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NORTHERN AUSTRALIA

Birdquest's Northern Australia birding tour features the vast landscapes of the remote Northern Territory. Kakadu in the 'Top End' and the 'Red Centre' deserts around Alice Springs are surely two of Australia's most evocative and scenic regions, as well as great birding areas in their own right, and in our comprehensive search for Northern Australia's specialities we will explore a series of additional localities stretching from Darwin to the Western Australian border.

Saturday 28th July - Sunday 12th August 2012
(16 days)

Leaders: János Oláh and assistant

Group Size Limit: 12

Tour Category: Easy for the most part, occasionally Moderate

The superb Lilac-crowned Wren is another brilliant speciality of this tour (Mark Beaman)

Australia, the smallest continent or the largest island on earth, depending on how you like to look at it, has been cut off from the rest of the world for more than sixty million years and as a result has evolved a remarkable and unique flora and fauna. The birdlife has followed its own evolutionary path and Australia has more endemic bird species (over 300) than any other country and many bird families which are entirely restricted to it or which do not extend beyond Australasia.

Australia’s immense geographical area means that it is simply impossible to see the great majority of its endemic birds during a single visit of just a few weeks, so it is far more sensible to regard the island continent as a place where one should make two or more visits. Superb, mostly easy, birding combined with good travelling conditions make for an unforgettable experience.

This exciting tour has been specifically designed to concentrate on the many endemic specialties of the northern region of Australia. Northern Australia is one of several classic Birdquests that between them cover every corner of Australia and achieve a level of coverage of its specialities that is unequalled.

Our journey begins deep into the ‘Red Centre’ of Australia, at the famous town of Alice Springs in the remote Northern Territory, where we will enjoy some good birding in the MacDonnell Ranges as we explore the dramatic sandstone gorges and areas of thorny spinifex in search of Bourke’s Parrot, Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, Dusky Grasswren, Western Bowerbird, Spinifexbird and other specialities of interior Australia.

Further south, around Erldunda, we will look for the spectacular Major Mitchell’s (or Pink) Cockatoo, Banded Whiteface, Chiming Wedgebill and Cinnamon Quail-thrush. A stay in the ‘Red Centre’ would not be complete without a visit to the dramatic and mysterious Ayers Rock (or Uluru), the largest monolith on earth, so we will round off our travels in the southern part of the Northern Territory with a visit to this spectacular place.

The second part of our journey takes in the northern, tropical part of the Northern Territory. We will start off at Darwin at the northern extremity of the territory. Here we will explore a diverse array of habitats that are home to Radjah Shelduck, Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Chestnut Rail, Red-collared Lorikeet, Blue-winged Kookaburra, Rufous Owl, Rainbow Pitta, Black Butcherbird and many other great birds.

A highlight of our journey across northern Australia will be our time amidst the wild grandeur of Kakadu National Park in Arnhem Land. Here we will see ancient Aboriginal rock paintings and magnetic anthills, not to mention billabongs teeming with waterbirds, huge crocodiles and exciting specialities including Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeon, Partridge Pigeon, Banded Fruit-Dove, White-throated Grasswren, White-lined Honeyeater, Sandstone Shrike-Thrush and Arafura Fantail.

Further into the interior, in the Katherine region, we will be looking for the rare Red Goshawk, Chestnut-backed Button-quail, the lovely Hooded Parrot, Northern Rosella, Black-tailed Treecreeper and the superb Gouldian Finch.

We will reach our farthest southwest at the remote Victoria River and at Timber Creek, not that far from the border with Western Australia. Here we will be wanting to see the stunning little Purple-crowned Fairy-wren, as well as the huge Australian Bustard, Buff-sided Robin and Star Finch.

Northern Australia offers a marvellous combination of great birding, including numerous specialities, and some of the best scenery on the continent.

Birdquest has operated tours to Australia since 1985.

(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)

Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels/motels are of normal Birdquest standard throughout. Road transport is by minibus/passenger van or car and roads are mostly good (even the dirt roads are mainly well graded).

Walking: The walking effort is mostly easy, but occasionally moderate (including one fairly short but steep uphill hike in Kakadu).

Climate: Warm or hot, dry and sunny (although it can get very cool at night and in the early morning in the interior). While overcast conditions are not infrequent, there is only a low probability of rain. It is generally rather humid near the coast.

Bird Photography: Opportunities are quite good.

Tour Price: $6300 Alice Springs/Darwin. Price includes all transportation (including Alice Springs-Darwin flight), all accommodations, all meals, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, all tips for local drivers/guides and for accommodations/restaurants, leader services.

Single Room Supplement: $948.

Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).

Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.

View Map Download Detailed Itinerary 595kb

The rare and seldom-seen Red Goshawk is now a very real possibility on this tour (Mark Beaman)

Another highly-prized endemic, the colourful Gouldian Finch, can appear in good numbers in some years (Mark Beaman)

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