Gulf Country & Tropical Savannah Birding

Arrive in Mt Isa and make your way to your accommodation. Meet your guide and fellow travellers for a pre-trip briefing over a welcome dinner. Overnight: Mount Isa Meals: D

An early start to look for two of the harder-to-find target species – the Kalkadoon and Carpentarian grasswrens – while exploring the boulder-strewn spinifex hills and open woodland around Mt Isa. Other arid-zone species to watch for include spinifexbird, black-tailed treecreeper, grey-headed honeyeater, spinifex pigeon and several finches. After lunch, travel along the Leichhardt River to Lake Moondarra for waterbirds, waders, grassland and woodland species, and keep an eye out for resident purple-necked rock-wallabies and freshwater crocodiles. Overnight: Mount Isa. Meals: B/L/D.

Another chance for the endangered Carpentarian grasswren before continuing north to Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park, with a stop at the World Heritage-listed Riversleigh fossil site en route. Arrive at Wugudaji-Adels Grove, a small oasis on the banks of Lawn Hill Creek owned by Waanyi Advancement Limited, a not-for-profit dedicated to the economic development of the Waanyi people. Rest up on the grounds, watching for Gilbert's dragon in the gardens and freshwater crocodile in the river. After dinner, listen for nocturnal birds including barking owl, Australian boobook and owlet-nightjar. Overnight: Wugudaji-Adels Grove. Meals: B/L/D.

Explore Boodjamulla on foot in the morning and by solar-electric boat in the afternoon. The park is a mix of lush pandanus-lined creeks and sandstone gorges surrounded by semi-arid savannah grassland and open woodland. Key species include purple-crowned fairywren, buff-sided robin, pictorella mannikin, crimson and long-tailed finch, sandstone shrike-thrush and white-gaped, yellow-tinted and grey-fronted honeyeater. Cruising quietly through the middle gorge of Lawn Hill Creek towards Indarri Falls offers chances of black bittern, azure kingfisher and white-bellied sea-eagle, with grey falcon occasionally seen in the park. Overnight: Wugudaji-Adels Grove. Meals: B/L/D.

After early-morning birding around Wugudaji-Adels Grove, travel to Burketown with a stop along the Gregory River, another chance for purple-crowned fairywren, various finches, paperbark flycatcher and Arafura and northern fantail. After checking in at Savannah Lodge, explore hotspots around Burketown and the Albert River. Burketown is named after Robert O'Hara Burke of the ill-fated 1860 Burke and Wills expedition, which turned back in the mangroves between here and Karumba. Overnight: Burketown. Meals: B/L/D.

Early birding along the Albert River, then head across to Karumba along the seasonally closed Savannah Way. Break for birding at the Leichhardt Falls low-water crossing, watching for cockatiel, black-breasted buzzard, ground cuckooshrike, great bowerbird and various honeyeaters and finches. Cross the Norman River floodplains between Normanton and Karumba with chances of brolga, sarus crane and numerous waterbirds. Accommodation sits across from the mudflats at the mouth of the Norman River, with sunset views over the Gulf of Carpentaria. Overnight: Karumba. Meals: B/L/D.

A full day at Karumba. The morning is spent looking for resident mangrove birds on the Gordon River — initially on foot from the shore and later by boat — with chances of great-billed heron, white-breasted and mangrove golden whistler, mangrove robin, Arafura and mangrove grey fantail, mangrove gerygone, red-headed honeyeater and yellow white-eye. Later, explore the surrounding grasslands and wetlands for tawny grassbird, zitting cisticola, finches and waterbirds. The mudflats opposite the accommodation often hold waders, herons, osprey and brahminy kite. Overnight: Karumba. Meals: B/L/D.

One more chance for any mangrove specials missed at Karumba, then head inland via Normanton. Watch the grasslands en route for emu, Australian bustard, brolga, sarus crane, Australian pratincole, waterfowl and raptors. Later in the day, visit the renowned Cumberland Dam near Georgetown — a magnet for grassland, woodland and waterfowl species. Waterbirds include magpie goose, plumed and wandering whistling-duck, green and cotton pygmy-goose, comb-crested jacana and royal spoonbill; the woodlands hold blue-winged kookaburra, red-backed kingfisher, red-browed pardalote, brown treecreeper and a range of honeyeaters. Overnight: Georgetown. Meals: B/L/D.

An early return to Cumberland Dam for the dawn finch flights — black-throated, masked, double-barred and zebra finch, with rare chances of Gouldian and plum-headed finch. Continue east across the tropical savannah to Undara, watching for emu, wedge-tailed eagle, spotted harrier, dollarbird and apostlebird. Check in at Discovery Resort Undara, then take a guided Archway Explorer tour of the lava tubes, formed when lava drained through a riverbed nearly 200,000 years ago. A sunset walk looks for antilopine wallaroo, whiptail wallaby and eastern grey kangaroo. Overnight: Undara. Meals: B/L/D.

An outback bush breakfast at the resort, then depart for Cairns. The route climbs from the drier western slopes of the Great Divide to the more verdant Atherton Tablelands, with leg-stretches and incidental birding en route before dropping down the escarpment to the coast. After checking in, walk the Cairns Esplanade for waders and shore birds, including Australasian figbird, rose-crowned fruit-dove, helmeted friarbird, mangrove robin and brown, varied and yellow honeyeater. A farewell dinner in Cairns closes the day. Overnight: Cairns. Meals: B/L/D.

The tour ends after breakfast at the hotel. Meals: B.