Orcas, Numbats & Birds of the South West

After a morning pick-up from your Perth CBD hotel, travel south to Lake Clifton to view ancient thrombolites and scan for coastal waders. Continue across the Darling Scarp (Wagyl to Noongar people) into towering karri forests in search of woodland birds and, with luck, a western brush-wallaby. Arrive in Pemberton for the evening.

Explore forest trails around Pemberton at sunrise, with locations selected based on recent sightings. Look for quokkas, bandicoots and Scarlet Robins on short, easy walks. After lunch, visit Walpole-Nornalup National Park for an 800-metre loop beneath giant tingle trees, home to red-eared firetails and “Twenty-eight Parrots.”

Make the most of early wildlife activity at the Coalmine Knolls, watching for Quokkas, Western Grey Kangaroos and dolphins offshore. Walk the Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk high in the canopy, with a ground-level option available. Travel toward Albany with a stop at Morley Beach for shorebird viewing.

Explore Lake Seppings for wetland species, where flowering banksia may attract the tiny honey possum. Continue to the Porongurups, a 1.2-billion-year-old range rich in endemic wildlife. Look for trapdoor spiders, a Noongar totem and woodland birds before continuing to Bremer Bay.

Cruise offshore to the Bremer Canyon in search of orcas, where nutrient-rich waters attract blue and sperm Whales, albatross and petrels. Spend much of the day beyond the Continental Shelf observing pelagic species alongside marine experts.

Begin with an early outing near the inlet for currawongs, whipbirds, emu-wrens, pelicans and raptors. Continue to the Stirling Ranges — dramatic sandstone peaks with notable endemism, for a picnic among wildflower habitat. Finish the day with a nocturnal wildlife experience at Barna Mia to see endangered marsupials.

Focus on the numbat this morning, with Dryandra Forest offering one of the world’s best opportunities to see this termite-feeding marsupial in the wild. Travel back toward Perth, stopping at a waterhole often frequented by waterfowl before arriving mid-afternoon.