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Cape York Birdwatching Safari

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  • Trip Type

    Bird Watching, Nature & Wildlife, Photography & Landscapes
  • Twin Share

    Maximum of two adults
    $ 6690
  • Single

    $ 7590
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AGT Expert Guide

This tour will be led by one of Australian Geographic Travel's qualified and experienced wildlife & nature guides who will showcase the very best of the regions you will travel through.

Duration

7 Days

Group Size

7 Peoples

Activity Level

Easy to Moderate

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About This Tour

A 7-day birding and wildlife tour through the wild and remote Cape York Peninsula - a must see for all nature lovers and birders. We travel in comfortable 4x4 vehicles, ensuring window seating & comfort for all passengers. 

Cape York has two true endemic birds - Golden-shouldered Parrot and White-streaked Honeyeater - which we hope to find. There are many other restricted range birds species which on mainland Australia are exclusively seen in Cape York, including Spotted Whistling-duck, Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Red-cheeked Parrot, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Black-eared Catbird, Frill-necked Monarch, Trumpet Manucode and Magnificent Riflebird. The ranges of these birds extend through the Torres Straits into New Guinea. 

The region also provides an opportunity of seeing other bird species that occur more widely like Red Goshawk, Sarus Crane, Bridled Tern, Lesser Frigatebird, Beach Stone-curlew, Eastern Grass Owl, Marbled Frogmouth, several fruit-doves and honeyeaters, and Black-throated and Star Finch.

Please note, this tour runs on a back-to-back drive/fly or fly/drive itinerary. You either drive up from Cairns to Lockhart River and fly back to Cairns after the tour (Drive/Fly) or you fly up to Lockhart River and drive back to Cairns (Fly/Drive with reversed itinerary). 

Flights are NOT included, please contact us on [email protected] for more information.

 

 

 

Highlights

  • Explore the wild and remote Cape York Peninsula
  • Window seating in comfortable and spacious 4x4 vehicle
  • Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park and Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park
  • Endemic and near-endemic Cape York birds and other wildlife - Golden-shouldered Parrot, White-streaked Honeyeater, Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Red-cheeked Parrot, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Frill-necked Monarch, Trumpet Manucode and Magnificent Riflebird, Black-backed Butcherbird and much more

Included/Excluded

  • Included
  • Excluded
  • very small group travel with expert bird guide. These tours are led by respected professional bird guide, Tim Dolby, or expedition leader and wildlife biologist, Dr Martin Cohen
  • 2x nights at Musgrave Roadhouse 4x nights at The Greenhoose
  • All meals included - 6x Breakfast, 6x Lunch, 6x Dinner
  • Pre- and Post night accommodation in Cairns (please contact us to help you with your pre- and post touring arrangements)
  • The flight from Cairns to Lockhart River or Lockhart River to Cairns, depending on your departure date. Please book with airline Skytrans.
  • insurance
  • tips and gratuities

Itinerary

Day 1

Cairns to Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park

Early morning we depart for the Cape York Peninsula, travelling across a vast expanse of tropical woodland. A fairly long drive today but we stop regularly to stretch our legs, at viewpoints or for incidental sightings of priority bird species. We’ll have lunch en route at a roadhouse in Lakeland before continuing to the Artemis Station. Artemis has been key to the conservation efforts to protect and enhance habitat of the endangered Golden-shouldered Parrot which we hope to see here. Later this afternoon we settle into our accommodation at Musgrave Roadhouse. Lunch and Dinner provided.

Day 2

Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park

We have a full day to explore the vast and diverse Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park. At 537,000 ha this is Queensland’s second largest national park, protecting diversity of habitats like tropical woodlands, riparian forest, wetlands and grassy plains dotted with termite mounds. In these mounds is where the endangered Golden-shouldered Parrot nests. Some other key species we search for today are Pale-headed Rosella, Red-winged Parrot, Red Goshawk, Black-backed butcherbird, Yellow-tinted Honeyeater, Red-browed Pardalote, Northern Fantail, Great Bowerbird, Lemon-bellied Flycatcher, various waterbirds and Star, Crimson, Masked and Black-throated Finch. Mammals we may see include Agile Wallaby, Northern Nail-tailed Wallaby, Antilopine Wallaroo and Little Red Flying-fox. At dusk we will try our hand at finding Large-tailed and Spotted Nightjar and Australasian Grass-Owl (rare). Accommodation: Musgrave Roadhouse. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner provided.

