Discover Cape York endemic birds on this extraordinary 8-day expedition through Australia's most remote northeastern corner, home to the continent's largest unspoilt rainforest. Journey north from Cairns through Lakefield National Park's tropical woodlands and wetlands to the legendary Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park, exploring two of Australia's richest birding destinations at a comfortable pace.

At Lakefield National Park, search termite mound landscapes for the stunning endangered Golden-shouldered Parrot alongside Red Goshawk, one of the world's rarest raptors. Spend three full days at Iron Range exploring verdant monsoon rainforest harbouring species found nowhere else in Australia: the spectacular Palm Cockatoo, two members of the Bird-of-paradise family (Magnificent Riflebird and Trumpet Manucode), the brilliant green and red Eclectus Parrot, Frill-necked Monarch, and White-faced Robin.

Encounter frugivorous specialists at fig trees including Wompoo and Rose-crowned Fruit-Doves, nocturnal mammals like the bizarre Spotted Cuscus, and range-restricted honeyeaters. Led by Inala Nature Tours' expert guides with intimate knowledge of Cape York's challenging species and remote habitats, this best-selling tour provides exceptional opportunities to experience Australia's tropical avian treasures. Flight between Lockhart River and Cairns included.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• Golden-shouldered Parrot at termite mounds in Lakefield National Park
• Red Goshawk - critically endangered and one of the world's rarest raptors
• Iron Range National Park's monsoon rainforest - Australia's largest unspoilt tropical rainforest
• Palm Cockatoo, Magnificent Riflebird, and Trumpet Manucode - spectacular rainforest specialists
• Eclectus Parrot and Red-cheeked Parrot - brilliantly coloured parrots
• Frill-necked Monarch, White-faced Robin, and Yellow-legged Flycatcher - range-restricted endemics
• Fruit-doves at fig trees: Wompoo, Rose-crowned, Superb, plus Double-eyed Fig-parrot
• White-streaked, Tawny-breasted, and Green-backed Honeyeaters - Iron Range specialties
• Star Finch, Black-throated and Masked Finches in grasslands and woodlands
• Three full days at Iron Range ensuring comprehensive coverage of rainforest endemics

THE INALA ADVANTAGE

This expedition includes small group sizes (minimum 4 participants with one guide, maximum 8 with two guides), ensuring personalised attention in remote Cape York locations where expertise is essential. All accommodation is carefully selected. Inala Nature Tours provides expert specialist guides with extensive experience specifically in Cape York's endemic birds and rainforest ecology, supported by comprehensive 4WD transport essential for navigating the Peninsula Development Road and accessing remote sites. All meals are included (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), with packed lunches for field days. National park entry fees and the flight between Lockhart River and Cairns are included in the tour cost. The guides' understanding of seasonal fruiting patterns, bird-of-paradise behavior, endemic subspecies identification, and nocturnal mammal habits provides participants with exceptional wildlife encounters.

Simply put, this tour is hard to beat: as one of our best-selling tours, it covers the highlight areas in this region while traveling at a comfortable pace.

Take a 15-day journey through Queensland’s tropical landscapes, from rainforests to savannas and Mitchell grass plains, and from waterlily-covered lakes to mangrove-lined waterways. This tour explores the diverse habitats of Queensland’s remote north to search for some of the country’s most elusive and sought after species. 

Beginning in Cairns, you'll head west through the scenic Atherton Tablelands, into the dry country of the Gulf Plains, visiting Karumba and Burketown for the stunning Purple-crowned Fairywren, Buff-sided and Mangrove Robins, White-breasted Whistler, Sandstone Shrikethrush, and a host of finches. 
From Mount Isa, we’ll work our way back to the coast, looking for grasswrens, Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, Ground Cuckoo-shrike, colourful Crimson and Orange Chats and, with luck, Grey Falcon, as well as a range of other species of the spinifex grasslands and rocky ranges of the inland. This guided tour offers a great opportunity to experience Australia's unique birdlife in a relaxed and scenic setting.

This short tour is designed to target Cape York Peninsula in the Wet Season where we have the best chance of a small number of very special migrants from Papua New Guinea. These birds have a short migration window and visit our shores for a few months only. We take in the lowland rainforests of the incomparable Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park.

