THE NATURAL HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA

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Travelers depart Los Angeles or San Francisco around 10 or 11 PM on various flights. We cross the international dateline and lose a day that we'll make up on our way home.

Our flights arrive in Sydney around 6-7 AM. After airport formalities, we go immediately to our hotel in the historic harborside Rocks District, overlooking the Opera House, where we spend two nights. After a rest we begin our exploration of beautiful Sydney. We'll visit the splendid Opera House, ferry across the harbor, and view historic buildings and the botanical gardens

We will begin early for a grand day exploring spectacular Royal National Park near Sydney.
Short walks will provide an excellent introduction to Australian birds and plants. Forests of varied eucalyptus trees are also home to such beautiful plants as banksias, paperbarks, tea trees and tree ferns. Kookaburras, Crimson Rosellas, Whipbirds, Cockatoos, Honeyeaters and Fairy Wrens are common, as well as diverse waterbirds. We return this evening to Sydney. If persons wish to spend this day further investigating Sydney, that's fine.

This morning at 10:00 AM we fly to Melbourne, arriving at 11:30. From our downtown hotel in
Melbourne we can walk out and explore the city; trams (streetcars) run nearby. This afternoon we'll have a city tour featuring some of Melbourne's Victorian buildings and history then continue on a birdwatching outing to Werribee, where waterfowl like Black Swans, endemic ducks, and migratory shorebirds crowd the marshes and lagoons. Individual lunch and dinner.

Thursday, October 30

This morning we depart by bus for Phillip Island, where we'll search for Koalas and seabirds. The island supports a large colony of Little Penguins, and we'll watch the flocks emerge from the surf at dusk and march to their breeding burrows. Dinner at Cowes on the Island and
a late return home to Melbourne. Individual lunch.

We depart this morning by bus for the Grampian Mountains National Park. En route we'll pass through gold-mining towns like Ballarat which date from the mid-1800s. This afternoon we will walk on scenic trails in these ancient sandstone faulted mountains. The Grampians are justly famous for the color and variety of the fall wildflower bloom. In eucalyptus forests and treefern gullies we'll find orchids, lilies, grevillias and more, some of them endemic to these rugged ranges. Common woodland birds include honeyeaters, Yellow Robins, Gang-gang Cockatoos and scrub wrens. Koalas and kangaroos can also be found. Individual lunch.

In early morning nature walk through the sculpted rocks and carved gorges of the Grampians, and then we depart for Rainbow to the northwest in an arid region of wheat and sheep farms. We dine tonight in the agricultural town of Rainbow at the local pub-restaurant where we have a traditional "counter tea." We spend two nights at the Pot-of-Gold Motel in Rainbow. Individual lunch.

We leave early for a full day in Wyperfeld National Park, home to Emus, Kangaroos, the Malleefowl and fantastic parrots. Beautiful trails pass through the forests of river red gums and around old lake beds. Before clearing for farms, this entire region was covered by mallee, a type of dwarf eucalyptus forest maintained by natural fires. For dinner we again have "counter tea" at the local pub-restaurant in Rainbow.

This morning we pass through wheat and sheep country and cross the Murray River on a five-hour drive to Adelaide, where we'll do a short tour in the late afternoon. Our hotel is in the center of town, and we can walk to restaurants along the mall for dinner. Individual lunch and dinner.

We fly to Alice Springs this morning at 9:45, arriving at 12:45 PM. From our central Alice hotel we can wander in the town. At 3:00 PM we drive out by bus to explore and birdwatch the spectacular flash flood gaps of the arid MacDonnell Range. Rock Wallabies and large lizards can be seen and the desert birds include Trillers, Cockatiels, Budgies and Zebra Finches. Ephemeral creeks have worn gorges in the ancient MacDonnells, and the pools in the dry creeks attract wildlife for miles. Dinner on the town. Individual lunch and dinner.

We depart this morning on the five-hour desert drive to Uluru. At the edge of Alice Springs we stop at the sewage ponds to see Stilts and Avocets, Hoary-headed Grebes and Whistling Ducks. We'll have a lunch en route, and check in at our fine hotel in the government developed tourist town of Yulara, where all visitors to Uluru stay. In the evening we take a walk at the base of the rock, investigating aboriginal cave paintings and desert ecology. At sunset we watch the changing colors of the rock. Individual lunch.

Twenty miles away from Ayer's Rock rise the Olgas, similar sedimentary outcrops with a maze of gaps and canyons between. We'll leave early for a long morning of beautiful hikes amongst these sacred red rocks. Wildflowers will depend on recent rains. The story of many desert creatures can be read from their tracks in the orange dunes. We return to the hotel for lunch, and have a relaxed afternoon for swimming and viewing the visitor center. Our last afternoon another walk around Ayer's Rock; those that like may climb the Rock. Tonight an optional desert nightwalk. Individual lunch.