Day 3

Rinyirru to Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) NP

After some morning birding in the Lakefield / Musgrave area we continue up the Peninsula Development road, stopping for lunch and a rest at the Archer River Roadhouse. From there we continue to the Iron Range, crossing through the northern part of the Great Dividing Range at Tozer’s Gap. Here we enjoy the stunning views of the ranges, heathland and forest and look out for the carnivorous tropical pitcher plants and other interesting flora growing here. This is a great habitat for the endemic White-streaked Honeyeater. After this it’s only a short drive before we cross the West Claudie River and check in at our lodge. Greenhoose is located adjacent to the Kutini-Payamu NP and is surrounded by its own private-access rainforest with several walking trails. We have a short leg stretch to orient ourselves and enjoy the bird specials often viewable in the lush tropical gardens and adjacent forest. Accommodation: The Greenhoose. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner provided.

Day 4

Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) NP - Day 1

We have three full days to uncover the diversity of this wonderful national park and biodiversity hotspot. Taking our time we visit a mosaic of habitats - lowland rainforest, towering riparian / gallery forest, tropical woodland, drier heathland on rocky ridges, mangroves and stunning palm-fringed beaches overlooking islands in the Coral Sea. High up on the list of species we’ll be looking for are the iconic Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot and birds-of-paradise family Magnificent Riflebird and Trumpet Manucode. Two restricted range bowerbirds occur here too, the Fawn-breasted Bowerbird and Black-eared Catbird. Other key northern Cape York specials we’ll target include Spotted Whistling-duck, Red-cheeked Parrot, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, Frill-necked Monarch, White-faced Robin, Northern Scrub-robin, Yellow-legged Flyrobin, Tropical Scrubwren, Green-backed, Tawny-breasted and White-streaked Honeyeater. Many other birds with a wider Australian distribution are also often seen here like Wompoo, Superb and Rose-crowned Fruit-dove, Noisy Pitta, White-eared Monarch, Grey Whistler and Yellow-breasted Boatbill. Yet other birds are noteworthy in being ‘Cape York’ sub-species, like Double-eyed Fig-parrot (ssp. marshalli), Australian Brush-turkey (ssp. purpureicollis), Little Bronze-cuckoo (ssp. russatus) and Red-browed Finch (ssp. minor). Accommodation: The Greenhoose. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner provided.

Day 5

Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) NP - Day 2

These three full days are flexible and we will visit several key sites in Iron Range National Park - like Gordon Creek, West Claudie Creek, Old Coen track and Cook’s Hut campground. Night spotting excursions on a couple of the nights might reveal Marbled and Papuan Frogmouth, Large-tailed and White-throated Nightjar and sometimes Rufous and Masked Owl. Some mammals we may see include Agile Wallaby, Dingo, Common Spotted Cuscus, Common Southern cuscus, Striped Possum, Krefft's (Sugar) Glider, Cape York Melomys, Cape York Rat, Northern Brown Bandicoot, Bare-backed Fruit Bat and Spectacled Flying-fox. Some reptiles we look out for include the stunning Green Tree Python, Scrub Python and several dragon and monitor species. Accommodation: The Greenhoose. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner provided.

Day 6

Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) NP - Day 3

In addition to extensive birding in Iron Range NP during our stay, we will also visit the mangroves and beaches in the Portland roads area and around Chili Beach. The beaches and rocks are great foraging and roosting areas for numerous waders and terns. We also scan any fruiting palms and beach almond trees for Palm Cockatoos quietly feeding. Accommodation: The Greenhoose. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner provided.

Day 7

Lockhart River to Cairns (flight)

After some morning birding and breakfast we check out and visit the Lockhart River Art Gallery, showcasing artworks from the region’s Indigenous artists. After this it’s time to bid farewell to your guide/s and Cape York as you board the flight back to Cairns (flight not included)