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.
Today we will arrive at Cairns to settle into our accommodation before a welcome dinner where you will meet your guide and the rest of the group. Own arrangements for flights, airport transfers and activities today.
Accommodation: Cairns (en suite rooms). Meals included: D.
This morning we will depart Cairns and head across the lush Atherton Tablelands into the drier country towards Georgetown. West of the Tablelands, the annual rainfall drops dramatically, and the rainforests and rich arable land turn give way to open woodland and tropical savannah, with a few isolated patches of vine thicket, a relict semi-evergreen forest that survives in areas protected from fire. Birds we’ll hope to see en route include Red-tailed Black-cockatoo, Apostlebird, Cockatiel, Spotted Harrier, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Emu, Brown-backed Honeyeater, Dollarbird, Brown Treecreeper and White-throated Honeyeater. We will stay overnight in Georgetown, once a bustling Gold Rush town but now a quiet farming community.
Accommodation: Georgetown (en suite motel rooms). Meals included: B L D.
This morning we’ll have a look around a dam near Georgetown which is famous for the finches that come to drink early morning. Here we hope to connect with Black-throated, Masked, Plum-headed (rare), Zebra & Double-barred Finches, as well as Pictorella & Chestnut-breasted Mannikins and the very rare Gouldian Finch if we’re really lucky. Other woodland birds here include Rufous-throated, Yellow-tinted, Banded, Bar-breasted, Grey-fronted and Blue-faced Honeyeaters, Varied Lorikeet, Pale-headed Rosella, Red-browed Pardalote, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Brown Treecreeper, Spinifex Pigeon, Diamond Dove, Paperbark Flycatcher and Black-chinned Honeyeater. Waterbirds may include Black Bittern, Comb-crested Jacana, Green Pygmy-goose, Hardhead, Plumed Whistling-duck and Australasian Grebe. From here we will drive west from Georgetown along the Savannah Way, looking to see birds like Sarus Crane, Brolga, Black-necked Stork, Australian Pratincole, Emu, Weebill and White-browed & Masked Woodswallows.
Accommodation: Karumba (en suite rooms). Meals included: B L D.
We’ll explore the extensive mangroves and swampy grasslands in Karumba today. The habitat here holds a few species we won’t have encountered yet including White-breasted Whistler, Mangrove Golden Whistler, Broad-billed Flycatcher, Yellow White-eye, Mangrove Gerygone, Mangrove Grey Fantail, Arafura Fantail, Red-headed Honeyeater, Mangrove Robin and Rufous-throated Honeyeater. In adjacent grassland flats there are Sarus Crane, Tawny Grassbird, the rare Zitting Cisticola, and the difficult to find Star Finch, which is more tied to freshwater environments around Karumba. Along roadsides and in wetlands and open habitats between Karumba and Normanton we have the chance of Australian Bustard, Australian Pratincole, Radjah Shelduck, Glossy Ibis and the possibility of an over-wintering Oriental Plover or two. At night we’ll try to locate one of the resident pairs of Barking Owl.
Accommodation: Karumba (en suite rooms). Meals included: B L D.
After a morning birding around Karumba we'll set off again, this time heading west across the stark Gulf plains for Burketown. The road crosses several rivers on low causeways. During summer. Wet Season rains inundate the plains. Around the Leichhardt River, the dunes of sand on either side of the road are testament to the strength of seasonal floods. We will stop to bird along the way. Despite the apparent lack of cover, the area is home to a range of dry-country birds: Brolga, Sarus Crane, Red-backed Fairy-Wren, Black-breasted Buzzard, Brown Falcon, Red-browed Pardalote, Striated Pardalote (black-headed race uropygialis), Ground Cuckoo-shrike, Little Woodswallow and White-throated Gerygone among others. We will stay overnight in Burketown. The town is named after Robert O’Hara Burke, of the ill-fated Burke and Wills Expedition. After crossing the continent from south to north, the expeditioners were forced to turn back by impenetrable mangrove swamps only kilometres from the coast. .
Accommodation: Burketown (en suite cabins). Meals included: B L D.
It's only 207 km from Burketown to Adel's Grove but it will probably take at least 5-6 hrs to travel as it's fairly rough. Along this section we'll see similar birds to yesterday, but there will be a range of sought-after specialties at Boodjamulla NP, and we'll base ourselves here for the next two nights. Birds we will aim to see here include Purple-crowned Fairy-wren, Buff-sided Robin, Sandstone Shrike-thrush, Long-tailed & Crimson Finch, Silver-crowned Friarbird, White-gaped Honeyeater, Pictorella Mannikin, Varied & Red-collared Lorikeet, Northern Fantail, Azure Kingfisher, Little Woodswallow and Paperbark Flycatcher. We will stay at Adel’s Grove, once a private experimental botanic gardens founded by Albert de Lestang in 1920. In the 1950s, the gardens, all the buildings and de Lestang’s notes and research were destroyed by fire. Lestang’s work is remembered in the name.
