Ultimate Australia Safari

Arrive in Cairns, the gateway to Australia’s tropical north and jumping-off point for the Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, protecting Queensland’s globally important ancient rainforests. A transfer is included to our hotel in the heart of this laid-back small city, where we gather this evening for a welcome dinner with our Expedition Leader.

From Cairns, drive north to Cape Tribulation where two UNESCO World Heritage Sites and distinct ecosystems—the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest—converge. The route to our secluded ecolodge follows the coast before turning deep into the ancient ferns, emerald vines and dense canopy that inspired the film Avatar. Along the way, look for the endangered cassowary, the spectacular Australian bird that stands up to 6-1/2 feet tall. Ferry across the Daintree River, thick with saltwater crocodiles, to reach our destination inside Daintree National Park—land traditionally the province of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji Aboriginal people. As one of the world's oldest continuous living cultures, they have inhabited, managed and relied on this rainforest ecosystem for more than 50,000 years, maintaining a deep spiritual and physical connection to the land.

This area is part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area, a spectacular region of rugged topography encompassing rivers, gorges, waterfalls and mountains draped in the planet's oldest rainforest. The vast Daintree Rainforest, named for 19th-century Australian geologist and photographer Richard Daintree, is one of the oldest on the planet, dating back 135 million years. Its dense vegetation shelters an unusual array of wildlife, including the musky rat kangaroo and southern cassowary, which we look for on guided walks. High in biodiversity, the Daintree holds 30% of Australia’s frog, reptile and marsupial species and 90% of its bat and butterfly species. Some 430 bird species live in the canopy, including the locally endemic tooth-billed and golden bowerbird, lovely fairywren, yellow-spotted honeyeater, Victoria’s riflebird, Bower’s shrikethrush and fernwren. Ancient plant species date to the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods—remnants of the dinosaur age—with wisk and tassel ferns representing some of Earth's earliest land plants. Other ancient flora includes plum pines, southern yews and buny pines.

A highlight today is a private Dreamtime Walk in Mossman Gorge. On this meandering stroll with a local Indigenous guide through lush rainforest and along a clear, rushing stream, learn about traditional plant use, bush food sources and cultural practices like ochre painting, which have persisted over millennia. At the end of the tour, gather around for bush tea and damper, the classic Australian soda bread. Later tonight, after dinner, take a walk after dark with our Expedition Leader in search of nocturnal wildlife.

Rise early for a private boat trip on the Daintree River, flanked by dense rainforest and mangroves, to enjoy birdwatching and nature photography in the golden light of morning. Our solar electric boat moves silently through the water as we cruise in search of crocodiles, which are abundant in the river, and we learn in detail about their important role in this ancient ecosystem, plus contemporary efforts to conserve them. Lunch at the Daintree Tea House, secluded in the rainforest and surrounded by the sounds of birds, is a special interlude in our day.

Continue to the Atherton Tablelands, a vast green plateau covered with rainforest, savanna, lakes and farms, and known for impressive waterfalls and wildlife. En route, stop at Wildlife and Raptor Care Queensland for a private tour of this facility caring for and rehabilitating raptors and other birds of prey, with an eye to their safe and sustainable release into the wild. Another highlight is the astonishing Curtain Fig Tree, an epic rainforest survivor with its own complex ecosystem. Estimated to be at least 500 years old, this massive strangler fig has an aerial root system that drops 49 feet to the ground. The birdlife heard in the surrounding forest is also a wonder. On an evening wildlife experience deep in the rainforest, we'll scan the trees for possums and the well-camouflaged leaf-tailed gecko, as well as many other animals that only wake up at night.

In the vine forest at higher altitudes, we find fascinating marsupials and monotremes including the mainland platypus and Lumholtz tree kangaroos. Tree kangaroos remained undetected by Western settlers until almost the 20th century, being secretive, solitary and well-camouflaged canopy dwellers in remote tracts of rainforest. In Yungaburra, we’ll try to spot the elusive platypus in the wild, often on view in Peterson Creek. We also find excellent wildlife viewing and birdwatching at Lake Barrine, a volcanic lake in Crater Lakes National Park. On a forest walk, we may see red-legged pademelon, musky rat kangaroo, snapping turtle giant eel, forest dragon, eastern water dragon, carpet python, saw-shell turtle and Ulysses butterflies.

Tolga Bat Hospital is a special stop, one of Australia’s most acclaimed and innovative ecotourism experiences. On a private guided tour, learn about the conservation of bats and their habitat through the community group’s rescue and landcare work, advocacy, education and research. Get up close to spectacled flying foxes, a large Old World fruit bat native to northeast Australia that was declared endangered in 2019. If our timing is right, we may get to see bat babies, which are downright adorable. Back at our ecolodge, once dusk falls, we make use of the wildlife viewing platform, which is illuminated at night, to spot sugar gliders and striped possums that live in the forest surrounding us.

