Birding & Wildlife Conservation Journey, East Gippsland Victoria

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Duration

4 Days

Group Size

7 Peoples

Activity Level

Easy

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About This Tour

Help wildlife in East Gippsland on this unique adventure. Spot koalas in eucalypt forests, listen for lyrebirds in rainforests, watch sea-eagles along pristine beaches, and see goannas by secluded rivers. Known for diverse wildlife, including parrots and cockatoos, your guide will also help you find wallabies, kangaroos, echidnas, and black swans. Contribute to conservation by removing fishing nets from beaches. Along the coast, see Australian fur seals, sea-eagles, pelicans, gannets, cormorants, oystercatchers, and bottlenose dolphins. Each night, stay in comfortable lodge-style accommodation.

Conservation Project

Conservation component:

This tour includes opportunities to help with the conservation of wildlife and to ensure the natural environment that supports wildlife remains healthy. Your wildlife guide records all species seen and uploads this data to online atlasses for conservation purposes. On this trip, you have the opportunity to remove invasive species, such as sea spurge - Sea Spurge causes environmental problems along many beaches, outcompeting native plants and changing natural patterns of sand movement. It's also a worry for endangered shorebirds that use the open sand for nesting. Gloves will be provided for this activity.

Highlights

Visit both dry and wet mountain forests, visit the famous Snowy River, and walk beside a wilderness creek where the landscape changes dramatically from the sunny, dry slopes to the near-rainforest of the gully
Take a discovery walk through a heathland and along a forest-lined river to its estuary in Australia’s coastal wilderness
Have a unique conservation opportunity to spend time on a beautiful beach removing invasive species from the remote coastlines of Eastern Victoria
Visit the Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place, an informative Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Bairnsdale

Included/Excluded

Included
Excluded

Three night’s accommodation as per itinerary
Experienced wildlife guide(s) throughout days 1–4
Sightseeing as per itinerary by private, air-conditioned charter vehicle
Meals included: daily breakfast, 4 x lunches, 3 x dinners
Goods and Services Tax

Domestic or international airfares
Pre-registration, late check-out or day use at hotels other than specified above
Guide services other than specified
Meals/beverages other than specified
Tips & gratuities
Optional tours/services

Itinerary

Picks ups will commence from your Melbourne CBD Hotel from 8.00am. Please advise us which hotel in the CBD you are staying at so we can arrange your pick up (city centre hotels only). Alternatively, why not let our friendly team help to recommend a hotel for you to stay in Melbourne. Travel past internationally acclaimed RAMSAR wetlands of the Lakes District of East Gippsland before travelling by ferry to an island sanctuary in the wetlands with a thriving colony of wild koalas. We take a walk through the forest spotting these delightful animals in the wild, and learning about their lives. We may also see echidnas, wallabies and kangaroos and many colourful parrots, honeyeaters and seabirds, which you can help record for conservation purposes. Dinner tonight is in a local restaurant. Tonight’s accommodation is a homestead in a small town where you will stay for three nights.

After a relaxing breakfast we travel into the rugged mountain forests of East Gippsland. The diverse forests of East Gippsland are the reason that wildlife is so abundant. Today we will visit both dry and wet mountain forests, visit the famous Snowy River, and walk beside a wilderness creek where the landscape changes dramatically from the sunny, dry slopes to the near-rainforest of the gully. Your Wildlife Guide provides detailed information of the formation of these mighty forests, and helps you search for lyrebirds, parrots, goannas, wallabies and honeyeaters. Birds and reptiles are abundant, but other human visitors are few. We finish the day, watching the sun set over the Southern Ocean - weather permitting.

This morning we will walk and explore in a large lowland (warm temperate) rainforest in search of birds and wallabies. Afterwards, take a discovery walk through a heathland and along a forest-lined river to its estuary in Australia’s coastal wilderness. Today we will search for sea eagles, cockatoos, kingfishers, swans and huge goanna lizards. We visit a quiet beach with a complex dune system and frequently see beach and ocean-going birds. After lunch take a walk on the nearby rocky headland, peering into rock pools, walking past wind-sculpted coastal shrubs looking at the expanse of the 90 mile beach. We have a unique opportunity to spend time on a beautiful and remote beach removing invasive species, improving dune stability, coastal forests and seabird habitats. You will be provided with the equipment necessary to perform these tasks with your efforts going towards removing this dangerous hazard to marine life. Our dinner tonight is a picnic in the bush overlooking the beach (weather permitting). On our way back to our homestead we search the plains for wallabies, kangaroos and wombats.

This morning we depart East Gippsland after a final visit to a forest or the coast to look for any species that may have eluded us. On the way back to Melbourne we visit the Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place, an informative Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Bairnsdale. We also search for grey-headed flying-foxes in their daytime roosts beside the river at Bairnsdale – a large colony is usually present in the warmer months. Return to Melbourne arriving in the late afternoon approximately 5pm. Why not stay longer in Melbourne and have some time to explore, ask our friendly team for suggestions.