Oct 8: The final leg of our Australian tour began with an early rise for a long day of travel.  We departed Perth at 5:45am, reaching Melbourne 3 1/2 hours later, local time 12-noon, with the time change. Following a four-hour layover, the one-hour flight to Hobart went quickly. We arrived in Tasmania in the…

  Oct 7:  Today marked our last full day in Western Australia, the country’s largest geographical state, but home to just 10% of it’s inhabitants, most of whom reside in the southwest corner of the state, in or near the state capital of Perth, on the coast.  We had spent the night in Narrogin, and awoke early to head…

  Oct 6: Our avian tour of Western Australia included ample time in Stirling Range National Park, encompassing the highest mountain range in the western part of the country.  We were staying in the Stirling Range Retreat, known for its interpretation, education and conservation-based mission, as well as warm hospitality and comfortable accommodations. Following breakfast in our cabins, we walked the…

Oct 5:  We savored our last morning at Cheyne’s Beach, a relaxing, picturesque getaway on the south coast of Western Australia. The chilly morning temperature was quickly forgotten by the sight of a Western Grey Kangaroo hopping between our cabins, and the sound of a Noisy Scrub-bird calling close by.  We walked down the road to take up position as we’d…

Oct 4: We spent a full day exploring the quiet, pristine area of Cheyne’s Beach, located 65 km east of Albany, on the south coast of Western Australia.  Our targets included three endemic, endangered species – Noisy Scrub-bird, Western Wattlebird, and Western Bristlebird – and we devoted much time trying to locate these hard-to-find birds.  It…

  Oct 3:  Our birding tour of Western Australia continued on a morning with on-off showers, the first precipitation encountered in several weeks.  Undeterred, we explored the roads and trails of Gloucester Tree, a Karri Forest preserve not far from our hotel, featuring towering 90m eucalyptus, native to this region of Western Australia.     We…

Oct 2: The main part of our Australian birding tour ended in the wee hours of the morning, when we said good-bye to Lisa, Janis and Vicki, and boarded a plane in Darwin to fly to Perth, to begin our tour extension in the western part of the country.     After a brief, two-hour…

  Oct 1: Today we are deep in the Northern Territory of Australia, about 250 km south of Darwin, in the small town of Pine Creek.  We savored our last full day of the main part of the tour in these northern reaches of the country, amidst a landscape of hot, dry, savannah woodlands dotted with scenic, rocky…

  Sept 30: Today we ended our brief birding tour of Kakadu National Park, in Australia’s Northern Territory, with a pre-breakfast run to Nourlangie Rock.  We tracked down a Rainbow Pitta in the tree canopy adjacent to an interesting display of aborigine rock-art.  The morning was overcast and drizzly, which cooled the normally high temperatures; birding…

  Sept 29: “Our land has a big story.  Some times we tell a little bit at a time.  Come and hear our stories …. ”  Such was the aboriginal welcome we felt at Kakadu National Park, covering nearly 20,000 square kilometers of Australia’s Northern Territory.  As a designated World Heritage site, Kakadu National Park is protected for it’s cultural…

Sept 28: Today marked our first full day of exploring Australia’s Northern Territory, beginning in Darwin, the most populous city in the territory, with approximately 125,000 people.  Named for the famed naturalist who promoted natural selection theories of evolution, Darwin has fittingly evolved from a pioneer outpost to a modern, multi-cultural city overlooking a harbour.  …

Sept 27: We spent half of the day transferring from Queensland to Darwin, but before leaving Rose Gums Wilderness Retreat, we took another chance to look for the Victoria’s Riflebird that our co-guide, Barry, had spotted briefly yesterday.  At first light we assembled on the edge of the forest near to its territory. It was…