Southern Tablelands Birdwatching Tour # 2 – High Level Sites
Adults - $430.00 per person
Children - $60.00 for children 3 - 15.
Under 3 years old are free.
Available 7 days
10 hours
Minimum 2 adults
Pick up at 7am & return at 5pm
This can be discussed at time of booking.
Details & Itinerary
Schedule
- 7am – Pick up from your accommodation
- Morning birding – sites visited can depend on weather and target lists
- Midday – Lunch
- Afternoon birding – sites visited can depend on weather and target lists
- 5pm – Return to your accommodation
Tour Inclusions
- Tour Guide Fees
- Transport in a comfortable tour 4WD air-conditioned vehicle
- Lunch
- Permits & entrance fees
- Accommodation pick up and drop off
- Bottled water in vehicle
Tour Excludes
- Items of a personal nature including soft drinks and snacks
What You Should Bring
- Comfortable covered walking shoes – while there are no major hikes during this tour there will be some walking on potentially rough paths
- Lightweight long-sleeved shirt and long trousers- some plants can be rather scratchy
- Lightweight raingear
- Hat
- Sunblock
- Insect repellent
- Camera and binoculars
Mt Hypipamee
The area of high altitude rainforest around the decayed water-filled volcanic pipe at Mt Hypipamee is a great place to look for local endemics including Golden Bowerbird, Grey-headed Robin, Fernwren, Atherton Scrubwren, Mountain Thornbill, and Bridled Honeyeater. This is the headwaters of the Barron River which eventually winds its way down to Cairns. A pleasant walk through the rainforest allows us to see a number of the Tablelands endemics which cannot be found at lower altitudes though there is some altitudinal migration with certain species such as Grey-headed Robin and coming lower in the winter months. In recent years the Mt Hypipamee National Park has also been a good site for Southern Cassowary.
Wondecla
The drier forests around Wondecla are good for a variety of honeyeaters with several species being found in the trees behind the sports field. Crested Shrike-Tit, Fuscous Honeyeater and Little Lorikeet can be seen in the nearby dry eucalypt woodland.
Kaban
A foray into the higher level dry country around Kaban can be made for Painted Buttonquail, Brown-backed Honeyeater, Brown Treecreeper, Red-browed Pardalote and Crested Shrike-tit. On rainy days this is also a very good area for Bush-hen and Buff-banded Rail and they are regularly seen in the grass along the verges.
Topaz
An area of lush pastures in between areas of rainforest. It is the dairy area of Far North Queensland and also one of Australia’s wettest destinations. Blue-faced Parrotfinch can be seen in this area. On rainy days this is another very good area for Bush-hen and Buff-banded Rail and they are regularly seen in the grass along the road verges. The smaller northern form of Crimson Rosella can be found in gardens and the surrounding rainforest holds Tooth-billed Catbirds, Chowchillas, Eastern Spinebills, Red Boobooks and much more.
The Topaz area is also great for Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo and Platypus if you are a mammal enthusiast.