MALLEE ADVENTURE - NORTH-WEST VICTORIA (5 DAYS)
Imagine touring through remote country, with enormous National Parks and wilderness areas. What’s more the birds here include some of Australia’s most stunningly beautiful. The far north-western corner of Victoria has the state’s lowest rainfall and sunniest and warmest climate. Highly adapted mallee, cypress pine and casuarina woodlands, ancient salt lakes and riverine floodplains support a range of birds found nowhere else in Victoria. A taste of Australia’s outback arid lands.
On the drive up and back from Melbourne through central Victoria there are many excellent birding areas including some extraordinary wetland systems in the right season, so targeted birding at various hotspots will add many birds to the trip list ( species that don’t occur further north ). In fact the first day of the tour is mostly birding in these central regions including staying overnight in north-central Victoria
Painted Honeyeater photo Denzil Morgan
The Mallee provides a home to some rare and highly adapted specialities such as the Malleefowl (the world’s only arid zone megapode), the endangered Mallee Emu-wren, Striated Grasswren, Chestnut Quail-thrush and Red-lored Whistler, all species high on many people’s wanted list.
Mallee Emu-wren in spinifex
A diverse range of Parrots occur in the region including the multi-coloured Mulga Parrot, the endangered Regent Parrot, Australian Ringneck, Eastern Blue Bonnet, Yellow Rosella and the extraordinary Pink Cockatoo
It is also the best region in Victoria to see Emu, Striped Honeyeater, Apostlebird, Australian Owlet-nightjar, Spotted Nightjar, Chestnut-crowned Babbler, Southern Scrub-robin, Rufous Fieldwren, Black-faced Woodswallow, Black Honeyeater, Yellow-plumed Honeyeater, Orange and Crimson Chat (in season), Crested Bellbird and White-fronted Honeyeater.
To cap it off all four Victorian species of Fairy-wren occur, the Splendid, Purple-backed, White-winged and Superb. Quality birds in a pristine environment.
Click below to see what has been recorded over previous mallee tours
PRICES: Private booking $5,840 total - single person price $6,415 total - two person/shared room SHARED tours - $3,725 per person (single rooms) when split two ways , $3,020 per person (single rooms) when split three or more ways Prices includes four night’s accommodation and meals starting lunch day one to lunch day five plus drinks (non alcoholic) and snacks.