Spend another morning searching for abundant wildlife in the Atherton Tablelands, then drive back to Cairns where we catch our afternoon flight to Brisbane. On arrival, transfer to our hotel next to the sea in the peaceful suburb of Margate, where we’ll have dinner and a chance to rest up before tomorrow’s early departure for the Great Barrier Reef.

Transfer early this morning to a nearby airstrip where board our chartered small plane to Lady Elliot Island, situated directly on the Great Barrier Reef. The views en route are impressive, as we follow the Queensland coastline and fly over Fraser Island, surrounded by the deep-blue Pacific Ocean. After about 80 minutes in the air, we come in for a landing on Lady Elliot Island, on the southern tip of the world’s largest and most biodiverse coral ecosystem, spanning 1,400 miles in the Coral Sea. The reef sustains an astounding variety of marine life, earning it designations as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World.

Lady Elliot, a coral cay lying within the reef’s most highly protected Green Zone, is the optimal base from which to explore its wonders over the next three days. The small island's sole accommodation is an award-winning family-run ecolodge focused on reef health and environmental sustainability. Because Lady Elliot Island sits directly on the reef, we can snorkel from the beach as well as on boat excursions that take us farther offshore Snorkeling instruction is provided, while certified scuba divers can opt for deeper exploration at 20 dive sites around the island (extra cost). On a glass-bottom boat with local naturalists, view the undersea realm and learn how corals are being impacted by climate change. Marine life is captivating, and we may see giant sea turtles, manta rays and schools of brilliant tropical fish as we explore beneath the surface. Other activities include a visit to the historic lighthouse, birdwatching and stargazing.

We have one more half-day to explore the marine marvels of the Great Barrier Reef from our isolated outpost on Lady Elliot Island. The world beneath the sea is full of wonders, from graceful manta rays and gentle reef sharks to three species of sea turtles and huge schools of tropical fish in shimmering colors. On October and November departures, we may spot humpback whales spouting or breaching. Ashore, look for prolific seabirds including various terns, noddies, shearwaters, sea eagles and red-billed tropicbirds.

Our unhurried time on the island has given us an appreciation for the ecology of coral reef ecosystems and the conservation challenges they face worldwide. Ultimately, however, it’s time to return to the mainland, and we fly back after lunch, landing at the airfield just 10 minutes away from our hotel in Margate, where we spend another night. Enjoy some free time late this afternoon to relax on your private balcony overlooking Moreton Bay, swim in the rooftop pool, or walk the promenade path along the beach out the front door.

Return to the airport in Brisbane this morning for our flight to Hobart, capital of the island state of Tasmania. Lying 150 miles off the southern coast of Australia across the Bass Strait, Tasmania covers more than 26,000 square miles, 42% of which is protected in national parks and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. A legacy of wilderness appreciation is intrinsic to Tasmania, the birthplace of the world’s first environmental political party. The island was occupied by Tasmanian Aboriginals for 30,000 years before the British Empire arrived in the form of a penal colony in 1803.

On arrival, head to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary for a private tour. Come face to face with unique creatures that became extinct long ago in other parts of Australia, and get a peek at rarely seen species such as the eastern quoll and Tasmanian bettong. We have a private lunch with an exclusive behind-the-scenes overview of Bonorong's impressive conservation efforts. Then continue to Mt. Field Retreat for the next two nights, located in the Upper Derwent Valley on the boundary of Mt. Field National Park. This prime setting gives us easy access via private trails to night walks in the park, which is teeming with nocturnal species, including echidna, wallabies and pademelon. We'll also witness the wonder of glow worms in the forest, sparkling like twinkle lights among the trees. After dinner, enjoy some superb stargazing, when skies are clear.

Wake early and wander the environs around our lodging looking for wildlife. After breakfast, we have a private kayaking tour on the Derwent River, paddling in search of wild platypus. This 100-million-year-old semi-aquatic mammal has a duck-like bill, webbed feet and fur, and along with the echidna, it is one of just two egg-laying mammal species on Earth.

This afternoon, we head to Mount Field National Park, Tasmania’s oldest, along with Freycinet, established in 1916. Yet the park has been a nature reserve since 1885, when early white settlers were awestruck by its waterfalls and natural beauty. The region had already been occupied for millennia, however, as the homelands of the Big River nation of Tasmanian Aborigines. They knew this place when it was buried in glacial ice, and later as rainforests and eucalypt forests flourished. Spend the day walking in their ancient footsteps among the tallest flowering trees in the world, and exploring the coastal rainforest. In summer, the high country can be a blaze of color with blooming waratahs, boronias and heath. Weather will determine our activities in the park, but we’re sure to end the day with a sense of wonder at the many treasures it holds. Back at our lodge, more wildlife watching awaits this evening, as well as a chance to look for more constellations in the dark night sky.

