Outback tours in September and November

Off to the real Australian outback

red kangaroo - male

Our outback tours go to the true outback – not just some rural area that someone chose to call ‘outback,’ as we so often see in tourism literature.

In September and November we’ll be heading off way out west – leaving behind crops and intensive farms –  into the red sand country, land of mulga and saltbush, with eyes open for emus, red kangaroos,Major Mitchell cockatoos, sand goannas, stumpy-tailed lizards and whatever else we might see along the way.

Major Mitchell cockatoos in Curaawinya National Park

Watching birds at Bowra

Watching birds at a waterhole in Bowra Station

We’ve extended the usual 6 days to 8 days in September to give us an extra day at Bowra, a former cattle station and one of the birding ‘htspots’ now belonging to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.

The November trip will be 10 days, incorporating our usual route for the three-day wildlife overview tour as well (rainforests, coastal habitats etc.)

This is not a luxury trip – no five-star hotels (there just ain’t any out where we’re going), and you’ll be riding in a troopie, a reliable Toyota 4WD very popular with folk who live out there, so that in itself is part of the experience.

But we don’t ignore comfort. No long walks, and not much walking at all in the hot part of the day (the animals also take ‘siesta’ time in the heat, so the best times for finding them is early morning and late afternoon).

Camping at Paroo River

Emu father and chicks cross the rosad in Currwinya National Park

We stay  in little outback hotels with cosy beds and good meals, with a couple of nights in motel, a night or two in former shearer’s quarters (another genuine Aussie experience and one night camping by the Paroo River (you can choose to be in a tent or in a hammock under the stars – and on the September trip there’ll be a full moon that night).

And for just a little luxury, you can opt to  sip wine or tea and snack on nuts and dried fruits while relaxing in a mudbath in the tiny town of Eulo ($60), then rinse off with warm Artesian water, cake yourself in ancient mud, rinse again and smother yourself with locally-made moisturizer. Your skin feels great for days afterwards.

Not everything is dry out there.  Two vast Ramsar-listed lakes are important breeding sites for waterbirds. Recently the roads to them have been flooded, but hopefully we’ll be able to reach them by spring.

Large outback lake, Currawinya National Park

Sample of bilby fence

Currawinya  also harbours the offspring of captive-bred bilbies released here several years ago.  We won’t be able to enter that area, but we will insect a sample of the long fence that was erected to exclude rabbits, cats and foxes, and will also visit captive bilbies before leaving the coast, and learn something of the behaviour and ecology of these strange little creatures.

Let us know if you might be interested in joining us for either of these tours.

outback sunset

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