The birds we will be seeking in Kutini-Payamu NP are the Papuan Pitta (Erythropitta macklotii), Black-winged Monarch and Buff-breasted Paradise-kingfisher. Of course, there is a suite of additional amazing birds in this region that we’ll also target, like Palm Cockatoo, Papuan Eclectus, Magnificent Riflebird, Frill-necked Monarch, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Trumpet Manucode and Northern Scrub-robin, to name a few. Several of the species at the tip of Cape York also occur in New Guinea but are found nowhere else in Australia. They represent an ancient avifauna that harks back to the last Ice Age, when there was a land bridge between Australia and PNG.

We also offer a pre-tour extension for the first departure, or post-tour extension for the second departure, which visits the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, one of Australia’s most biodiverse regions. We will spend time in the Atherton Tablelands, which is home to many endemic birds and other wildlife, including some closely related to those of the rainforests of Kutini-Payamu/Iron Range on Cape York Peninsula. Among the specialties we will look for here are Southern Cassowary, Victoria’s Riflebird, Spotted Catbird, Tooth-billed & Golden Bowerbird, Bridled & Cryptic Honeyeater, Grey-headed Robin and Pied Monarch. This will also be out first chance of the stunning Buff-breasted Paradise-kingfisher. This is also a great location for mammals and we hope to encounter Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo, Green Ringtail Possum, Striped Possum and Platypus among others. The spectacular but highly cryptic Boyd’s Forest Dragon is also possible here.

Embark on an unforgettable Queensland rainforest wildlife adventure through south-eastern Queensland's most spectacular national parks. This comprehensive 10-day tour showcases the region's extraordinary biodiversity, from ancient Gondwanan rainforests to pristine coastal heathlands. Starting in Brisbane, you'll journey through Lamington National Park's subtropical rainforests, the unique Bunya Mountains, and the wildlife-rich Great Sandy National Park. Each location offers exceptional opportunities to encounter rare and endemic species in their natural habitats, guided by Inala Nature Tours' expert naturalists who bring decades of knowledge and passion for Australian wildlife.

The tour's diverse habitats support an impressive array of species. Lamington National Park's subtropical rainforests are home to the spectacular Regent Bowerbird, Paradise Riflebird, and the elusive Australian Logrunner. The Bunya Mountains harbour stands of ancient Araucaria, while the coastal heathlands and wetlands of Great Sandy National Park provide critical habitat for the endangered Southern Emu-wren and the Black-breasted Button-quail. Night excursions reveal a wealth of marsupials including Eastern Quoll, Greater Glider, and various possums. The region's diversity extends to reptiles, with lace monitors, eastern water dragons, and numerous skink species commonly encountered.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• Lamington National Park's ancient Gondwanan rainforests with Antarctic Beech
• Comprehensive coverage of south-east Queensland's endemic and rare birds including Albert's Lyrebird and Noisy Pitta
• Satin Bowerbird and Paradise Riflebird at their display sites
• Bunya Mountains National Park hosting rare Bunya Pines
• Night spotlighting for Eastern Quoll, Greater Glider, and other mammals
• Great Sandy National Park's coastal heathlands for Southern Emu-wren and Black-breasted Button-quail

This tour includes small group sizes (maximum 6-9 participants with one guide, or up to 12 with two guides), ensuring personalised attention and optimal wildlife viewing opportunities. All accommodation is carefully selected for proximity to birding sites, featuring comfortable en-suite rooms. Inala Nature Tours provides expert specialist guides with decades of combined experience in Australian wildlife, supported by comprehensive transport in well-equipped 4WD vehicles where terrain demands. All meals are included (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), with packed lunches for field days allowing maximum time in the field. National park entry fees and special activities such as boat cruises are included.

Inala Nature Tours is renowned for its commitment to ethical wildlife viewing, contributing to conservation research, and maintaining the highest standards of guiding.

Explore the extraordinary wildlife and pristine habitats of Far North Queensland on this comprehensive 10-day small-group Wet Tropics speciality birds tour. From Cairns to the Atherton Tablelands and the ancient Daintree rainforest, experience Australia's most diverse tropical ecosystems.