We drive back to Alice Springs today with interesting stops en route. After hotel check-in, this
evening we will visit the Telegraph museum at the original "Springs," celebrating the settlement of the Outback. Varied wildlife gather at this pleasant park. Dinner on the town. Individual lunch and dinner.

An early morning optional birdwatch, and then we catch our 10:50 AM flight to Darwin and the
tropics. In the late afternoon we visit mangrove and mudflat natural areas teeming with land and waterbirds. Individual dinner.

We depart early for Fogg Dam, a bungled rice project that is now one of the finest waterbird
areas in Australia. Jacanas, spoonbills, various herons, storks, pelicans, swans and geese throng the marshes, and many are easily photographed. The nearby forests support Pittas, Cuckoos and Bee-eaters. We spend the night at South Alligator in Kakadu National Park, with excellent woodland and plains habitats surrounding our lodge.

Early birdwalk and leisurely morning and lunch at the hotel (with pool) in South Alligator. In mid-after-noon we move deeper into the park, investigating the billabongs (oxbow lakes) and monsoon forests of this vast park. This evening we have an interpretive walk to the Aboriginal cave paintings of Ubiri. Sunset over the marshes, and then we drive south in the dark to dinner at a lodge farther south. Individual lunch.

At 7:00 AM we'll board a boat to cruise the Yellow Waters area in search of giant Saltwater Crocodiles, Goannas (monitor lizards) and spectacular waterbirds like Black-necked Storks and Sea Eagles. The boats approach close, and photo opportunities are excellent. After a 9:00 AM breakfast, we depart for Darwin, stopping en route to see other wildlife areas of Kakadu. We arrive in Darwin in the late afternoon. Individual dinner on the town.

We're up early to catch our 6:05 AM flight to Cairns, where we are met at the airport at 9:05 by naturalist Andy Anderson. We have picnic lunch on the famous esplanade while watching thousands of Asian shorebirds, then board a large, stable catamaran for the 40-minute voyage 15 miles offshore to Green Island, a sandy caye on the Great Barrier Reef. Our resort lodge is deluxe and surrounded by lush vegetation. We have this afternoon and tomorrow morning to walk the trails and beaches and swim. The corals and fishes of the Great Barrier Reef comprise the world's most diverse marine ecosystem. The white coral beaches of Green Island are the perfect setting to practice and apply our snorkeling skills. Other activities available include an underwater observatory, glass bottom boats, a semi-submersible (you sit below the water's surface with glass on both sides), a pool and a museum of South Pacific Islands and Crocodiles. The leader can teach you how to snorkel.

After a morning of snorkeling and walks viewing diverse terns, shorebirds and pigeons, we ferry to the mainland and are met by Andy for our scenic journey inland to Yungaburra. We ascend the Coast Range and then cross the fertile 3,000 foot Atherton Tablelands, the rich farmland broken by rainforest preserves, where we walk in search of Spotted Catbird, Victorias Riflebird (a bird of paradise) and myriad colorful honeyeaters. We settle for the night at the historic Lake Eacham Hotel, hosted to traditional Aussie hospitality. At dusk we'll wait for a platypus at a frequent watery haunt.

We depart early to The Crater, a volcanic formation with surrounding forest trails where we'll search for exotic specialties like Golden Bowerbird, Green Catbird, Chowchilla and King Parrot. We return to Yungaburra for lunch and continue north to delightful Kingfisher Lodge, nestled in the forest and rich with wildlife. Birds like Red-necked Rail and several honeyeaters are attracted to the feeders, and the spectacular Noisy Pitta and Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher will have recently returned from Asia. The Red-legged Pademelon (a small roo type) is a frequent visitor, and on our night walk we may find Stripped and Green Possums, Bandicoot, and even the Lesser Sooty Owl.

An early rainforest walk before we descend from the Tablelands and drive along the Queensland coast, old haunt of Captain Cook, to Port Douglas for the evening on the beach with lush hotel grounds.

A day of options! There will be a day-long excursion beginning with a boat trip to see wildlife along the Daintree River, then a walk through rainforest at Mossman Gorge. Persons could also choose to make another trip to the Great Barrier Reef, or lounge on the beach and by the pool of our hotel; the nearby town of Port Douglas also has many attractive shops.

We depart Port Douglas very early to reach Cairns in time for our 6:30 AM Qantas flight back to Sydney, connecting with various mid-afternoon flights to L.A. and San Francisco. We should all reach home evening this same day. Australia is magnificent!