This morning, we begin a half-day’s drive to northern Tasmania, stopping en route at the Central Plateau Conservation Area, a wild realm of subalpine moorlands and countless tarns. In the isolated heart of Tasmania away from major roads, the region is known for its wilderness hiking and world-class trout fishing. We stop to admire the view of Great Lake and look for echidnas, yellow-tailed black cockatoos and Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagles, among other birdlife.

After lunch, continue to Marakoopa Cave in Mole Creek Karst National Park for a private tour of this dramatic limestone cavern. This immense structure contains two underground streams, large vaulted chambers, expanses of glittering flowstone and dramatic stalagmites, plus a sparkling display of bioluminescent glowworms. Then it’s on to our lodge on the edge of Cradle Mountain National Park where we settle in before an evening outing to seek out wildlife abundant nearby. Keep an eye out for wallabies, echidna, pademelons and wombats as they come out around dusk and are often spotted in the vicinity of our lodge.

Over the next two days we delve into Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. This UNESCO-protected realm covers 3.7 million acres, one-fifth of Tasmania’s landmass. The park’s imposing peaks, lakes and glacier-sculpted valleys comprise some of Australia’s most stunning landscapes. Cradle Mountain, rising to 5,069 feet, is surrounded by diverse habitats of grassland, temperate rainforest and ancient plants that date to the supercontinent of Gondwana, including the King Billy pine, deciduous beech and pandani, the world’s tallest heath plant. We hike around Dove Lake, gleaming sapphire-blue beneath Cradle Mountain’s jagged profile, and stop at some waterfalls. Wildlife abounds in the park, and we seek it out on walks at dawn and dusk. We'll also take a night walk in search of difficult-to-spot wildlife, and while our odds are very slim, we'll hope for a glimpse of an elusive quoll or Tasmanian devil. We're more likely to spy wallabies, pademelon and echidnas, and wombats—a cuddly cousin to the koala—are prevalent here, although no koalas exist in the wild in Tasmania.

We will get a peek at Tasmanian devils on a visit to a nearby conservation sanctuary, however, where staff work to protect and sustain the mysterious marsupial. Our visit offers a rare opportunity to see and learn about these hard-to-find nocturnal species that are endangered in the wild. The sanctuary is involved with breeding, release and re-introduction of Tasmanian devils, in addition to field monitoring of wild populations and orphan rehabilitation. It also houses the closely related spotted-tail and Eastern quolls, offering a trifecta of Tasmania’s three largest carnivorous marsupials. If our timing is right, we may even witness a feeding.

Keeping an eye out for some last sightings of wombats, wallabies and pademelons as we leave the lodge, we drive this morning to Devonport on Tasmania’s northern coast. From here, catch a private chartered flight to Hawker in the state of South Australia, our gateway to the Outback in the Flinders Ranges. Once we land, we drive 30 minutes to Rawnsley Park Station and check in to our luxury eco-villas, just minutes outside Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park—our base for a full slate of activities ahead.

Spanning nearly a quarter-million acres, Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park is an ancient, semi-arid landscape of rocky mountain ranges, tree-dotted gorges and a wealth of seasonal wildlife. It has been the home of the Adnyamathanha people for tens of thousands of years, and the Wilpena Pound area, a natural circular mountain amphitheater, is known as Ikara, or “meeting place,” to its traditional inhabitants. The park holds many culturally significant sites, including ancient rock art, and during our visit, we'll discover the wealth of nature and human heritage that defines the region. Begin to get a feel for the Outback on an evening nature walk as we look for western gray kangaroos, wallaroos and emus.

Spend two full days exploring a vast tract of rugged wilderness that few visitors to Australia get to experience, as we survey highlights of Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. During our visit, we tour Sacred Canyon with an Aboriginal guide from Adnyamathanha Country and walk to a rock art site more than 65 thousand years old, where we learn the cultural significance of the stories these ancient engravings reveal. Wildlife drives are likely to reveal kangaroos, emus, wallaroos and more as we learn about local history and culture along the way, including bush tucker. Bush walks round out our exploration of the region's wild terrain, as we discover how the ancient sea floor was uplifted and eroded to create this amazing landscape. Drink in exhilarating views of Wilpena Pound and the Bunyeroo Valley as we make our way to Brachina Gorge to observe some of the oldest fossils on the planet. Meandering through the impressive rock formations, keep an eye out for endangered yellow-footed rock wallabies. Other species we might see during our time in the park are tawny dragons, red-barred dragons, sand goannas, shingleback lizards, skinks, rainbow bee-eaters and the short-beaked echidna. A morning visit to the Cazneaux Tree offers a chance to look for rare red kangaroos. The tree is a lone river red gum made famous by photographer Harold Cazneaux in a 1937 image that brought him international recognition. It has remained an important landmark since, attracting other photographers and artists.

