are quite closely related to that of South America. This 16-day itinerary focuses on the central part of Chile and showcases these Gondwanan connections with particular reference to Tasmania and the southern cone of South America.

Northern Chile Lauca National Park pre-tour extension

Patagonia - Tierra del Fuego and Torres del Paine post-tour extension

Our popular and comprehensive tour of Tasmania offers all of Tasmania’s 12 endemic birds plus iconic mammals including Eastern Quoll, Wombat and Platypus. This tour includes Southern Ocean pelagic and Maria Island excursions.

In addition, arrive a day early to join the 1-day special excursion to Tasmania's South West Wilderness Heritage area. Fly into Melaleuca and see the rare and critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot, and more.