Tailormade Holidays in Australia

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!

Accommodation in Tasmania

Northern Terrirtory

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 in Western Australia

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 in Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef

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.