UNFORGETTABLE WILDLIFE ENCOUNTERS

Search for the magnificent Southern Cassowary, marvel at Double-eyed Fig-Parrots, and discover rare species including Fernwren, Golden Bowerbird, and Great-billed Heron. This intensive tour takes in the wide range of habitats and ecotones available in the Wet Tropics region of far North Queensland. Your expert naturalist guide will lead you through lowland rainforests, highland wilderness, coastal wetlands, and tropical savannah woodlands.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Daily Birding excursions across multiple habitats on the Atherton Tablelands, with its suite of endemics.

• Scenic Daintree River cruise seeking kingfishers and Papuan Frogmouth.

• Night spotting for mammals including Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo, Striped Possum, and unique Australian wildlife.

• Great Barrier Reef boat trip with opportunities to spot boobies, terns, and frigatebirds.

• Visits to premier locations for Queensland's endemic and speciality bird species.

With accommodation in comfortable en suite rooms, all meals included, and small group sizes ensuring personalised attention, this tour offers exception value for wildlife enthusiasts.

Beginning in Longreach and ending in Mount Isa, this Outback birdwatching tour takes us to the Mulga Lands and Channel Country in search of inland rarities and difficult to find species such as Eyrean and Grey Grasswrens, Grey Falcon and Letter-winged Kite, along with Bourke’s Parrot, Flock Bronzewing and Inland Dotterel.

Working our way south from Longreach, we visit Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, a world-renowned birding location known for its exceptional diversity of bird species including Hall’s Babbler, Pink Cockatoo, White-browed Treecreeper, Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush and Black-breasted Buzzard.

Heading west, we spend time in the quintessential Outback town of Birdsville, exploring the Channel Country and the dunefields at the edge of the Simpson Desert. Here we will search for the specialties of the area: Eyrean and Grey Grasswren and Rufous-crowned Emu-wren in lignum and canegrass, and Letter-winged Kite in coolabah trees along the watercourses. Yellow Chat is a possibility here too, along with Orange and Crimson Chat, Cinnamon Quail-thrush, Slaty-backed Thornbill and flocks of Budgerigar. Gibberbird occurs on the stony plains.

Around Mount Isa, we visit spinifex grasslands, rocky hillsides and open woodland for Carpentarian and Kalkadoon Grasswren, Spinifexbird, Spinifex Pigeon, Painted Finch, Black-tailed Treecreeper, Grey-fronted Honeyeater, the glorious golden-backed form (subspecies laetior) of the Black-chinned Honeyeater, the Cloncurry form (subspecies macgillivrayi) of Australian Ringneck and Varied Lorikeet. With luck, we’ll encounter Purple-necked Rock Wallaby here too, as they sun themselves among the red rocks.

This tour is preceded by a short extension from Mount Isa to Winton that takes in the scenic jump-up country north-west of Longreach to look for Opalton Grasswren. This extension also visits the Australian Age of Dinosaurs and Lark Quarry Conservation Park.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary for Hall's Babbler and Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush
• Eyrean and Grey Grasswren around Birdsville
• Carpentarian and Kalkadoon Grasswrens around Mount Isa
• Gibberbird and Cinnamon Quail-thrush on stony plains
• Grey Falcon, Black Falcon, Letter-winged Kite, Black-breasted Buzzard, and a diverse range of raptors
• Visit to Eromanga Natural History Museum to learn about the fossil history of Outback Australia

This expedition-style tour includes small group sizes (maximum 8 participants with 2 driver guides), ensuring personalized attention and optimal wildlife viewing in remote locations. Inala Nature Tours provides expert specialist guides with extensive experience in Australia's arid zone. All accommodation is carefully selected and has air-conditioning and en suite bathrooms. We use well-equipped 4WD vehicles.

All meals are included (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), with packed lunches for field days allowing maximum time searching for grasswrens and other specialties. Entrance fees, fossicking licenses where required, and special activities are included.

Inala Nature Tours offers unparalleled expertise in birding and natural history tours.

This tour is designed to join the Winton Short Tour