Accommodation: near Boodjamulla National Park (en suite cabins). Meals included: B L D.
We will spend a full day of birding around this prime location, looking for the aforementioned species, plus others like Northern Rosella, Red-winged Parrot, Great Bowerbird, White-throated, Grey-fronted, Grey-headed, Black-chinned (the spectacular Golden-backed race laetior), Brown and Yellow-tinted Honeyeaters, Variegated & Red-backed Fairy-Wrens, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike and the possibility of the very rare Grey Falcon.
Accommodation: near Boodjamulla National Park (en suite cabins). Meals included: B L D.
After a final morning's birding in Boodjamulla NP we'll commence our journey to the somewhat more arid country around the mining town of Mt Isa, where we'll be based for the next three nights. We'll need a bit more time here to search for the regional specialties, the hardest of which are the Kalkadoon and Carpentarian Grasswrens.
Accommodation: Mount Isa (en suite rooms). Meals included: B, L, D.
Today we'll commence our search for the region's specialties with one of the harder to find birds - the Kalkadoon Grasswren. This is a tough and possibly arduous task, so we will need to set out early before the heat of the day kicks in. The Kalkadoon Grasswren occurs in Spinifex-clad hillsides strewn with large boulders so some nimble-footedness will help here. With some luck we can see them singing from atop a boulder. Also here, may be Grey-headed Honeyeater, Diamond Dove, Red-backed Kingfisher and Little Woodswallow. At around midday we'll head back to town for lunch, after which we will drive to a nearby Lake to look for a range of aquatic and woodland birds like Wandering Whistling-Duck, Glossy Ibis, Black-necked Stork, Intermediate Egret, Pacific Black Duck, White-eyed Duck, Black-tailed Treecreeper, Painted & Long-tailed Finch, Pictorella Mannikin, Bar-breasted Honeyeater, Varied Lorikeet, Little Friarbird and Rainbow Bee-eater.
Accommodation: Mount Isa (en suite rooms). Meals included: B L D
Our target today will be the critically endangered Carpentarian Grasswren, and in order to see this bird we'll need to drive north west of Mount Isa to a well-known location for this increasingly difficult to find species. We'll try in several locations along the route and with some good fortune will have found the bird before the heat of the day kicks in. Other species here include Grey-headed Honeyeater, Painted Finch, Hooded Robin and Square-tailed Kite. Travel back to Mt Isa for lunch plus some more birding in the region. Additional chance of Kalkadoon Grasswren if needed.
Accommodation: Mount Isa (en suite rooms). Meals included: B L D.
With a bit of time up our sleeves we can bird the morning around Mt Isa to look for any birds we may be missing, and after lunch will head towards Cloncurry. Birds we can expect to see today include Australian Ringneck (local race macgillivrayi, "Cloncurry Parrot"), Varied Lorikeet, Cockatiel, Little Corella, Galah, Budgerigar, Ground Cuckoo-shrike, Emu, Little Crow, Apostlebird, Spotted Bowerbird, White-plumed Honeyeater and Black Falcon.
Accommodation: Winton (en suite rooms). Meals included: B L D.
We will visit a nearby National Park and have the whole day to look for a few species associated with Spinifex grasslands. We are on the edge of a range of species here that rely on this habitat type. Birds we are searching for today include Spinifexbird, Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, Spinifex Pigeon, Hall’s Babbler, Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush, Painted Finch, Black Honeyeater, Pink-eared Duck, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Yellow-throated Miner, Mistletoebird, Black-tailed Native Hen and Red-browed Pardalote.
Accommodation: Winton (en suite rooms). Meals included: B L D.
Today will involve a bit of travelling as we make our way back towards Cairns however, we can stop for birding en route.
Accommodation: Charters Towers (en suite rooms). Meals included: B L D.
Today we will continue our journey back to Cairns, stopping for birds en route.
Accommodation: Cairns (en suite rooms). Meals included: B L D.
Depart Cairns this morning.
Accommodation: none. Meals Included: B
All accommodation as per the itinerary, specialist guide and transport, meals, entrance fees and activities as mentioned in the above itinerary.
International and domestic airfares, airport transfers, alcoholic beverages, snacks, internet, gratuities, laundry or other items of a personal nature.
There are terms and conditions relating to payments, cancellations, refunds, insurance and responsibility for our tours.
Inala Nature
320 Cloudy Bay Road, Lunawanna
South Bruny Island 7150
Tasmania, Australia
Travel Vault policy certificate number:
EV2203UKFI0166
Phone: +61 3 6293 1217
Inala Nature acknowledge and pay respects to the palawa people as the traditional and original owners, and continuing custodians of this land, lutruwita, and acknowledges Elders - past and present. Inala Nature Tours and the Inala Foundation Inc are located on lunawanna- alonnah, also known as Bruny Island, the traditional land of the Nuenonne people.
