Australian Natural Adventuresnature travel, wildlife tours, adventure travel and general travel to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific
Itinerary
for Phyllis
& Dick Memmer continues... Day 6 - Saturday, October 30: Atherton Tablelands
/ Port Douglas Day 7 - Sunday, October 31: Port Douglas
/ Daintree / Cairns Day 8 – Monday, November 1: Cairns Day 9 - Tuesday, November 2: Cairns / Adelaide
/ Kangaroo Island Day 10 - Wednesday, November 3: Kangaroo
Island Day 11 -Thursday, November 4: Kangaroo Island
/ Adelaide |
oring
the Tablelands, including the Nyleta Wetlands. Some special birds
will be seen, perhaps
including the large Black Cockatoo, and your guide will explain the
plants and workings of the rainforest. After a very typically Australian
lunch at the Atherton Tablelands RSL Club (well off the usual international
tourist trail) we head north to Mareeba for rock wallabies and to
look for Grey Kangaroos at the Golf Course. Continuing north we check
Lake Mitchell for Black-necked Storks and other wading birds; Wedge-tailed
Eagles, one of the largest in the world, can sometimes be seen 
winging
overhead. Our journey today, though reasonably 
short,
will take us from some of the wettest country in Australia, with over
150” of rain per year, to the rain shadow where drought is a
way of life, and back again as we approach the coast. Today will show
the true nature of Australia.
ding
to the Daintree Environmental Centre and Tower to learn about the
lowland rainforest and mangrove systems that we spend our time in
today. The 
or
the coral reefs immediately offshore. We enjoy a picnic lunch somewhere
in the rainforest, and a walk reveals the oldest living flowering
plants in the world. We return to the Daintree River for a very informative
small boat cruise. As well as seeing the river and its wildlife, a
major aim will be to f
ind
the large Saltwater Crocodiles that live here. Our timing today will
depend on the tides and the a
dvice
of our boat naturalist, as we want to take advantage of the best opportunity
of seeing crocodiles. We return tonight to Cairns. Although we have
this itinerary designed for these three days, as this is a personal
journey, you are free to discuss with the guide any personal preferences
for spending time – there are many things to see in this area,
and Del, your guide, will be happy to further customize these days
just as you wish.
concept
began and remains today a means of introducing non-aboriginal people
to the world’s oldest living culture, while at the same time
showing by example to the Aboriginal people themselves that their
culture, often ignored and
looked down upon by its own people, is of great value and interest
to others throughout Australia and the world. Through dance and theatre,
and traditional activities including spear and boomerang throwing,
food and medicinal plants identification, and shelter construction,
there is much to learn here about Aboriginal life. You may wish to
combine this with the 
morning
Tjapukai.
The Tour Desk at the hotel can assist you with the best choice. If
you are interested in purchasing opals, you may wish to visit the
Outback Opal Mine (not a real mine) at Clifton Beach. They will pick
you up if you give them a call, and drive you back. Take your passport
& enclosed brochure for discounted tax-free buying.
trees,
then travel through some of the best wool-producing areas on the island
to a conservation park on the north coast. Here we walk through the
habitat of Kangaroo Island Kangaroos, Tammar Wallabies and the endangered
Glossy Black Cockatoo. For lunch enjoy a delicious seafood barbeque
served with 
fine
South Australian wines before heading to a colony of Australian Sealions.
At Seal Bay Conservation Park a walk among Sealions on a beautiful
sandy beach may reveal watching pups nursing or playing in the surf.
Old bulls bear the scars of territorial disputes, as your guide explains
when he tells us about their unique breeding biology. In the afternoon
we visit Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park including D'Estrees Bay
- where ospreys nest, and kangaroos come out late in the day to feed.
After this you are dropped off at your accommodation. This evening
take a shorter trip with your hosts to look for the tiny Fairy Penguins
which return to their burrows each evening from foraging in the sea.
platypus and many birds including the rare Cape Barren Goose. At Cape
du Couedic on the south-west tip is a New Zealand furseal colony which
is rapidly expanding. These animals can be observed at rest on the
rocks or 
frolicking
in the surf under Admirals Arch - a spectacular coastal grotto. On
the headland above is Cape du Couedic Lighthouse which plays an important
role in navigation. Further down the coast are the Remarkable Rocks,
huge natural granite sculptures on the cliff top. Lunch today is a
picnic in the bush before exploring more of the Island. Depending
upon the day you might take a walk to a secluded cove, or watch for
a platypus by a quiet pool. You return to the eastern end of the island
via Vivonne Bay, one of the few protected bays on the south coast
At the end of your exciting day you will be taken to the airport,
for your 6.35pm Rex flight 4772 back to Adelaide, arriving at 7.05pm.
From here it is a short taxi ride to your downtown hotel, the