Great Northern
Bird Tour
This Tour is currently not offered!
Great Northern Bird Tour
This Tour is currently not offered!
Cairns - Atherton Tablelands - Mission Beach - Pajinka (Cape York)
- Darwin - Kakadu National Park - Katherine - Darwin. (fly / drive)
8 birdwatchers maximum
NOTE: This itinerary also operates in reverse,
depending on the timetable of adjacent tours.
Day 1
Accommodation: All Seasons Sunshine
Tower, Cairns
Today we meet and visit local areas like the Botanical Garden
and the Esplanade, which at the right tide produces a great variety
of waders. Another spot is one of the cemeteries to look at the
Bush Stone-Curlews.
Day 2
Accommodation: All Seasons Sunshine
Tower, Cairns
The whole day is spend at Michaelmas Cay. This important seabird
island is well known for the thousands of Noddies, Sooty Terns,
Brown Boobies, Lesser Crested Tern, Frigatebirds and many more.
Unusual sightings of Red-footed and Masked Boobies are always
possible. Of course swimming and snorkelling are also on the
agenda.
Day 3 & 4
Accommodation: Yungaburra Park Motel,
Yungaburra
We drive via a few good birding spots to Yungaburra, a central
location on the Atherton Tablelands. Around the Crater Lakes
we look for Tooth-billed Bowerbirds, Fernwrens, Chowchillas and
many more. At night we visit forests which harbour up to five
different species of Possums, plus the chance of some owls.
The northern part of the Tablelands is fairly dry and offers
different species of birds. White-browed Robins, Black-throated
Finches and Pardalotes are found in these regions, and a visit
to Mt Lewis should show us in the rainforest among others the
Satin Bowerbird, Golden Bowerbird and Atherton Scrubwren.
Day 5 & 6
Accommodation: Castaways Beach Resort
In the southern part of the Tablelands we have another chance
of seeing the Golden Bowerbird, and we also look out for Bridled
Honeyeaters, Mountain Thornbills and Grey-headed Robins. In the
woodland close-by we usually find the Yellow Thornbills, White-cheeked
Honeyeaters, Fuscous Honeyeater and Red-backed Fairy-wrens.
After lunch we drive down to the coast to Mission Beach,
the best area for the elusive Cassowary. Several times we walk
in the lowland rainforests with its spectacular Fan Palms, where
also our nocturnal searches for Lesser Sooty Owl, Rufous Owl
and Red-necked Crake take place.
Day 7 & 10
Accommodation : Pajinka Wilderness Lodge
On day 7 we drive very early to Cairns to catch the plane from
Cairns to Bamaga. We arrive at Pajinka about midday. Pajinka
is owned and operated by the Injinoo Aboriginal Community and
has magnificent beaches, which are fringed by the lush rainforest
and provide a spectacular wilderness setting.
We have no set itinerary during our stay, but we visit the rainforest
at day and night, woodland, mudflats and beaches, go by dinghy
into the mangroves and do a tour to the woodland and riverine
forests at the Jardine River. There are numerous highlights in
this region, and the Palm Cockatoo, Magnificent Riflebird, Fawn-breasted
Bowerbird and the Yellow-billed Kingfisher are just some of them.
Day 11
Accommodation: Frontier Darwin, Darwin
We leave Pajinka and fly to Cairns. We usually have a few hours
to go shopping before we fly to Darwin, where we arrive at about
8.00 pm.
Day 12 & 13
Accommodation : Gagudju Cooinda Lodge,
Kakadu N.P.
Via Fogg Dam, where we look for White-browed Crakes and Rainbow
Pittas, we drive to Cooinda. During our stay we visit several
location to look for Banded Fruit-Doves, Sandstone Shrike-thrushes
and Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeon to name just a few. A charter
in the afternoon shows us the multitude of waterbirds and crocodiles
on 'Yellow Waters'.
Day 14 & 16
Accommodation: Frontier Katherine, Katherine
A last stop, before we leave Kakadu N.P., is Gunlom, where we
look for the White-throated Grasswren. I have two locations to
view this uncommon bird. We arrive at Katherine and spend the
next days looking for Gouldian Finches and Hooded Parrots, but
of course as usual we enjoy looking at all birds present. A visit
to Katherine Gorge is also planned.
On the last day we travel via a river with remaining waterholes,
where we could expect up to 35 species of birds coming in to
drink, to Darwin where the tour ends.
Kirrama Wildlife Tours
Phone: (07) 4065 5181
International Phone: 61 7 40655 181
email: info@kirrama.com.au
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