Transfer to the airport in Port Augusta this morning, about a 90-minuite drive, for our short chartered flight to Kangaroo Island. With more than 300 miles of coastline surrounded by turquoise ocean, Australia’s third-largest island is renowned for its pristine beaches, local wines and abundant wildlife that the island's isolation has naturally protected. “KI,” as it's known by locals, lies less than 10 miles off the mainland, but its offshore status helps sustain considerable numbers of native Australian species, including kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas, goannas, New Zealand fur seals, Australian sea lions, and one of Australia’s largest koala populations.

On arrival, we head to Cygnet Park Sanctuary, a private rewilding project that has reestablished a host of native plants and wildlife species, including abundant koalas and the rare glossy-black cockatoo, plus crimson rosellas, galahs and corellas. We’ll get an overview of the park’s habitat restoration program and glossy-black cockatoo recovery project. After a seafood barbecue lunch, we head to Stokes Bay to explore a range of habitats, from broom-bush low scrub, casuarina woodland and red gum forest to rocky shoreline and sandy beach. Exploring the Bay of Shoals and Reeves Point, look for black swans, cormorants, crested and Caspian terns, and a host of bush birds like superb fairy-wrens, crescent honeyeaters, rainbow and purple-crowned lorikeets. By late afternoon, continue to the community of American River where our boutique hotel overlooking the bay awaits. Dinners here are a gourmet treat, prepared by our talented resident owner/chef—we feel like we're dining in a private home.

Our itinerary is flexible over the next two days to take in a broad sampler of Kangaroo Island’s best wildlife spots and striking coastal landscapes. There’s plenty of wildlife right around our hotel on the eastern side of the island, with koalas often dozing in eucalyptus trees nearby, lots of birdlife including pelicans on the shoreline, and dolphins and southern right whales in the bay beyond. But it’s the remote western reaches of the island that are wildest, and we focus much of our exploration there. On the drive, keep an eye out for wildlife as we go: we often spot tammar wallabies, koalas, Kangaroo Island kangaroos—a subspecies unique to the island—and echidnas right along the road.

At Seal Bay, observe and learn about Australian sea lions. an endangered species nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th century. Today, about 800 of them thrive here, one of Australia’s largest sea lion colonies. On a private guided tour with a park interpreter, watch pups nursing on the beach or playing in the surf, and see old bulls scarred by territorial disputes. More of Kangaroo Island’s dramatic southern shoreline is on display in Flinders Chase National Park. At Admiral’s Arch, witness millennia of geological history, where the erosive forces of water and wind have sculpted a large natural rock arch with a view onto the often-tempestuous Southern Ocean. A colony of long-nosed fur seals lives nearby, congregating on the rocks. Seabirds flourish here, and we may see terns, Australasian gannets, shearwaters, Pacific gulls, and possibly some southern emu-wrens. A highlight is a walk among the Remarkable Rocks—a set of enormous boulders precariously perched atop a granite dome above the ocean, whose massive shapes have been formed by 500 million years of exposure to the elements.

Continuing our deep delve into the ecology of the island, witness how habitats are rebounding from the bushfires that burned almost half of Kangaroo Island in 2020, and visit Baudin Conservation Park to learn about the rare glossy-black cockatoo—we often see wedge-tailed eagles here, too. A special highlight is a private meeting at Pelican Lagoon with Dr. Peggy Rismiller, the world’s foremost expert on the short-beaked echidna. For more than 35 years she has been studying this fascinating monotreme, an ancient egg-laying mammal that once roamed with dinosaurs. Her research overview provides us with intriguing details about this unique creature that resembles a hedgehog yet is most closely related to the platypus.

Our grand Australia nature odyssey comes to a close this morning. A transfer to the airport in Kingscote is included for our short scheduled flight from Kangaroo Island to Adelaide. From the airport in Adelaide, connect with homeward flights, or, for those staying an extra night in Adelaide, enjoy exploring this walkable city's acclaimed botanic gardens and excellent museums. Or, for an even more ultimate Down Under adventure, consider extending your trip with our New Zealand Nature Explorer—ask an Adventure Specialist for details.